Homemade Calzone Dough & Easy Calzone Recipes
Calzones are folded pizza pockets filled with cheese, meat, vegetables or a combination of favorite pizza toppings. Start with homemade calzone dough, add a filling, fold the dough over and bake until golden.
These homemade calzones also freeze well, so they are a good recipe to make in batches. Try ham and cheese, vegetable, chicken or cheese calzones, or use the filling ideas below to create your own combination.
Start Here: Make a Calzone
- Make the dough: Start with the Homemade Calzone Dough.
- Learn how to shape it: Follow How to Make a Calzone.
- Want a classic filling? Try the Ham & Cheese Calzone.
- Add vegetables: Make the Vegetable Calzone.
- Use cooked chicken: Try the Chicken Calzone.
- Keep it simple: Make the Cheese Calzone.
Make Pizza Night a Math Lesson
Practice fractions while kids plan, build and slice their own pizzas with this hands-on pizza math activity.
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Calzone Recipes on This Page
Homemade Calzone Dough
This homemade calzone dough is easy to mix, rise and shape into individual folded pizza pockets. Once the dough is ready, fill each circle with cheese, meat, vegetables or other favorite pizza fillings.
Calzone Dough Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tablespoon yeast
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, optional
- 1 tablespoon oil
- Dash of sugar
Directions
- Add the yeast and a dash of sugar to the warm water. Let stand for several minutes until the yeast becomes bubbly.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, oil and Italian seasoning, if using.
- Pour the yeast mixture into the flour mixture and stir until the dough comes together.
- Form the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl.
- Cover and let the dough rise for 30-60 minutes.
- Divide the dough into the number of calzones you want to make.
- Roll each portion into a circle on a lightly floured surface.
How to Make a Calzone
Once the dough is rolled into circles, add the filling to one half of each circle, leaving room around the edge so the calzone can be sealed.
Shape & Bake the Calzones
- Place your desired filling over one half of each dough circle.
- Fold the empty half of the dough over the filling.
- Roll or pinch the edges together to seal the calzone closed.
- Press the seams firmly so the filling stays inside while baking.
- In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine oil, basil and Parmesan cheese.
- Brush the mixture over the top of each calzone with a pastry brush.
- Bake at 450F for 10-15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.
Serve with Sauce: Warm calzones are delicious dipped in homemade marinara sauce. Make the sauce ahead of time in the slow cooker and serve it warm alongside the baked calzones.
Ham and Cheese Calzone
Ham and mozzarella make an easy calzone filling that kids can help assemble. You can also use sliced pepperoni instead of ham or swap cheddar cheese for the mozzarella.
Ingredients
- Homemade calzone dough
- 2 cups diced fully cooked ham or sliced pepperoni
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- Parmesan cheese, optional
- Dried basil, optional
Directions
- Prepare the calzone dough and roll it into individual circles.
- Place ham or pepperoni over one half of each dough circle, leaving space around the edge.
- Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Add Parmesan cheese and dried basil, if desired.
- Fold the empty half of the dough over the filling and pinch the edges closed.
- Follow the calzone baking directions, baking at 450F for 10-15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
Vegetable Calzone
This vegetable calzone combines spinach, tomato, cottage cheese and mozzarella with Italian seasoning. Drain the spinach well before mixing the filling so extra moisture doesn't make the calzone soggy.
Ingredients
- Homemade calzone dough
- 1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
- 1 tomato, finely diced
- 3/4 cup cottage cheese
- 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
Directions
- Prepare the calzone dough and roll it into individual circles.
- Sauté the spinach in a frying pan, then drain it well.
- In a bowl, combine the spinach, diced tomato, cottage cheese, mozzarella and Italian seasoning.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Spoon the vegetable filling onto one half of each dough circle, leaving room around the edge.
- Fold the dough over the filling and pinch the edges closed.
- Follow the calzone baking directions, baking at 450F for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Ultimate Pizza Cooking Activities
Chicken Calzone
Cooked chicken makes an easy starting point for homemade calzones. Pair it with cheese, broccoli, spinach, tomatoes or pesto, or use leftover cooked chicken to create your own filling combination.
Ingredients
- Homemade calzone dough
- Cooked shredded or cubed chicken
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Choice of fillings such as spinach, shredded cheese, cooked chopped broccoli, diced tomatoes or pesto
- Italian seasoning or dried basil, optional
Directions
- Prepare the calzone dough and roll it into individual circles.
- Season the cooked chicken with salt and pepper.
- Add your choice of cheese, vegetables or pesto to the chicken.
- Spoon the filling onto one half of each dough circle, leaving room around the edge.
- Fold the other half of the dough over the filling and pinch the edges closed.
- Follow the calzone baking directions, baking at 450F for 10-15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
Chicken, Broccoli & Cheddar Calzone
For an easy combination, layer chopped cooked chicken and steamed chopped broccoli over the calzone dough. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese and season with Italian seasoning or dried basil before folding and sealing the calzone.
Cheese Calzone
Keep the filling simple with this three-cheese calzone. Cottage cheese or ricotta is mixed with mozzarella, Parmesan, Italian seasoning and garlic for an easy meatless calzone filling.
Ingredients
- Homemade calzone dough
- 1 cup cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder or 1-2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
Directions
- Prepare the calzone dough and roll it into individual circles.
- In a bowl, combine the cottage or ricotta cheese, mozzarella, Parmesan, Italian seasoning and garlic.
- Spoon the cheese mixture onto one half of each dough circle, leaving room around the edge.
- Fold the other half of the dough over the filling.
- Pinch the edges together firmly to seal.
- Follow the calzone baking directions, baking at 450F for 10-15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
More Calzone Filling Ideas
Once you know how to shape and seal a calzone, mix and match different fillings to create your own combinations. Cook meat before adding it, and cook or drain vegetables that contain a lot of moisture so the filling doesn't make the dough soggy.
Vegetable Fillings
- Chopped broccoli
- Sliced mushrooms
- Chopped olives
- Chopped onions
- Bell peppers
- Artichokes
- Spinach
- Diced tomatoes
Meat Fillings
- Cooked sausage
- Chopped ham
- Sliced pepperoni
- Cooked shredded or chopped chicken
- Cooked ground beef
- Shredded beef
Cheese & Flavor Ideas
- Mozzarella
- Cheddar
- Ricotta or cottage cheese
- Parmesan
- Pesto
- Garlic
- Italian seasoning
- Fresh or dried basil
Calzone Combinations to Try
- Chicken + broccoli + cheddar
- Ham + mozzarella
- Pepperoni + mozzarella
- Spinach + tomato + cheese
- Potato + cheese
- Mushroom + pepper + mozzarella
Make It a Calzone Night
Turn homemade calzones into a fun family cooking activity. Let kids choose their own fillings, serve warm marinara sauce for dipping and practice more rolling, shaping and dough-making skills.
How to Make Calzones Video
Watch how to prepare homemade calzones, then use the dough and filling ideas above to create your own version.
More Pizza Dough Recipes & Ideas
Keep practicing dough skills with more homemade pizza recipes. Try rolling, filling, folding and shaping pizza dough in different ways, or return to the main pizza page for more pizza recipes and topping ideas.
Working with Dough Kids Cooking Activities
Submit your favorite kids recipe
Do you have a favorite recipe your kids love to make? Or a recipe your kids ask you to make again and again? Share it with us!
Calzone FAQ
You can use the homemade calzone dough on this page or another basic pizza dough. The dough should be soft enough to roll into circles but sturdy enough to hold the filling.
Avoid overfilling the dough and leave a clear border around the edge. Fold the dough over the filling, then pinch or roll the edges firmly so the calzone stays sealed in the oven.
Try ham, pepperoni, chicken, sausage, ground beef, spinach, broccoli, mushrooms, peppers, olives, tomatoes, pesto and different cheeses. Cook meat before adding it, and drain moist vegetables well.
Yes. Calzones are a good make-ahead meal and can be prepared in batches. Freeze extras for another meal, then reheat them when you need an easy lunch or dinner.
The calzones on this page bake at 450F for about 10-15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.
Yes. Kids can help roll dough, add fillings, sprinkle cheese, fold the dough and pinch the edges closed. Adults should handle hot pans, the oven and any advanced cutting tasks.
A calzone is usually made by placing filling on one half of a dough circle and folding the other half over it to create a sealed pocket. Stromboli is made by rolling dough around the filling before baking and slicing.
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