A calzone is essentially a folded pizza, filled with favorite pizza toppings of meat, vegetables, and cheese stuffed in pizza dough. This easy calzone recipe is a favorite!
Looking for more delicious recipes using pizza dough? I think you’ll love my Three Cheese White Pizza, Cinnamon Roll Pizza, and Stromboli.
What is Calzone?
Calzone is an oven-baked, folded pizza that originated in Naples in the 18th century. It is essentially a stuffed pizza pocket filled with your favorite pizza toppings, folded with the edges crimped to hold all the ingredients inside, and baked until golden brown.
Calzone Dough
I love to make calzones using my homemade pizza dough. You can follow the make-ahead instructions in that recipe to keep it in the refrigerator for a few days or in the freezer. Then, simply thaw it to use it for easy recipes like this for a quick and easy meal. You can also make your pizza dough fresh or use your favorite pre-made store-bought crust.
Once you have your pizza dough, portion it to make your calzones, depending on how large you’d like to make them. One homemade pizza dough recipe should make four regular calzones or 8 small calzones.
Roll each portion into a circle for filling.
Calzone Filling
The possibilities are endless! To start, I recommend using your favorite pizza toppings and combinations. A fun way to make calzones that my family always enjoys is to have a calzone buffet! Simply place all of the ingredients on the counter and allow everyone to mix and match for their own personal calzones!
- Meat – pepperoni, shredded chicken, browned ground beef, salami, meatballs, bacon, Canadian bacon, and more!
- Cheese – Parmesan, mozzarella, ricotta, cheddar, feta, and even cream cheese.
- Vegetables – mushrooms, peppers, onions, spinach, garlic, and tomatoes, to name a few.
- Pizza Sauce – my family loves my homemade pizza sauce, or you can use the ingredients from my white cheese pizza as a white sauce.
How to Make Homemade Calzones
Making calzones at home is really easy.
- Divide premade pizza dough into portions.
- Add your favorite calzone filling combinations.
- Fold over and seal the dough. Cut the dough to allow steam to escape as it bakes.
- Brush the top of the dough with olive oil and sprinkle with Stone House Seasoning and Parmesan cheese (optional but recommended).
- Bake at 475º F until golden brown, about 15 minutes for small calzones. The time to cook depends on the size of the calzone. Remove from the oven and serve!
Storage Tips
To make ahead. Prepare the recipe through folding over, sealing, and cutting the dough. Place onto a baking sheet and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Store in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Remove from the refrigerator, brush with olive oil and add seasoning to the top, and bake as directed.
To store leftovers. Place into an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Remove from the refrigerator and reheat in the oven until warm throughout.
To freeze uncooked. Prepare the recipe through folding over, sealing, and cutting the dough. Place onto a baking sheet in a single layer and cover with foil. Freeze overnight and then store in an airtight, freezer-safe container or ziptop bag for up to 3 months.
To freeze cooked. Allow the cooked calzone to cool. Place onto a baking sheet in a single layer and freeze overnight. Store in an airtight, freezer-safe container or ziptop bag for up to 3 months.
Here’s my homemade calzone recipe. I hope you love them!
Related Recipes
Easy Calzone Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pizza dough, pre-made, homemade or store-bought
- 1 cup pizza sauce, homemade or store-bought
- 1 cup pepperoni, or other meat
- 1/2 cup mushrooms, or other vegetables
- 1/2 cup peppers, or other vegetables
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese, or other cheese
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Stone House Seasoning, optional
Instructions
- Prep. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or coat with olive oil. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 475º F.
- Portion Calzone Dough. Portion the pizza dough into portions based on the desired size of finished calzones, 8 for small calzones and 4 for large calzones. Roll the dough into a circle.
- Add Calzone Filling. Add the filling to the rolled dough in half of the circle, leaving about 1/2-inch of the rim or the circle without any fillings.
- Seal the Calzone. Fold the empty half of the dough over the filled half of the dough. Crimp the edges tightly to seal the dough. Using a sharp knife, cut slits in the top of the dough to allow steam to escape while baking.
- Bake. Transfer the calzone to the baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with Parmesan and Stone House Seasoning, if using. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes for small calzones and about 20 minutes for large calzones.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Love this so much! So easy to make and personalize with different filling ingredients!
This recipe is a keeper!!!
I, too, love that you can add your favorite fillings. Thanks, Wendy!