A calzone is a pizza-house classic that you can easily enjoy in the comfort of your home. Pizza dough rounds are filled with a combination of cheeses, pizza sauce, and pepperoni and then folded in half and sealed around the edges to create this recipe’s signature shape. Making calzone with pizza dough creates classic pizza-night flavor with easy to find ingredients. An egg wash helps the dough become golden brown and slightly crisp as it bakes, giving it a wonderful texture.
This is a must-try recipe next time you want to include your family in the kitchen. Stretching and shaping the calzone dough, adding the fillings, and crimping the calzone closed are fun activities for kids and let them join in every part of the preparation. You can choose to make all the calzones with the same fillings or personalize this recipe with other cheeses, meats, or vegetables. Serve calzones warm with your favorite dipping sauces, like marinara, ranch, or Alfredo sauce! For more recipes using pizza dough, try my garlic knots, stromboli, or Margherita pizza.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Pizza dough – you can make homemade pizza dough or use store-bought pizza dough for this recipe. For the easiest stretching and shaping, bring the pizza dough to room temperature for an hour before starting on the recipe.
Pizza sauce – use your favorite store-bought pizza sauce or homemade marinara sauce for this recipe.
Cheese – ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese are used for the calzone filling. The top of the calzone is sprinkled with parmesan cheese after baking. Substitute or add other cheeses, such as Romano, asiago, or an Italian-inspired cheese blend if desired.
Toppings – I like to use pepperoni in this easy calzone recipe, but you can substitute your favorite meats or pizza toppings – such as crumbled Italian sausage, crisped pancetta, veggies, and more – or make a classic cheese calzone by omitting the pepperoni.
How to Make Calzone
1. Preheat the oven to 475°F with the oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, divide the pizza dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 7-inch circle (about ¼-inch thick).
2. Working with 1 dough round at a time, spread about 2 tablespoons of the pizza sauce on one half of the circle.
3. Top with 2 tablespoons of ricotta cheese.
4. Add about 6 pepperoni slices on top of the ricotta.
5. Sprinkle with ¼ cup of mozzarella.
6. Fold the empty side of the dough over the fillings and crimp edges to seal. Place the calzone on the baking sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining pizza dough, sauce, ricotta, pepperoni, and mozzarella, placing each calzone with some space between them on the pan.
7. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and 1 teaspoon of water. Brush the calzones lightly with egg wash.
8. Cut 3 (about 1/2-inch long) slits in the top of each calzone to allow steam to escape. Bake for 13 to 16 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Immediately brush the hot calzones with olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan. Serve with additional pizza sauce.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Allow the dough to sit at room temperature before using. Let the dough stand at room temperature for about 1 hour to make stretching and rolling it much easier. This is especially helpful if using refrigerated store-bought dough.
- Work on a lightly floured surface. Lightly flour the work surface before rolling out the dough rounds. This will prevent the dough from sticking.
- Place filling only on one half of the dough. It is easiest to fold over the dough if you’ve only put sauce and toppings on one half. When spreading the sauce, don’t go all the way to the edge of the dough. You’ll need an outer rim of dough to seal the top and bottom together.
- Use your fingers to crimp the edges. Use your fingers to crimp the dough around the curved edge to seal the filling. This will lock in the fillings, prevent them from spilling and burning, and add a decorative edge to the dough!
- Apply the egg wash to the top of each folded calzone. The egg wash promotes browning and helps the crust slightly crisp for the ideal texture. Use a pastry brush to top each calzone with the egg wash.
- Cut 3 slits in the top of each calzone before baking. This step is vital! Use a sharp knife to cut three slits on each calzone. This will allow air and moisture to escape from the dough pocket so that the dough cooks and crisps and doesn’t become soggy or burst open during baking.
- Bake on a large baking sheet or pizza stone. A pizza stone is not required for this recipe, but you can use one if you have it. The calzones will bake and brown well on a stone or regular baking sheet.
- Brush baked calzones with oil to help the parmesan stick. To make the parmesan cheese garnish, stick to the top of the calzones, and brush each hot calzone with olive oil before sprinkling on the cheese.
Frequently Asked Questions
Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in an oven preheated to 375°F until the centers are warm and the cheese is melty.
Yes, you certainly can freeze leftover calzones! Let them cool to room temperature before moving to a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost them in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours before reheating.
One of the best ways to serve these easy calzones is with a side of marinara sauce or another dipping sauce such as ranch dressing. For a pizza-house style meal, serve with a Greek salad and garlic knots. A dry red wine, such as Chianti or Sangiovese, is also delicious with this Italian-inspired meal!
There are a few options for garnish that add visual appeal and also taste amazing. While the calzone is hot, brush the top with olive oil to help the garnish stick. Try garnishing with parmesan cheese, chopped parsley, or Italian seasoning.
Traditionally a calzone is filled with pizza sauce and both ricotta and mozzarella cheeses. Additional fillings such as pepperoni or sausage are also often added to a calzone, but you can add almost any pizza topping you like. Calzones are normally served with additional sauce on the side for dipping.
Use any of your favorite pizza toppings inside homemade calzones. You can also vary the sauce and use pesto or olive oil in place of pizza sauce. Try this recipe with sausage, sautéed mushrooms, black olives, sliced tomatoes, red onions, or green peppers. Cut the pizza calzone fillings into bite-sized pieces or dice ingredients such as bell peppers and other vegetables.
Be careful not to overfill the calzone and add only enough fillings so the dough can easily be sealed around the perimeter without stretching. I recommend avoiding toppings with high moisture content such as pineapple or raw mushrooms because they may prevent the dough from adequately crisping.
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If you’ve tried this calzone recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Calzone
Ingredients
- 1 pizza dough (1 pound/450g ball)
- ½ cup pizza sauce (120ml)
- 1 cup ricotta cheese (230g)
- ⅓ cup pepperoni slices (44g)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella (113g)
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 475°F with the oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, divide the pizza dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 7-inch circle (about ¼-inch thick).
- Working with 1 dough round at a time, spread about 2 tablespoons of the pizza sauce on one half of the circle. Top with 2 tablespoons of ricotta cheese, about 6 pepperoni slices, and sprinkle with ¼ cup of mozzarella. Fold the empty side of the dough over the fillings and crimp edges to seal. Place the calzone on the baking sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining pizza dough, sauce, ricotta, pepperoni, and mozzarella, placing each calzone with some space between them on the pan.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and 1 teaspoon of water. Brush the calzones lightly with egg wash. Cut 3 (about 1/2-inch long) slits in the top of each calzone to allow steam to escape.
- Bake for 13 to 16 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Immediately brush the hot calzones with olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan. Serve with additional pizza sauce.
Notes
- Allow the dough to sit at room temperature before using. Let the dough stand at room temperature for about 1 hour to make stretching and rolling it much easier. This is especially helpful if using refrigerated store-bought dough.
- Work on a lightly floured surface. Lightly flour the work surface before rolling out the dough rounds. This will prevent the dough from sticking.
- Place filling only on one half of the dough. It is easiest to fold over the dough if you’ve only put sauce and toppings on one half. When spreading the sauce, don’t go all the way to the edge of the dough. You’ll need an outer rim of dough to seal the top and bottom together.
- Use your fingers to crimp the edges. Use your fingers to crimp the dough around the curved edge to seal the filling. This will lock in the fillings, prevent them from spilling and burning, and add a decorative edge to the dough!
- Apply the egg wash to the top of each folded calzone. The egg wash promotes browning and helps the crust slightly crisp for the ideal texture. Use a pastry brush to top each calzone with the egg wash.
- Cut 3 slits in the top of each calzone before baking. This step is vital! Use a sharp knife to cut three slits on each calzone. This will allow air and moisture to escape from the dough pocket so that the dough cooks and crisps and doesn’t become soggy or burst open during baking.
- Bake on a large baking sheet or pizza stone. A pizza stone is not required for this recipe, but you can use one if you have it. The calzones will bake and brown well on a stone or regular baking sheet.
- Brush baked calzones with oil to help the parmesan stick. To make the parmesan cheese garnish, stick to the top of the calzones, and brush each hot calzone with olive oil before sprinkling on the cheese.
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