You’ll be pleasantly surprised to learn that making Homemade Calzones is a lot easier than you think. As a bonus, calzones freeze wonderfully and are a great solution to that timeless question, “What can I pack for lunch?”
As you can see, these homemade calzones look like half-moons and have often been described as stuffed pizzas.
Because of their shape, they can easily be eaten while walking, standing or even driving, for the times that you are in a rush.
No sticky mess to deal with — the perfect finger food, whether you’re on the go, or watching the big game with friends.
I have to admit that calzones were not a food that I grew up with, nor were they food that appealed to me. Thank goodness it’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind 🙂 It was only as an adult that I truly appreciated this Italian specialty, originating from Naples.
How to Make the Best Calzone Recipe:
As you can see, making calzones is just a simple 3-step process:
Step 1: Combine the ingredients for the dough and let it rest until double in size.
Step 2: While the dough is resting, combine and cook the ingredients for the filling.
Step 3: Make the calzone by rolling out and stuffing the dough. Bake for 20 minutes and voilà…
…you just made yourself some spinach and mushroom homemade calzones!
Italian Dinner Recipes we Love:
- Baked Cod Fish
- Italian Sausage, Potatoes, Peppers, and Onions
- Roasted Vegetable Pasta
- Pasta and Lentils
- Italian Stuffed Shells
- Spinach Lasagna Roll Ups
Recipe origins
A few years ago, I started experimenting with different recipes for calzones. I stopped searching when I found this calzone recipe on this website.
The calzone dough is extremely easy to work with and you can easily choose your fillings depending on your personal preferences (or if you are like me, depending on what you have in your fridge).
My favorite filling includes ricotta, mozzarella, and mushrooms… yum! Just remember to respect the total volume of the cooked filling, which is approximately 3 cups. Otherwise, you might end up with too much filling and not enough dough, or vice versa.
There are so many variations when it comes to these Homemade Calzones, I don’t even know where to begin.
Almost anything goes!
I’ve decided to share with you one of my favorite recipes, a simple mushroom spinach homemade calzone. Once you feel comfortable making this recipe, I am sure you’ll be making your signature versions.
Would love to hear about it!
THANKS SO MUCH for following and being part of the She Loves Biscotti community where you will find Simple & Tasty Family-Friendly Recipes with an Italian Twist.
Ciao for now,
Maria
★★★★★ If you have made this calzone recipe, I would love to hear about it in the comments below and be sure to rate the recipe!
Recipe
Homemade Calzones
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Ingredients
To prepare the dough:
- 1 cup lukewarm water 105 °F-110 °F
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2¼ teaspoon active dry yeast 8 grams
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour sifted and divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon olive oil for greasing bowl
To prepare the filling:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium onion minced
- 450 grams mushrooms fresh, sliced
- 454 grams spinach or Swiss chard
- ½ cup ricotta can also use feta cheese
- 1 ½ cup mozzarella shredded
- salt and pepper to taste
- olive oil to brush tops of calzones
- dried oregano to sprinkle on calzones
Instructions
How to make calzone dough:
- Combine the yeast, sugar and lukewarm water in a small bowl.
- Stir with fork and set aside for about 5 minutes (it will begin to proof).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, measure and sift 1 cup of flour.
- Add yeast mixture. Combine with wooden spoon until smooth.
- Add the rest of the sifted flour (1½ cups), oil, and salt. Mix on medium speed using dough hook attachment until smooth and elastic (approximately 5 minutes). Alternately, you can knead by hand.
- Place in a lightly greased bowl. Turn dough over ensuring the entire dough has a thin layer of oil. (I use about ½ teaspoon of olive oil).
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for approximately 40 minutes (will double in size).
For the filling:
- Meanwhile, prepare your filling by adding about 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan. Stir fry the garlic, onion, mushrooms and spinach. Set aside to cool off slightly.
- Combine this vegetable mixture with the ricotta and mozzarella. Mix thoroughly together.
- Preheat oven to 400° F.
- Pre-heat pizza stone (if using) or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Punch down dough and divide into 8 pieces. Knead each piece into a ball and then using a rolling pin, roll out your dough, on a lightly floured wooden board, to approx 4-5" circle.
- Place about ½ cup of filling in the bottom half per calzone, making sure to not come within ½ inch of the edges.
- Fold the dough over the filling and press to seal tightly.
- Brush tops with olive oil. and sprinkle with dried oregano.
- Make diagonal slits or prick the tops with a fork before baking allowing for the steam to escape.
- Place calzones on a pre-heated pizza stone or on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 400°F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. The bake time will depend on the size of your calzones.
- Place on cooling rack.
Notes
Nutrition
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Liz
Delicious- I had zucchini, onion, spinach and my husband had Italian sausage. Both were delicious.
I didn’t use all the dough. Can I save the dough for something else or another day?
Maria
Fantastic Liz! It actually freezes really well. Thanks for stopping by!
Toni
Yum! I made these this evening; short on mushrooms so I added some peppers. Used Swiss chard and kale from my garden and a little pesto. Great recipe. The dough was perfect and easy to work. Thank you.
Maria
Fantastic Toni!
Gellyn
Hi! Can i use instant yeast, how do i convert the amount of your active dry yeast to instant? Thanks in advance!
Maria
Yes, they are interchangeable but remember to reduce the rise time by 10-15 minutes as it acts more quickly. Great question, thanks for stopping by.
Immaculata
So I was skeptical of your recipe as my mom is from Italy. I was pleasantly surprised and tweaked it a bit. I added Italian seasoning to wet mix, I also tried fresh basil in wet mix. I fry mine but am now perfecting by doing a partial fry then bake off.
My big question is have you tried freezing them and then cooking?
Maria
Thanks so much for sharing your variation. I have frozen the calzones after they have been baked. I was worried there might be too much moisture if frozen without baking first. Would love to hear about your results if you do decide to freeze them before baking them. Thanks for stopping by Immaculata 🙂
Chef Markus Mueller | Earth, Food, and Fire
I’m constantly looking for new recipes to try that are ideal for a walking lunch! I am always on the go and find it hard some days to find time to sit down for a meal. These calzones are the perfect solution! Plus like you mention, the filling can be whatever you like! Great for using up leftover pulled pork, chicken etc!
Maria
I cannot tell you how many times I’ve eaten these calzones because of the exact scenario you have described. They really are great! Appreciate your comment Markus… thanks for stopping by 🙂
Fouzia Husainy
I love your crust, it looks so perfect. I feel like eating calzones now, just can’t wait to make them. Thanks for sharing.
Maria
These homemade calzones are actually very simple to make and the dough is wonderful to work with. Hope you like them! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment 🙂
Lily {Gastro Senses}
Wow, do these ever look good! They remind me of chebureki that we make here. I like that the ingredients are so simple too!
Maria
Thanks Lily! In actual fact, you can use any filling for these homemade calzones… I’m a big fan of simplicity! Thanks for stopping by Lily. Have a great evening 🙂
Colleen
Happy Monday, Maria! I make pizza all the time, and have a calzone recipe in the works, too. You’re so right, they are the perfect finger food. Pizza in a sandwich form. Yours look just perfect, and I love that filling!
Maria
Thanks Colleen! That’s the wonderful thing about making homemade calzones, you decide what goes in them 🙂 Can’t wait to see your recipe! Thanks for stopping by… have a great week ♥
Kate | My Little Larder
These look delicious! I am always looking for healthy, tasty snacks I can store in the freezer to whip out in a hurry to feed my two boys (and me!), these look a great idea. Can’t wait to make them!
Maria
Thanks Kate! These are truly the ultimate finger food… hope you guys like them! Appreciate you taking the time to comment ♥
Phyllis
Hi,
Do you have a homemade pizza dough recipe or would the calzone dough also be used to make a pizza.
I look forward to your recipes.
Thanks,
Maria
Hi Phyllis, I do not recommend using this calzone dough to make pizza. I am in the process of finalizing my mom’s pizza dough recipe. Should be up in the next couple of weeks. Thanks so much for your kind words ♥