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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Vic Desanctis
Maria, this sounds like a good idea for tonight’s dinner. I wonder if you ever experiment with other types of flour? I’m diabetic and try to keep the carbs down so I always try to use some of the ancient whole grains like einkorn or spelt. Of course it doesn’t taste quite as sweet or smooth as all purpose flour but the benefits sometimes outweigh the detriments. Any suggestions with recipes?
Victor
Maria
You are absolutely right Vic. Depending on the recipe you can usually replace up to half of the white flour with an ancient grain. With a little experimentation, you can get a healthier product. Great comment.
ODIELIA Barbara DAVIS
I made the dough for calzones, was excellent and light, easy to manipulate, tasty better than any dough you can buy.!
Maria
Thanks so much for taking the time to share!
Jessica
I made the calzone recipe and filled it with a beef with taco seasoning, onions, fire roasted tomatoes, corn, poblano peppers, and cheese. The crust was AMAZING! I can’t wait to try other fillings! Thanks the the recipe!
Maria
My pleasure Jessica! Thanks for sharing!
Rhonda
Made this for my family. They rated them “5 stars hands down, an awesome meal”. Made a variation of the filling with peppers, olives, pesto, dried tomatoes, pizza sauce, and mozeralla. Great!
Maria
How wonderful Rhonda! Thanks for sharing!
Twyla
I made calzones for the first time today, based off this recipe. They turned out fantastic, especially the bread. I used ricotta, feta, and parmesan, black olives, Turkey pepperoni, garlic, onions, and some basil and parsley from last year’s herb garden( I was out of spinach and mozzarella). The only thing I think it needed, was tomato sauce. So I made some after and we dipped/spread it on them. Next time I’ll put it in the filling.
Maria
Sounds like a delicious filling Twyla! Thanks so much for sharing and taking the time to comment.
Michele
They were delicious … the dough was easy to work with and a beautiful even consistency. I definitely will put the full 1 1/2 cup of mozzarella next time … I didn’t this round and they were a bit flat but delicious. Great recipe. Could this dough be good for empanadas ?
Maria
So thrilled to read this, thanks Michele! Although I have never tried it, it is basically the same principle…I think it should work as long as the mixture is not too wet. Thanks again for stopping by.
Kaitlin
Lovely, easy dough recipe with great results on the first try. I made a variation on the filling with what I had and the calzones turned out great. I used a tomato sauce for dipping and it was a hit. Thank you!
Maria
How wonderful Kaitlin! Thrilled to read you enjoyed them. Thanks so much for sharing.
Olga
Wanted to put my new stand mixer to the test so I choose this recipe I have never made calzones ,the dough turned out stellar, as for the filling i choose my own variation overall results was perfect thank you!
Maria
How wonderful Olga! Thanks so much for taking the time to share.
Steph
Are these ok to freeze before cooking?
Maria
Hi Steph, I have never frozen before cooking but I do freeze them after cooking all the time. Thanks for your interest.
Rowan
You can freeze the dough for up to 3 months before using it! I wouldn’t recommend freezing them with the filling inside, as that would mess up the texture.
Joe
Have made calzones before but I ran across your site by chance just looking for new calzone ideas. I wish I had found it before…your recipe is my new favorite. Really delicious and they come out looking better for me with your method. I also appreciate your great idea of using olive oil/oregano for the tops (rather than the usual egg wash, which most others seem to use instead). The only variation for me is to sometimes include some tomato-based sauce for the filling, but the recipe is excellent as is, thank you.
Maria
I am so thrilled to read this Joe! Thanks so much for taking the time to share.
Rich M
Made calzones last week and trying it for pizza dough this week. I weight my flour and it was a little wet so I added more flour. Dough is very tasty.
Maria
Thanks Rich!