I love a versatile dish, don't you? When a family finds something that is easy to make and everyone likes to eat it that is a major win-win. This is why I love making calzones. You can fill a calzone with pretty much anything and it's quick and easy - bonus you can serve it with a dipping sauce too! You're gonna love these easy calzone recipes.
Growing up we didn't venture very far from a basic pizza. It was when hit University that I discovered calzones...you know those pocket pizzas we all love to fire up in the microwave. I seriously had no idea how much better a calzone could be. Like most people, the classic episode of Parks and Rec, when Ben Wyatt professes his love of calzones is when we decided to start experimenting with calzones.
What is a calzone? A calzone is an Italian dish. You start with pizza dough, rolled in a circle and filled then folded and baked. A panzerotti is fried, and calzone is baked. A stromboli is a much longer folded pizza dough baked dish. Stromboli doesn't start with a round of dough but is rectangular. Calzone is a half circle. It's a little pocket of goodness that you don't need to limit to Italian ingredients.
Easy Calzone Recipes
Simple Calzone Dough - Okay, the first step in making any calzone is making the dough. We share a quick and simple pizza dough recipe that works for any night of the week. You'll use this basic pizza dough for all your sweet and savory calzones.
Savoury Calzone Recipes
Butter Chicken Calzone - We share how to turn those butter chicken leftovers into an amazing butter chicken calzone.
Turkey Stuffed Pizza Calzones - Here's a super hearty, super stuffed turkey pizza calzone from Savoury Experiments.
Sundried Tomato and Prosciutto Calzone - Kick those basic pizza flavors up a notch with sundried tomato and prosciutto calzone.
Roasted Vegetable Calzone - The Cook Report shares how to make a vegetarian calzone option. The combination of roasted vegetables gives this calzone an extra depth of flavor.
Turkey and Apple Calzone - A fantastic use for Thanksgiving leftovers and the added crunch of fall apples. Make a batch of our turkey and apple calzones - this recipe uses puff pastry, but you could easily substitute our pizza dough.
Italian Sausage, Pepperoni and 3 Cheeses Calzone - Here's another twist on a basic pizza calzone from Dinners Dishes and Desserts - the addition of Italian sausage makes this calzone recipe extra rich - and there is a whole lotta cheese too!
Dessert Calzone Recipes
Strawberry and Nutella Calzone - Don't sleep on the sweet calzones! They are so good. Our dessert calzone filled with a layer of Nutella (or your fave nut/seed butter) and freshly sliced strawberries is a spectacular dessert.
Frozen Berries and Brown Sugar Calzone - Put that bag of frozen berries to good use. Make a delightful berry and brown sugar calzone that are perfect for feeding a crowd.
Nectarine, Honey and Marscapone Calzone - These sweet pockets make the perfect summer barbeque dessert. Pack them in the picnic basket and bring these nectarine and mascarpone calzones to the park.
Smore's Calzone - Eva Bakes shares a simple recipe for smores calzones. Who said smores are only for the campfire?! These pockets of marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers will be a family favorite, for sure.
Calzone Dipping Sauces
One of the best things about eating calzones, according to my kids, is the dipping sauces. While you can totally stick to a traditional marinara sauce, why not have fun with the flavors.
Garlic Dipping Sauce - The Simple Parent shares an awesome recipe for garlic dipping sauce.
3 Pizza (or Calzone) Dipping Sauces - Sugar Spice and Glitter shares 3 delicious dipping sauce recipes - garlic parmesan, spicy marinara and a buttery herb dip. So amazing!
Can You Freeze Calzones?
Calzones are super easy to freeze. Make the calzones and before baking them, place them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place in the freezer, once frozen transfer the calzones to a freezer bag and store them until you need them for lunch, dinner, or a snack. Bake them from frozen.
What goes great with a calzone? A delicious salad! Check out all of our kid-approved salad recipes
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