Reader Reviews
Homemade Calzone Recipe
By Jennifer Ripel,
September 23, 2013 *Updated June 5, 2025*
Get your kids involved by getting them to add their own calzone filling items to the dough. This always helps ensure they like what they are about to eat. It’s great for school lunches, too!
The printable recipe is at the end of the post.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 7 minutes
Yield: 1 Calzone Pizza Dough Ingredients:
– 2 tsp honey
– 2 1/2 tspn active dry yeast
– 3/4 cup warm water
– 2 cups flour + 1/4 cup for surface
– 1/2 tsp salt.
Pizza Sauce Ingredients:
– 1 tbsp olive oil
– 1 whole tomato
– 1 large clove of garlic
– 1/3 red onion
– 1/4 tsp pepper
– 1/4 tspn onion powder
– 1 tbspn fresh basil
– 2 tablespoons water
– 2 tsp olive oil for the top of the calzone
Instructions: Pizza Dough
Dissolve the honey and yeast in the warm water in a large bowl.
Let stand 5 minutes.
Add 2 cups of flour and salt to the yeast mixture.
Stir until a soft dough forms.
Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about five minutes.
Place the dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, and turn to coat the top.
Cover and let rise in a warm area for 30 minutes.
Cut the dough into four pieces.
You can make them sized to your family’s appetite.
I made two smaller pieces for the girls and two larger pieces for us parents.
Roll into 1/4″ thick circles.
Pizza Sauce
Add all the ingredients into a hot skillet and cook until the tomatoes and peppers are nice and soft.
Remove from the heat and blend with a blender, food processor, or emulsifier until smooth.
Put back on the heat and reduce until nice and thick.
Taste and add more seasoning if needed.
To Make Your Calzone
Preheat your oven to 400°F*
Chop any ingredients in your calzone, and get creative with this part! Mushrooms, peppers, cherry tomatoes, baby corn, olives,
spinach, German butter cheese, mozzarella…the list goes on!
Cover the inside circle of your calzone with the sauce, avoiding the outside edges. This will prevent the calzone from sticking if it gets wet.
Add your filling to half of the calzone circle. Make it friendly and full!
Flip the unfilled half of the calzone dough over the filled part. Pinch the edges nice and tight to prevent the cheese from leaking!
Cut three lines on the top of the calzone to let some of the steam out of your calzone, and this will help prevent it from exploding.
Place in the oven, cook for 7 minutes, then add a coating of olive oil to the top of the calzone.
This point should partially cook it and no longer be soft and doughy.
Cook until the top of your calzone is golden brown, approximately another five to seven minutes.
Remove and cool down, then enjoy!
Cut in half to speed up the cooling process for children.
Roll dough 1/4″ thick
Make pizza sauce
Cover pizza dough in sauce
Gather your fillings
Get your kids to make their own!
Fill half of your calzone
Fold dough over filling and pinch sides
Golden brown calzone
Calzone
Printable Recipe
You make it look easy! Thanks for sharing!
Oooh, that looks good. I love calzones, I’ll have to try this!
It has been a long time since I had calzones, reminds me that I should have some, haha! Thanks again for sharing!
Mondays have become kids cooking night-This sure looks like one they’d loved to try out.
Super yummy! Calzones are always a great way to pocket foods!
Wow, every recipe you post looks delicious and beautiful! Thanks for sharing with “Try a New Recipe Tuesday.”