Quick and Easy Calzones are a delicious alternative to pizza. Warm dough filled with melted cheese and a variety of toppings, everyone can have their individual favorites!
Quick and Easy Calzones are so fun to make with your family. A simple dough and sauce combined with lots of gooey cheese and favorite pizza toppings make this a simple supper everyone will be happy to help prepare!
What is the Difference Between a Calzone and a Stromboli?
A Calzone is kind of like an inside-out pizza, while a Stromboli is similar to an inside-out sandwich. A Stromboli is made with square shaped pizza dough, topped with your favorite pizza toppings, then rolled into a log and baked. A Calzone, on the other hand, is pizza dough stuffed with cheese and any other yummy pizza toppings, then folded over like a turnover. They can either be baked or deep fried. This Quick and Easy Calzone recipe makes the perfect lunch, snack or dinner!
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Can You Freeze Calzones?
Yes! Once they’re all baked and cooled, wrap any leftover calzones individually in plastic wrap. They’ll freeze beautifully for up to three months. On a busy day, pull some of the frozen calzones out of the freezer and let them thaw for a few hours in the fridge. You can also pop them into the oven frozen, and just allow a longer time for cooking.
How to Serve Quick and Easy Calzones
This calzone recipe can be served a couple of ways:
- Serve the sauce on the side for dipping. My family loves this way of eating them since they like to control their sauce to calzone ratio.
- Or, pour sauce over the top of each individual calzone and let that glorious sauce seep into the crust. Delicious!
What Ingredients Are Best in Calzones?
This easy recipe uses frozen bread dough, which is so yummy and convenient. But if you want to make them more from scratch, try our Homemade Pizza Dough recipe. It’s soft, flavorful, and simple to make!
As for toppings, this is all a matter of personal preference. That’s what is so perfect about this Calzone recipe; each person can stuff their calzones with their favorite pizza toppings. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Pepperoni
- Sausage
- Bacon
- Ham
- Mushrooms
- Olives
- Pineapple
- Onions
- Chicken
- Garlic
- Peppers
To me, the perfect calzone begins and ends with with cheese, meat, mushrooms and olives. But enough about me; what do you like in YOUR calzone?
More Delicious Italian Dishes
Cheese, meat, more cheese…it’s hard to go wrong with a scrumptious Italian dish. Here are a few of our very favorites. Enjoy!
- Supreme Stuffed Calzones
- French Bread Pizza
- Italian Summer Pasta Salad
- Slow Cooker Pizza Bake
- Turkey Bacon Avocado Pizza
- Gino’s Deep Dish Chicago Style Pizza Copycat
- Italian Sausage Lasagna
How to Make Quick and Easy Calzones
Quick and Easy Calzones
- 1 loaf frozen bread dough thawed (if you make your own dough it is even better)
- 5 Mozzarella cheese sticks
- 1/2 pound Mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1 "Barilla" brand spaghetti sauce
- 6 ounces pepperoni
- 1/4 pound ham diced
- 8 ounces mushrooms sautéed
- 1 can sliced olives
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Divide bread dough into 5 equally-sized dough balls (they should each be a little smaller than a softball).
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Spread each dough ball out on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin as if you were making a pizza (spread it out as much as you can without tearing it). Roll into a 6-7 inch circle.
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Spread 2 tablespoons of Barilla sauce on the center of each pizza leaving about 1 inch uncovered around the edge for sealing.
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Remove plastic wrap from each cheese stick and place a cheese stick in the center of each pizza. Put as many toppings as you would like in the middle then sprinkle on a couple of tablespoons of shredded mozzarella cheese.
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Carefully fold the dough over the toppings and pinch the edges together well so they seal.
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Make a couple little slits in the top of the dough, spray the top lightly with cooking spray, then bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes (or until golden brown).
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Heat the remaining spaghetti sauce in a small pot or in the microwave and simmer until calzones are done. You can serve the calzones with the sauce on the side then dip the calzone into it OR you can pour the sauce over the calzones and top with cheese (thats the way we like it!).
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For all you meat lovers out there, you can brown some hamburger and add it to the spaghetti sauce to make it extra rich and meaty.
Heidi says
So easy and very yummy!
Theresa Dailey says
I’m going to try making it with the sauce inside with the toppings instead of pouring it over the calzone or dipping it in the sauce .. that will be an option for those who like extra sauce!! Thanks for this easy recipe .. was getting tired of only pizza!!