How to Make a Delicious Loaded Calzone at home

I recently posted a pizza dough recipe and it makes a lot of dough! Even after we made a 14 inch pizza, we had a ball of dough left over that was nearly enough to make a small pizza, nearly. But not quite; and then it hit me – let’s make a calzone.

I mean think about it, when was the last time you had a calzone?? Well the time is now because you can customize it to your liking and fill it sky high with the ingredients you want. For this recipe, I am using veggies, sausage, a marinara sauce, and plenty of mozzarella cheese.

This calzone is probably a little smaller than a small pizza, so if you have a store bought dough, you could probably cut that in half. Or, you could make a calzone personal size like the original from Naples, Italy.

Calzone translates to pant leg or trouser because the original calzone was intended to be food to go and walk around with. Of course, as the calzone made it across the ocean, it became a fork and knife food while the pizza became a slice to go. Classic switch up!

This recipe will serve about 4 or 2 very hungry people if you are using the rest of the dough after pizza night. It goes great with an Italian side salad. Give this a try the next time you are craving pizza to mix it up with something as equally delicious!

Suggested Beverage Pairing:

I think this needs to be enjoyed with an ice cold Coke.

Ingredients:

Pizza dough, about 6 ounces. Store bought or homemade will work.

1 cup of marinara sauce, store bought or homemade

3 Italian sausages, sliced

1/2 red onion, diced

1/2 green pepper, diced

10 white mushrooms, chopped

1 small zucchini, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon of oregano

2 cups of mozzarella cheese

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Instructions:

1. All of your ingredients will get hot in your delicious pocket of dough, but it won’t cook. So, the first step is to saute your fillings. In a frying pan, heat about 1 tablespoon of oil over medium high heat. Add the sausage, onion, pepper, zucchini, and mushrooms with a bit of salt and pepper to taste. Allow that to cook down to desired crunch level or at the very least, until the sausage is cooked through. This is the same level of doneness it will have after it comes out of the oven.
2. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 400F and stretch your pizza dough by hand or with a rolling pin. It should be thin enough to almost see through.
3. Once your filling is cooked to the desired level, add the garlic, red pepper flakes, oregano, and marinara sauce. Give it a quick stir and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the sauce is heated.
4. Now it’s time to stuff that calzone. Place your dough on a baking sheet or pizza pan and load the toppings on one side, allowing for room at the edges to close the calzone. Top the filling with loads of mozzarella cheese.
5. Fold the empty side of the dough over the fillings and press the edges together to seal. Brush or spray additional olive oil over the top.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the dough is cooked through. Allow it to cool for about 3-5 minutes before slicing into your desired pieces.