Pizza is a commonly served food at gatherings, but I like to surprise my guests by offering calzones instead. You can fill your calzones with so many different toppings, and they’re sure to garner rave reviews. Serve your calzones with other Italian food recipes such as panzanella salad, eggplant lasagna or sun dried tomato chicken for a memorable meal. Good food is part of any great gathering, and my current go-to for feeding a crowd are these amazingly delicious calzones. This calzone recipe can easily be doubled or tripled for a large group and it’s a nice change from the typical pizza that you find at many events.
Calzone Ingredients
To make this recipe, you will need pizza dough, Italian sausage, bell peppers, pepperoni, pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, an egg and parsley.
How Do You Make Calzones?
Preheat the oven, and coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Divide the pizza dough into quarters, then roll out each piece into an oval or rectangle shape. Place the sausage in a pan or large skillet, then cook until it is golden brown, breaking up the meat with a spatula as you go. Add the bell peppers to the sausage, and cook until the peppers are soft. Place some pizza sauce on one side of each piece of dough, then layer cheese, sausage and peppers and pepperoni on top. Add a little more cheese, then fold the dough over and pinch the ends to seal. Brush the tops of each dough packet with egg, then bake until the crust is golden brown. After the calzones come out of the oven, sprinkle them with parsley and sere with pizza sauce for dipping.
Tips For Homemade Calzones
You can make your calzones as big or as small as you like. I typically make about 4 calzones per pound of pizza dough, which makes for a hearty main course. If you’re looking to serve them as an appetizer or snack, you can create 6-8 mini calzones instead. Homemade pizza dough or store-bought pizza dough both work well in this recipe. I often buy a tube of pizza dough because it requires less rolling. Use a sharp knife to cut a few vents in the top of each pizza pocket so that the steam can escape. I recommend grating your own mozzarella cheese for this dish. The bags of pre-shredded cheese from the grocery store often contain preservatives and anti caking agents and do not melt smoothly.
Calzone Variations
While I typically use the fillings listed in this recipe, I sometimes add other ingredients depending on what I have on hand.
Meat: Instead of pepperoni, try Canadian bacon, salami, frozen meatballs, ham or chicken along with your sausage. Vegetables: Other great vegetable options include mushrooms, artichoke hearts, spinach, olives or onions. Cheese: Swap out some of the mozzarella for a different type of cheese such as parmesan, fontina, asiago or provolone. You can also add a spoonful of ricotta cheese to the mix. Sauce: No pizza sauce on hand? Try marinara sauce, pesto or Alfredo sauce.
This recipe is a simple, kid friendly meal that is easy to customize and will surely get rave reviews!
Calzone Recipe Video
