Italian Calzone

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This Italian Calzone is exactly like your favorite pizza shop. This easy calzone is filled with sautéed mushrooms, squash, lots of cheese, flavorful marinara sauce and then baked until puffy and golden brown. This is easy to throw together. Pair it with my Best Caesar Salad and Tiramisu for the most delicious dinner.

Calzone cut in half.

They’re heavenly little creations. I’m not sure who invented them but they are glorious! Like gigantic hot pockets filled with cheesy goodness. Make them for your next pizza night!

Calzones aren’t thought to be authentic Italian (I personally think of them as Italian-American) but they are absolutely authentic Italian, along the lines of Cannelloni and Pasta al Limone.

Ingredients You’ll Need for to Make Italian Calzones

Ingredients on counter.
  1. Pizza dough – You can make your own OR you can pick it up from a local Italian restaurant or grocery store.
  2. Pizza sauce – Pizza sauce is thicker and more cooked down than, say, a marinara sauce for pasta. I love Rao’s Pizza Sauce.
  3. Fillings – For this recipe I used squash and mushrooms. I wanted to go the veggie route, but feel free to fill it with whatever you like. I included some variation ideas below.
  4. Cheese – You can’t have a calzone and not add some cheese. I added some mozzarella. But feel free to do a mix.

For the rest of the ingredients, please see the recipe card below!

Sautéed mushrooms in pan.

How to Make an Italian Calzone

  1. Grab your homemade or store-bought pizza dough. Roll it out into a 9-inch round on a lightly floured surface. I did this using my hands and a rolling pin.
  2. Preheat oven.
  3. Fillings! I used sauteed cremini mushrooms, tomato sauce, diced squash, caramelized onions and mozzarella.
  4. Add it to the pizza dough. You’re only adding the fillings to one side of the pizza dough.
  5. Flip over the one half of the pizza dough. I did a terrible crimp action so do your best. Brush the top with olive oil.
  6. Cut a hole in the top. And then transfer it to the oven to bake for about 20 minutes. I lined my baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper. If you like, you can skip it and use cooking spray.
  7. No need for egg wash. I decided to skip egg wash because this is not a pastry! 🙂
Steps on how to fill a calzone.

Variations

Ricotta and Spinach. A classic combination is ricotta, wilted spinach and mozzarella cheese.

Buffalo Chicken. Hear me out. This is not traditional. Think of it like a Buffalo Chicken Pizza in calzone form.

Meat Lover’s. This one is inspired by my Meat Lover’s Pizza. Add in cooked Italian sausage and pepperoni, along with ricotta and mozzarella. Yum.

Recipe FAQs

What is an Italian Calzone?

It’s like a gigantic empanada but made with pizza dough and filled with everything from pepperoni, sausages, veggies, cheeses and tomato sauce.

What’s the Difference Between a Calzone and a Stromboli

Calzone is a half moon-shaped cheese and sauce filled piece of heaven. It comes from Naples, Italy and is a popular street food, due to the fact that it’s easy to eat while standing and walking. Stromboli comes from beautiful New Jersey! Strombolis are shaped like burritos, while the former is half moon-shaped.

Baked Calzone on baking sheet.

More Cozy Recipes To Make

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5 from 19 votes

Italian Calzone Recipe

Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
This Italian Calzone is exactly like your favorite pizza shop. It's filled with sauteed veggies, lots of cheese, flavorful marinara sauce and then baked!

Equipment

  • 1 (half sheet) baking sheet

Ingredients 

  • Olive oil
  • 1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • Pinch kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup butternut squash, cubed
  • 1/2 cup broccolini, trimmed
  • 1/2 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
  • 1 (12-ounce) batch of store-bought or homemade prepared pizza dough
  • 3 tablespoons jarred marinara sauce
  • 1 (4-ounce) mozzarella ball Or 4 ounces shredded mozzarella

Instructions 

To Make the Filling:

  • In a medium skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add thinly sliced onions and pinch of salt. Cook onions for 30 minutes, or until onions are browned and caramelized.
  • While the onions are cooking, pre-heat oven to 400F. Place cubed butternut squash on a baking sheet and toss with a teaspoon of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 minutes, or until soft. Remove and set aside.
  • When onions are caramelized, add broccolini and cremini mushrooms and sauteé for 5-10 minutes. Add garlic to the top and cook just until fragrant.

To Bake the Calzone:

  • Lightly flour your work surface and roll out pizza dough to a 1/8-inch thick circle. Transfer pizza dough to a piece of parchment. Add the tomato sauce to one half. Top with broccolini/mixture. Add the butternut squash and then finish it off with a few slices of mozzarella.
  • Fold dough in half, over filling, and crimp as desired to seal. Transfer parchment with calzone to a baking sheet. Using a knife, slice a hole in the top. This will allow steam to escape as it bakes. Place it in the oven and cook until dough is puffed up and golden brown, 15-20 minutes.

Notes

Store-bought Pizza Dough:
Grocery stores like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, have great store-bought pizza dough options. If you want to make a recipe homemade, this is a recipe I love. 
Equipment:
Baking Sheets | Parchment Paper | Stainless Steel Bowl | Chef’s Knife | 
 

Nutrition

Calories: 110kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 34mg | Potassium: 524mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 8941IU | Vitamin C: 100mg | Calcium: 123mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Appetizer, Dinner
Cuisine: American, Italian
Like this Recipe? Please Rate & comment below!

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Hi! I'm Adrianna and this is my cozy space on the internet that is super-charged by butter, flour and copious amounts of pasta. Stay awhile, will you!

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83 Comments

  1. It looks delicious. It looks like greek pita 🙂

    Come and check also my receipes, maybe something will inspire you :>
    Now I have recipe for Starbuck’s Pear Muffins!
    http://sztukastudiowania.blogspot.com/

  2. i can honestly say that i’ve never seen a more delicious looking calzone. I can’t wait to make one of my own!

  3. They’re really quite lovely. It’s always surprising to me how a simple change in a recipe can change the way we feel about it and perceive it. In this case, I could easily serve this to my guest and they would not suspect I was serving them pizza! how clever!