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Pizza night just got a fun makeover with these easy homemade pizza pockets, or calzones, that you can make from scratch with the kids!
My family, like most families, enjoys pizza night at home on a regular basis. We love getting in the kitchen together and creating our own customized, individual pizzas made to order for each person. And of course, I love any recipe that brings the kids in the kitchen with me to cook together.
Like in this video, where Sofia and I show you how to make these deliciously cheesy pizza pockets with our friends from Borden® Cheese.
I bet you didn’t expect us to make broccoli and cheese pizza pockets, did you? Well, it turns out, that the broccoli and cheese combination is also a winner when it comes to being stuffed inside a pizza pocket. Borden® Cheese offers the perfect creamy addition to any cheesy recipe.
Wait, did I mention we love cheese? It’s probably no surprise to you, if you’ve followed my recipes for a while that recipes like our cheesy Taco Skillet and Skillet Lasagnas are not only fan favorites but also our family’s.
My boys, though, love the classic pepperoni and Mozzarella combination, so of course, I always keep those ingredients on hand. Dad and I usually stuff our pizza pockets with leftovers from the week that might include roasted chicken and veggies. The great thing about these pizza pockets is that the “toppings” bake right in and the flavors marry as the cheese melts within.
While I usually make my own pizza dough, the recipe can easily be made with store bought pizza dough. Whatever gets you in the kitchen with the kids and helps you bake some love right in!
What are your favorite pizza toppings that you’d use to stuff these homemade calzones with?
Easy Homemade Pizza Pockets or Calzones
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Ingredients
For the classic pizza calzone:
- 1 refrigerated classic pizza crust
- ½ cup pizza sauce
- 1 cup Borden Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- 2oz pepperoni slices
- 4oz can sliced black olives, drained
For the broccoli & cheddar cheese pizza calzone:
- 1 refrigerated classic pizza crust
- ¾ cup Borden Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- ¼ cup Borden Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 ½ cups finely chopped broccoli, (12oz frozen bag, thawed)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F with the oven racks positioned in the middle sections of the oven. Grease two baking sheets or, line them with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, divide each pizza dough in half. Roll out each pizza dough into rounds (4). Transfer 2 dough rounds onto each baking sheet.
- For the classic pizza calzones, spread pizza sauce on half of each dough circle, top with Borden Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, top with pepperoni slices and black olives. Fold the topping-free half of the dough over the other side to cover all toppings. Lightly crimp dough ends with your hands or a fork to seal the edges. Using a knife, poke a few holes over the tops of the dough to let the steam escape.
- For the broccoli and cheddar calzones, drizzle olive oil or spread olive oil with your hands over the entire dough circles and sprinkle Italian seasoning throughout.
- In a medium bowl, mix the chopped broccoli with the Cheddar and Mozzarella cheeses.
- Transfer broccoli and cheese mixture onto one half of each pizza round, making sure it’s evenly distributed. Fold the topping-free half of the dough over the other side to cover all toppings. Lightly crimp dough ends with your hands or a fork to seal the edges. Using a knife, poke a few holes over the top of the dough to let the steam escape.
- Bake, 25-30 minutes, swapping the baking sheets half way through, until the crusts are golden brown. Remove from oven, allow calzones to cool down slightly prior to slicing and serving.
28 - 28Shares
Crystal
We love taco night! We all like our tacos a little different, plus a little goes a long way on taco night. You can also get creative with leftovers.
★★★★
Erica
OMG, our family loves Pizza night too we make ours with lots of cheeses. We will do neese’s sausage, pepperoni, and veggies. We will be having Pizza tonight so I will see if they want to try this.
Mandy Arostegui
We are major breakfast for dinner fans! Scrambled eggs, bacon, and fruit are always part of it, and we switch it up to either have pancakes, waffles, roasted potatoes, etc. I always have a big scoop of avocado on the side, too!
Kristy
Our family favorite is lomo saltado, a Peruvian dish with beef, onions, and rice. I am wondering if you have suggestions for making the hot pockets gluten free? My littlest is newly diagnosed with Celiac disease to complicate her already existing tree nut and peanut allergies. We are trying to learn a lot to help her enjoy food and stay safe!
Laura Fuentes
These can absolutely be made gluten free. The dough you see me use in the video is frozen gluten-free pizza dough (see? you can’t tell). I one person in my film crew with celiac’s so nearly everything we do is gluten-free. Most of the time you’ll find it in the freezer isle. I hope this helps!
Kristy
Thank you so much! You are amazing, and are helping me simplify meals while keeping everyone happy.
MARIBEL F
We love homemade chicken quesadillas with fresh corn masa with green salsa yummy!!
Dawn Little
One of our favorite meals together is Curried Chicken and Broccoli with brown rice and a salad. This is one of the few recipes my mom, an expert at creating delicious meals out of whatever is on hand, actually used. We have improved on it over the years by using rotisserie chicken and replacing the canned cream of chicken soup with homemade cream of… mix.
★★★★★
Sarah
I just made these this week and they were a huge hit with all four kids! Next I’m gong to try them for breakfast!
Our favorite afoot down meal is enchiladas. My mother in law makes her own sauce, Ann’s has taught me how to make her delicious cabbage to put on top along with authentic Spanish rice! My goal is at least 5 meals at the table together each week. We usually make it happen.
★★★★★
Laura Fuentes
stuffed with eggs and cheese would be so good!!
Geeta
What would be the recommended method to freeze and re-heat these? Thank you!
Laura Fuentes
Geeta, you can do it both ways. Assemble and freeze unbaked. Cook according to directions (in the oven) +3 minutes. Or, cook them, freeze and reheat in the microwave. If you cook them, you can also heat them in the toaster oven or oven wrapped in foil so they don’t brown.
Joy
These look amazing. Quick and easy for the kids!
Olivia
YUM! MY kids would love making these. Lots of pepperoni!!
Marissa
What a fun idea to make dinner with your kids!
Jill
Chicken and loooots of cheese!
Anne
cheese, cheese, cheese. And maybe some pepperoni!
Michaela
Pepperoni and black olives!
Abby
We love Hawaiian pizza! Ham and pineapple. Delicious!
Vanessa
buffalo chicken!
Alexa
We love pizza night! The kids love pepperoni and cheese while my husband and I love lots of veggies and chicken!
Shivam Parikh
Broccoli and cheese combination is nice. I love pizza. I also like to make pizza.you gives an amazing recipe for making a healthy pizza.