These Meat Lovers Calzones are stuffed with pepperoni, sausage and Canadian bacon. This easy calzone recipe is for all you meat lovers.
What are Calzones?
Calzone, which means “stuffed pants” in Italian, is like a little pizza sandwich. Calzone fillings vary, but generally, they are filled with common pizza toppings.
Red Star Yeast is updating the recipe section of their website with photos of their delicious recipes. They’ve teamed up with food bloggers who will make, photograph and blog about the chosen recipe. I changed their veggie Calzone recipe into this easy-to-make meat lovers calzone recipe.
How To Make A Calzone
The dough for this calzone recipe comes together quickly. After about an hour rise, it’s ready to shape into meat lovers calzones. The dough is easier to roll out into a circle if you shape it into a ball first. Just pull the ends to the bottom to create a smooth round ball.
I like to use my fingers to pat the dough into a circle. When I’ve shaped it into a circle, then I’ll pull out the rolling pin and roll it a bit thinner.
I like to work with two circles at a time, so I let one rest and the gluten relaxes while I’m patting out the second one. Then I’ll come back to the first one, and after that little rest, the dough is easier to work with and stretches much easier.
My family loves making Calzones for dinner. I put the fillings out and everyone makes their Calzone just the way they like it.
I give them a ball of dough and they create their masterpiece. There’s often bragging and teasing about whose Calzone looks the best.
Calzone Filling Options
For my meat-loving boys, I decided this time to make meat lovers Calzones. I put out the following toppings:
- pepperoni
- sausage
- Canadian bacon
- plenty of cheese
- black olives and
- mushrooms.
The original Calzone recipe on the Red Star website is a veggie Calzone, so feel free to substitute your favorite pizza toppings.
You can use store-bought pizza sauce, but I used my favorite, easy-to-make homemade pizza sauce. You’ll want plenty of sauce so you can also serve some on the side for dipping.
There have been some comments that technically since the sauce is on the inside it is a Stromboli not a Calzone, so if you prefer, you can omit the sauce when making the Calzone.
Calzones are a fun alternative to pizza and a great way to get your family into the kitchen and baking with you. I’ve added a quick video showing how easy they are to make.
Meat Lovers Calzones
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup water 120° to 130°
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 ½ cups bread flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 2 ¼ teaspoon 1 package Red Star Quick Rise or Platinum Yeast
- ½ cup Pizza sauce plus additional for serving
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup pepperoni thinly sliced
- ½ cup sausage cooked and crumbled
- ½ cup Canadian bacon diced
- ½ cup black olives coarsely chopped
- 1 cup mushrooms thinly sliced
Egg wash
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon water
Instructions
- Combine flour, salt and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Add liquid ingredients and mix with paddle or beaters for 4 minutes on medium speed. Gradually add additional flour if needed and knead with dough hook(s) 5 to 7 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place dough in lightly oiled bowl and turn to grease top. Cover; let rise until dough doubles and passes the ripe test.
- Preheat oven to 375°. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; punch down to remove air bubbles. Divide dough into 6 pieces. Shape to balls. Let dough relax 10 minutes. On floured surface, roll each piece into an 8-inch circle.
- Spoon pizza sauce, cheese and toppings onto half of each circle. Make egg wash. Moisten edge of dough with egg wash mixture. Fold in half; seal edge by pressing with fork. Prick each top; brush with remaining egg mixture. Bake on greased cookie sheets for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately.
All-American Pizza
Cherry ‘n Cheese Lattice Coffeecake
Crispy Cinnamon Rounds
Whole Wheat Yeast Waffles
Lemon Pull-Apart Bread
Pin It:
Sharon Mills
This is my second time making this recipe I’m from the Northeast and we put our sauce on the side we are not red sauce eaters anyway. the great thing about calzones you can stuff them with anything you like one of ours tonight is going to be sausage garlic green onion mushroom I make mine with ricotta cheese and mozzarella 1/2 1/2 blend. Our second calzone for the kids will be just ham and cheese the key to a dry crust on bottom is dry ingredients inside if I use spinach it is well well drained. Thank you for the recipe, by the way I use the same recipe for our homemade pizza night also delicious.
Barbara Schieving
That’s great! Thanks for sharing your tips and suggestions Sharon.
Lucy G
Great basic recipe but, if you are using eggs or an egg mixture in your directions, you need to put eggs on your ingredient list. I’m not a nit-picker but I was confused about the egg situation after looking at your recipe.
Barbara Schieving
Hi Lucy – I updated the recipe to make it more clear. Enjoy!
Sherry
This recipe is perfect. First time making Calzones and they turned out exactly as pictured. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Sherry – glad you loved them.
c johnston
is the water heated to celcius or farenheit?
Barbara Schieving
Fahrenheit always on my site. Enjoy!
Kenneth Culver
This isn’t a Calzone, it’s a Stromboli, Calzones do not have any sauce inside, you dip them in the sauce.
Chef Tree Tree
You got it backwards. You dip Strombolis and Calzones have sauce inside them
Nic
Kenneth is correct and you are wrong actually. The main difference between a Calzone and Stromboli is that a Calzone is served with sauce on the side and Stromboli has sauce in it. Please Google it if you really still think you’re right.
Barbara Schieving
Come on guys – it doesn’t really matter want you call it, as long as it’s delicious, which it is.
Lynda
I’m calling them calzones. Because I’ve made them and ordered them. And all have had sauce on inside. Like you said, who cares what you call them. As long as they are good. Thx for recipe.
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Lynda!
Katy
Can you use regular flour?!
Barbara Schieving
Hi Katy – yes, you can use regular all purpose flour instead if you prefer. Here’s some good info https://www.bobsredmill.com/blog/baking-101/breaking-difference-bread-flour-vs-purpose-flour/
The Right Crust
When I first started making calzoni, I had difficulty keeping them from opening up in the oven. Do you think the egg helps with that?
Barbara Schieving
Hi Richard – Yes, the egg helps and not over flouring your rolling surface, and making sure you haven’t add too much flour to your dough so it’s not too dry.
Nagi@RecipeTinEats
Such a lovely calzones! It’s really mouthwatering and it definitely looks perfect!
Kim
Looks delish! The bottom of your calzone looks crispy mine are soggy. Any tips to make the bottom crispy and not soggy?
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Kim! Make sure your pizza stone is preheated for at least 30 minutes before you start cooking. Don’t put wet fillings inside, use too much sauce or too much cheese. Enjoy!
Mila
Che bella idea!!!! Io questa sera preparo la pizza per i miei ometti!!!
Un abbraccio e buona serata
Foodiewife
I’ve been on a bread baking binge, now that I’m back in the kitchen. I’ve had calzones on the brain. I’ve never made them, but I love sausage and onion. I also love Red Star. Thanks for the great post.
Tamara Coleman
Bring it on! Need to try these on a football Sunday 🙂 They def will be a hit!
http://www.prettybitchescancooktoo.com
Nutmeg Nanny
This has got my mouth watering, oh my goodness! I love this recipe 🙂
Angie | Big Bear's Wife
BigBear would LOVE these! He always gets calzones when we go to a pizza place…ok well MOST of the time!
Brenda @ a farmgirl's dabbles
I’ve never made calzones – these look so good!!
Jamie
My men would go wild for these! And I love working with this kind of dough! Fabulous! I had to share this on my Life’s a Feast page…. just delicious!