Active Time
30 min
Total Time
50 min
No need to call your local pizza joint. Thanks to prepared dough and bottled roasted red peppers, making your own calzones can be easy and far more satisfying.
Ingredients
Makes 4 calzones
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 500°F with rack in lowest position. Sprinkle cornmeal on a large baking sheet.
Step 2
Cook onion with 1/4 teaspoon salt in 2 tablespoons oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add spinach and cook, stirring frequently, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in red peppers, olives, and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.
Step 3
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 14-inch round, then cut into quarters. Roll out 1 quarter into an 8-inch square (keep remaining pieces covered) and arrange with a corner nearest you. Put one fourth of filling on lower half, leaving a 1-inch border, and top with 4 pieces of cheese. Fold dough over to enclose filling. Seal edges. Beginning in 1 corner, stretch sealed edge outward, pinching and rolling dough up over edge to resemble a rope, working your way around. Transfer to baking sheet. Make 3 more calzones in same manner. Cut 3 steam vents in top of each and brush with remaining tablespoon oil.
Step 4
Bake until golden-brown, 13 to 15 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before serving.
Filling (without cheese) can be made 1 day ahead and chilled. Bring to room temperature before using.
Leave a Review
Reviews (17)
Back to TopI loved this recipe! It was kind of hard to make, but so worth it!
I<3Food
5/1/2018
Did not enjoy - neither did 9 year old son.
Anonymous
9/12/2012
I make these all the time! Great vegetarian option or you can always add some sausage or pepperoni. It's a versatile base to add other goodies to the spinach saute mix, like mushrooms, etc. Definitely a winner!
cbasmith
Detroit, MI
1/3/2012
This was excellent. I followed the directions exactly and was very pleased with the result. It took a little longer than I expected. The flavors of the oil cured olives, the roasted peppers and the smoked mozzarella cheese blended perfectly. It probably also helped that I used a sweet Vidalia onion, and it was nearly caramelized after cooking for ten minutes. If I were to do anything differently, I would probably replace half the roasted red peppers with oil-packed sundried tomatoes.
TerranceDC
Chevy Chase, MD
7/3/2011
Not worth the effort to get the premade dough stretched out and over the calzone filling! Might make again as a pizza.
Anonymous
Redwood City, CA
12/22/2009
These calzones have become our standard Sunday Night Football food. We absolutely love them. We omitted the olives as they make the crust too soggy and used a variety of cheese for more flavor - Mozzarella, Fontina and Parmesan. For a prettier presentation, brush the tops of the calzones with olive oil and sprinkle dried basil and Parmesan cheese on top. And of course, don't forget lots of Marinara on the side...my favorite is Rao's!
VegetarianNChicago
Chicago, IL
11/22/2009
My family LOVE this one! I have an 11,6,3,and 1 year old. All loved these. They thought it was better than ordering pizza. I also made some with some turkey pepperoni and a little bit of pizza sauce and they were a big hit.
beckyharrington
Saint Louis, MO
9/3/2009
We loved this recipe. I would make it again in a heartbeat. I omitted the olives but added a little spicy pasta sauce and pepperoni. I didn't use as much spinach as the recipe called for. Definitely a fav.
JackyMacD
8/22/2009
I wouldn't make this again. The taste was just ok and I didn't find it quick or easy because of working with the pizza dough which, well, like I said, I don't think is quick or easy.
cdibella
Toronto
7/27/2009
We made these at home for a Sunday dinner and it was yummy and easy. My fiance added some sausage to his and we both omitted the black olives. We traded in smoked mozz for asagio and parmeasan cheese, served with some homemade sauce and it was fantastic.
macht17
chicago,, il
5/12/2009
This recipe will please foodies and cautious eaters. I wasn't in the mood for olives so I substituted in artichokes and added some goat cheese. This will definitely be in my monthly rotation.
Anonymous
Denver, CO
5/3/2009
Like the others, I used marinara sauce for dipping. Using my own dough, the bake time was more like 20 minutes. This is a good recipe for families with children. My three year old got to make his own...What a mess!
jevesilver
redwood city, ca
4/30/2009
Yum! We've made this a couple times. My husband likes making yeast breads so he makes dough (rather than buying some) and we use regular mozzarella instead of smoked. Serve it with marinara on the side for dipping. Yum!
Anonymous
new england
4/26/2009
Easy and good! I added red pepper flakes and a bit of raisins. I like the pesto idea from the previous cook, will try next time.
Anonymous
4/21/2009
This was good! The smoked Mozz was excellent and melted so nicely. I didn't have olives so I used marinated artichokes instead (i realize this isn't a substitute...) Also put a little pesto in a couple for a bit of variety - easy weeknight meal!
Anonymous
Upstate, NY
4/16/2009