these easy calzones are loaded with flavor and are oh-so easy to make! a total crowd pleaser for the whole family and a great way to get kids involved in the kitchen!
Remember that veggie calzone I posted on Instagram a while back? Well, ever since I had that I’ve been on a mission to recreate it in my own kitchen and I’m excited to say that I’ve finally done it!
The thing I love most about creating my own was that I was able to put in a ton of veggies and customize the veggies to those that I had on hand making this dish the most simple evening meal ever.
You could absolutely make your own pizza dough using this dough recipe but to make this an even easier meal on a busy week night, I recommend just buying some whole wheat dough at your local grocery store or pizza shop.
The dough I used was Trader Joe’s fresh whole wheat pizza dough – it’s one of my absolute favorite store-bought whole wheat doughs and I find it very easy to work with (a definite plus when it comes to pizza dough!).
This makes for a perfect Friday night meal because it’s a great way to use up any unused veggies in the fridge from the week before, which is exactly what I did!
And don’t fret – if you only have one or two veggies on hand, it will still work! That’s the beauty of this meal, you can really make it work with whatever you happen to have on hand!
whole wheat vegetable calzones
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 calzones 1x
- Category: dinner
Description
these easy calzones are loaded with flavor and are oh-so easy to make! a total crowd pleaser for the whole family and a great way to get kids involved in the kitchen!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 2 clove garlic, minced
- Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/3 cup broccoli florets, chopped small
- 1/3 cup eggplant, chopped small
- 1/3 cup tri-colored peppers, chopped small
- 1/3 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
- Handful fresh baby spinach, chopped
- 1 cup ricotta
- 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 pound store-bought pizza dough, divided into 4 portions
- 1 large egg
- Marinara sauce for dipping
Instructions
- Place a rack on bottom shelf of oven; preheat to 450ºF.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Warm oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add onion; sauté until softened, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper. Sauté for 30 seconds.
- Reduce heat to low.
- Add broccoli, eggplant and peppers Sauté for 3 minutes. Cover and cook until veggies are tender but still crisp, about 3 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, then cover and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Finally, add spinach, mixing just to combine and until spinach begins to wilt then remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, combine ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan; season with salt and pepper.
- Stir in veggie mixture.
- Roll out dough on a lightly floured counter and divide into 4 equal parts.
- Divide filling among dough parts (about 3/4 cup each).
- Fold dough over to enclose filling; press open edges with a fork to seal.
- Transfer calzones to baking sheet.
- Whisk egg with 1 tsp. water and brush the top of each calzone with egg wash.
- Cut 3 small vents in each calzone.
- Bake until golden, 13 to 15 minutes.
- Serve with marinara sauce for dipping
Keywords: dinner, calzones, vegetarian, quick, easy
recipe adapted from my recipes.
7
Can these be frozen after baked and then reheated?
I haven’t tried it, but I don’t see why that wouldn’t work!