Switch up pizza night with these delicious homemade three meat calzones. Stuffed full of salami, sausage, pepperoni and three melty cheeses inside a puffy golden crust, they are sure to satisfy every pizza and meat lover.
Using store bought-pizza dough makes this recipe come together in a snap, making it a perfect weeknight or game day meal. You can also make your own dough using Andrea's pizza crust recipe. Fill them with your favorite flavors, bake them up and get ready to dip them in a robust red sauce or creamy ranch. Yum!
❤️ WHY YOU'LL LOVE THIS EASY CALZONE RECIPE
✔️ Use refrigerated pizza crust for a quick pizza night variation.
✔️ Add your favorite pizza fillings. We suggest our favorite 3 meats but you can use your favorite toppings.
✔️ Just 30 minutes to bake these in the oven. No special equipment required.
POSSIBLE VARIATIONS
- PEPPERONI CALZONE – Perfect for pepperoni lovers, swap out sausage and salami with more layers of delicious, savory pepperoni or other Italian sliced meats of your choice.
- MEATBALL CALZONE – You can use frozen or leftover meatballs for a simple hearty meal.
- VEGGIE CALZONE – Use a mix vegetables such as red peppers, mushrooms, onions, spinach, fresh basil.
- PESTO CHICKEN CALZONE - The combination of chicken and pesto is a favorite around here.
THREE MEAT CALZONES INGREDIENTS
You may have all of the ingredients for three meat calzones in your refrigerator or pantry and not need to make a trip to the grocery store. See recipe card below for ingredient amounts.
- Pizza dough: Make your own using Andrea's pizza crust recipe or you can use a canned, refrigerated dough.
- Cheeses: We're using ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan.
- Meats: Pepperoni, sliced salami and ground sausage (Italian sausage or regular) but you can also use other meats like capicola or canadian bacon.
- Salt: Use a freshly ground sea salt.
- Italian seasoning: We love using a premade Italian seasoning but you can also make your own.
- Egg: A medium or large sized egg will work.
- Water: The water is mixed with the egg to make an egg wash.
- Marinara or ranch dipping sauce: Use our red wine marinara recipe to make your own, or use store bought sauce in a pinch. Also ranch dipping sauce goes well with calzones.
INSTRUCTIONS
If you'd like to print this recipe, scroll down to the recipe card where you can print the recipe or have it scaled to double or triple. You'll also find nutrition information.
PREHEAT OVEN: Heat oven to 375° and line your baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent the calzones from sticking to your pan.
DIVIDE DOUGH: Divide the pizza dough into two. Roll dough into a ball. Roll out each piece to be about 8 inches in diameter. Or, if you're using a can of pizza dough, you can unroll into rectangles.
🔴 TIP: Dust your work surface with flour to keep the dough from sticking.
ADD FILLING LAYERS: Layer half the pepperoni, sausage, salami, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese and ricotta cheese on each dough. We like to put a little cheese between each meat layer.
TOP WITH CHEESE: Top with half the mozzarella cheese.
KITCHEN TIP
When putting ingredients onto the crust, keep ingredients about 1 inch away from the edges.
FOLD CALZONE: Fold calzone over and pinch edges together. Roll pinched edges up and pinch again. Create a 1-inch border along the edge. You can use a fork to pinch the edges by pressing it down all along the edges before rolling it if you’re having trouble getting the edges to stick together.
APPLY EGG WASH: Make an egg wash in a small mixing bowl by whisking together the egg and water. Brush the egg wash over the top and sides of the calzones.
SEASON: Sprinkle the top of each calzone with ⅛ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning. Optional: sprinkle with ⅛ teaspoon of garlic powder or red pepper flakes on each calzone.
PLACE ON BAKING SHEET: Transfer both calzones to the parchment paper covered baking sheet.
BAKE: Loosely tent the baking sheet with foil. Bake covered for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes or until the crust of the calzone is a deep golden brown. Optional: brush finished calzone with olive oil.
STORAGE TIPS
Refrigerate: Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat my microwaving or warming in the oven or air fryer.
Freeze: Place the cooled meatball calzones in a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 2 months.
Defrosting: Thaw in the fridge overnight, or cook frozen at 350 degrees in the air fryer or oven until it's warm all of the way through.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH A CALZONE
Enjoy this great recipe as a great addition to a full meal with these other recipes:
MORE PIZZA RECIPES
While we love Three Meat Calzones we also love some of these other recipes and think you will as well.
- PEPPERONI CALZONE - A classic pepperoni calzone is everyone's favorite.
- PESTO CHICKEN CALZONE - Pesto and chicken were made to go together!
- MEATBALL CALZONE - Don't feel like leaving for takeout? This budget friendly calzone is fun and easy to make.
- ANTIPASTO TORTELLINI SALAD - If you need a meal you can make ahead then pull out and eat cold, this is the one!
- FIG PROSCIUTTO PIZZA – This yummy, buttery pizza is gourmet made easy.
- GRILLED PIZZA – Pizza with your favorite toppings done on the grill cooks up perfect every time.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Technically, if a calzone is a traditional Italian recipe, there is no red sauce on the inside but we really like having the sauce on the inside so they aren't dry.
Shape is one of the major things that separate a calzone from a stromboli. Calzones are folded into a half moon shape. (Think of them as a pizza taco.) Strombolis, however, are rolled, more like a burrito, and the extra dough is folded over to seal in the contents.
Our calzones use traditional pizza ingredients, so maybe a little. However, there is a little more dough used in ours compared to other ingredients so the texture is different.
The options are endless! We recommend using your favorite pizza combo such as all meat, tons of veggies, pepperoni and mushroom, and even sausage and broccoli.
Ingredients
- 11 ounce pizza dough
- ½ cup ricotta cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 14-20 slices pepperoni
- 14-20 slices salami
- 1 cup cooked sausage, ground
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375°. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent the calzones from sticking to your pan.
Divide the pizza dough into two. Roll each into a ball. Roll out each piece to be about 8 inches in diameter.
Layer half the pepperoni, sausage, salami, mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese on each dough. We like to put a little cheese between each meat layer.
Top with half the mozzarella cheese.
Fold calzone over and pinch edges together. Roll pinched edges up and pinch again.
Make an egg wash in a small mixing bowl by whisking together the egg and water. Brush the egg wash over the top and sides of the calzones.
Sprinkle the top of each calzone with ⅛ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning. Optional: sprinkle with ⅛ teaspoon of garlic powder on each calzone.- Transfer both calzones to the parchment paper covered baking sheet.
Loosely tent the baking sheet with foil. Bake covered for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes or until the crust of the calzone is a deep golden brown.
Serve with an Italian salad and marinara dipping sauce.
Notes
- When putting ingredients onto the crust, keep ingredients about 1 inch away from the edges.
- You can use a fork to pinch the edges by pressing it down all along the edges before rolling it if you’re having trouble getting the edges to stick together.
- Optional: brush finished calzone with olive oil.
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