Creamy Chicken Calzone Recipe

Creamy chicken calzones are made with pizza dough, stuffed with tender chicken and have gooey cheese in every bite. This delicious dinner recipe is easy to customize and is a hit for the whole family.

 

Why We Love This Creamy Chicken Calzone Recipe

• Family Friendly Dinner – My family loves it when pizza is on the menu, and for us a calzone is a folded version of pizza. They go crazy when I make calzones, and dipping in the marinara sauce makes it even more fun.
• Customizable – This recipe makes four separate portions, which makes it really easy to customize. Leave out one of the toppings, or swap something in from its place. I have a whole list of ideas at the bottom of the page that are great for swapping in and out of calzones. They are also great to make a batch when you have a couple kids coming over so they can customize their own, or even for date nights at home.
• Deliciously Tasty – You really go wrong with gooey cheese, tender spinach and warm chicken stuffed into a golden brown dough? Make this recipe when you are in the mood for cozy cheesy comfort food!

Ingredients For Chicken Calzones

• cooked chicken leftover chicken, diced chicken breast, or diced rotisserie chicken can also be used. Shredded chicken can also be used.
• fresh spinach chopped, this can be left out if you prefer
• large eggs divided
• ricotta cheese I used full fat ricotta cheese
• garlic powder – if you want to use fresh garlic finely mince a clove of garlic
• oregano dried
• basil dried
• salt
• pizza dough refrigerated pizza dough or homemade pizza dough both work great. You do need it to be raw dough, you can’t use a pizza crust since they are pre-cooked.
• flour for rolling dough, this doesn’t have to be exact
• mozzarella cheese
• marinara for serving – optional. You can also use a cheesy sauce like alfredo, any pizza sauce or any tomato sauce you prefer.

How To Make Creamy Chicken Calzone

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees f. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray.
2. Chop the chicken into bite sized pieces that are about ½ inch wide. Roughly chop the spinach into pieces.
3. Separate one egg and add the egg yolk to a medium sized bowl. Place the egg white in a small bowl to the side for later. To the egg yolk, combine the ricotta cheese, garlic powder, oregano, basil and salt, then mix well. Add the chopped spinach, and again mix until combined.

4. Divide the dough into four even pieces. Lightly flour the counter. Roll the pizza dough into four circles that are each about 7 inches wide.

5. Spoon the ricotta cheese mixture on half of the circle, leaving about an inch border around the edge, dividing evenly between the calzones.

6. Add chicken on top of the ricotta cheese mixture, dividing it evenly between the calzones. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top of the chicken, again splitting evenly between the calzones.

7. Fold the dough in half over the filling to make a half moon shape. Starting in the center of the curve, press and pinch the edges together of the dough to seal the dough over the filling. Next take a little bit of the dough along the edge from the bottom and roll and fold it over the top to seal the edges and give it a pretty ridge.

8. Carefully transfer unbaked calzones in a single layer to the sheet pan. Crack the second egg into the bowl with the egg white and beat the eggs together with a fork. Lightly brush the edges of the dough and the tops of the calzone with the egg. Sometimes I will score the tops of the calzone using a sharp knife by cutting a few slits in the dough.
9. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown, it should be crispy on the outside and no longer dough like. You can sprinkle parmesan cheese on the tops of the calzones if desired, then enjoy hot. Serve with marinara sauce that has been warmed for dipping if you like. Enjoy!

Meat Calzone Filling Variation Ideas

Calzones are a great way to use up leftover bits of cooked meat you may already have in your refrigerator as filling ingredients. The meat must be precooked before adding it to the calzone, and is best if it is cut into bite sized pieces. A sprinkle of meat is great but don’t overload the calzone or it could become oily and greasy fast.

Here are a few cooked meats that work great in calzones.

• pepperoni
• sausage, crumbled or cut into pieces
• salami
• hamburger- crumbled or cut into pieces.
• meatballs- chopped up
• ham
• steak – cut into pieces
• bacon
• grilled chicken

Vegetable Calzone Filling Variation Ideas

Many vegetables work in calzones. Vegetables do need to be cut into bite-sized pieces before adding to the calzone. A sprinkle of vegetables is great but don’t overload the calzone as too many additional toppings and it could become soggy.

You can leave out the meat entirely out of a calzone to make it vegetarian.

Be careful of any vegetables that release a lot of water when cooked or you could end up with a soggy calzone. You can also precook vegetables in a pan to ensure the calzone doesn’t become soggy. Here are a few vegetable ideas to try in this calzone.

• bell pepper – red, yellow, orange or green
• onion
• mushrooms
• pineapple- well drained, I will usually pat this dry with paper towels
• olives
• broccoli – must be cooked and cut small!
• sundried tomatoes- we like the kind from a jar in oil

Do Calzones Have Sauce Inside?

Traditionally calzones do not have sauce inside. Calzones are typically served instead with a marinara or other red sauce on the side for dipping.

What Is The Difference Between A Calzone and A Stromboli?

There are two main differences between a calzone and a stromboli, the shape and the cheese.

Calzones are typically shaped into a half moon shape. A calzone is often intended to be single serve or maybe two people. Strombolis are shaped more like a log or tube. Strombolis are typically larger and intended to serve multiple people.

Calzones have a mix of cheese that almost always includes ricotta cheese. Strombolis typically have their primary cheese as mozzarella. While you often find mozzarella in both a calzone and a stromboli, you don’t typically find ricotta cheese in a stromboli.

There are exceptions to every rule, and both a calzone or a stromboli are made with a dough that is then stuffed with cheese, and usually cured meats and or vegetables.

The history of calzones also dates back to Italy, where as the history of strombolis goes back to Philadelphia and is an Italian American dish. Learn more about the differences between calzones and strombolis here.

Do I Score The Top Of The Calzone Dough Before Baking?

Scoring the dough or making a slit in the top of the dough can help to let any trapped steam inside out of the calzone. This can help keep the calzone from becoming soggy.

I really only find this necessary when I add extra toppings into my calzone. The more filling inside, the more moisture can build up inside the calzone and the slits can help.

Can You Make Calzones Ahead Of Time?

You can make the calzones and place them in the fridge for a few hours or even overnight stored in the fridge before baking them.

Can You Freeze Calzones?

Calzone leftovers can be frozen, and are best reheated in the air fryer or oven. I prefer not to reheat calzones in the microwave from frozen as they can be soggy if reheated this way.

You can also freeze unbaked calzones but expect they will take a little longer to bake from frozen. I don’t recommend you thaw the calzone before baking as they can become a little soggy.

Expect frozen calzones cans last for two to three months in the freezer and still taste their best.

How Long Will Easy Chicken Calzones Last?

Expect leftover calzone will last for about three days. Baked calzones can be stored in a covered airtight container in the refrigerator. You must put the calzone in the fridge, they can’t be stored on the counter because of the meat and cheese.

Leftovers are best when heated in the oven or air fryer. You can reheat in the microwave if you prefer but expect they will be softer.