Freezer Friendly Easy Chicken Calzone

This delicious and easy Chicken Calzone Recipe is a perfect meal that everyone loves and is ideal for making ahead and popping into the freezer! We’re also sharing some tips that we learned from our mistakes. Yes, we make mistakes with our recipes and learn from them so that you can skip the mistakes and make this recipe the easiest and best way possible. Disclosure: I am participating in the Chicken Farmers of Canada campaign managed by SJ Consulting. I received compensation in exchange for my participation in this campaign. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Whether you have kids going back to school this fall in person or online or just bracing for the craziness that is fall and winter it’s always handy to have some meal ideas that are easy and are freezer-friendly for those days you just need something quick, easy and tasty too. Say hello to these oh so yummy chicken calzone recipe. Make a batch of these tasty chicken calzones, freeze some and you’re already ahead of the game for making your week easier for a quick, tasty and even healthier meal too. Now I did mention that we’re going to share some tips that we learned from our own mistakes. My calzones are not the “prettiest” you’ve seen but they are darn tasty. That said my daughter and I also learned to make them a bit quicker AND nicer looking if you will near the end of this tasty calzone experience so we’re going to share those tips with you.

Tip# 1 Short on time? Use pre-made pizza dough & leftover chicken

If you’re short on time use pre-made dough like a Pillsbury™ refrigerated pizza crust. One can will make about four calzones so keep that in mind as well. This chicken calzone recipe is also the PERFECT time to use up leftover chicken. I used some grilled chicken breasts but you could use chicken thighs rotisserie chicken and whatever chicken leftovers you have. In the photos above you can see the “dumpling” mould with the pizza dough and chicken calzone filling. This mould is a 120 cm/8 inch in diameter one, well forget about that mould, it was not as great to use as I had hoped. It was okay for cutting out the circles, not great but okay but it was messy and not at all helpful when it came time to press the two sides together.

Totally not worth using, we discovered a few calzones later that it was just easier to fold the dough in half ourselves with the filling and press down the tines of a fork on the edges on both sides to seal the dough and get those indentations. Trust me on this, it is quicker to fold the “circles” of dough yourself with the calzone filling and use a fork or your fingers to pinch it close. The photo above the calzone on top is the first one we tried with this contraption, nothing much to look at right? The bottom one is better we did that by hand but it was the first one we tried after giving up on the mould.

My 18-year-old daughter got the hang of it better than I did and was a pro by the time we finished. Unfortunately, we didn’t quit using the mould early enough but I figured oh well, they may not be pretty but they will be tasty haha.

Tip# 2 Press and close the calzones by hand and indent with fork tines on the edges

See that one calzone that looks better than the others on the baking sheet? Yeah, that’s the one where we finally figured out NOT to use the mould. That’s okay we made more another day and can confirm they do look nicer and it’s easier. I didn’t take photos of our second batch which was another day that looked better. I figured let’s keep it real and you can learn from our mistakes.

Tip# 3 How big of a calzone do you want to eat?

Our calzones were cut out with the aforementioned mould which I also mentioned was 20 cm/8 inch in diameter. For my daughter and I, once we stuffed that dough it was a big calzone. Neither of us could eat a full one in one sitting, however, my husband ate two so it all depends on how big you want them and can eat them. I like the 15 cm/6 inch size which doesn’t seem like it would be a big difference but I found that to be the perfect size for myself.

What can you put in a calzone?

What do you like on your pizza? Well there you go, anything goes, anything you like on your pizza you can put in a calzone. Just be careful of “watery” ingredients like spinach. Make sure it’s just wilted and no extra moisture otherwise it could make your calzone soggy.

I have said it before but it always worth repeating, make sure to use quality ingredients. This doesn’t mean expensive but quality like how we always buy and eat chicken with the Raised by a Canadian farmer logo on it just like the one above. Canadian chicken is a healthy choice that it’s grain-fed, free of added hormones and steroids, and raised right here in Canada according to nationally-set, high food safety and animal care standards.

Now let’s get to our recipe and last few tips shall we?

Easy Chicken Calzone Recipe

Author: Michelle - Powered by Mom
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 18-20 mins
Total Time: 40 mins
Yield: 4 1x
Category: American

Description

This delicious and easy Chicken Calzone Recipe is a perfect meal that everyone loves and is ideal for making ahead and popping into the freezer!

Scale

Ingredients

1 cup ricotta
4 ounces (113.4g) fresh Mozzarella, grated
½ cup Parmesan, shredded (calzone filling)
¼ cup Parmesan, grated (calzone crust topping)
2 tablespoons chopped basil
3 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tube of pre-made pizza dough like Pillsbury™ refrigerated pizza crust or homemade pizza dough (0.5kg/1lb), all-purpose flour, as needed
1 cup of Marinara Sauce or pizza sauce – whatever your preference for a tomato sauce
1 cup cooked chicken, shredded
1 cup cooked mushroom sliced (we used cremini mushrooms) – optional
½ cup cooked diced red bell pepper
1 egg, beaten

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. We didn’t line our baking sheet as it’s a super non-stick one.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the ricotta, shredded parmesan cheese, basil, rosemary and 2 tsps of the Italian seasoning. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Add pizza dough on a floured board, roll out with rolling pin to about ¼” thick at most.
Cut out circles (size is your preference). Ours were about 7 inches. Depending on the size of your cut-outs there should be about 8 circles.
Spoon the ricotta cheese mixture into the filling of the dough followed by the mozzarella, chicken, pizza sauce and any other additional toppings (like mushrooms and bell peppers) & more mozzarella if you like, leaving a ½-inch border.
Fold the dough over and pinch to seal the edges of the calzone. Use the tines on a fork on the curved edge of the dough on both sides. Make sure it’s sealed. If desired, make a slit on the top of the calzone using a sharp knife.
Lightly brush the edges of the dough with beaten egg.
Sprinkle the calzones with the grated powdery parmesan and remaining 1 tsp of Italian seasoning (if, desired).
Bake until golden brown and cooked through for 18 to 20 minutes. Serve with marinara or your favourite tomato sauce.

Notes

I sautéed the sliced mushrooms and the red bell pepper together with butter, a bit of Italian seasoning and salt and pepper before putting them in the calzone.

If you need to use more Italian seasoning either for the ricotta mixture or topping the calzones you can add more to your taste.

I recommend cooking most vegetables you want in the calzone beforehand.

Alternatively, instead of brushing egg wash on top of the calzones you can brush it with melted butter and then add the seasoning and parmesan cheese to the top of the calzones.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 calzone
Calories: 500
Sugar: 12g
Sodium: 1500mg
Fat: 20g
Saturated Fat: 10g
Carbohydrates: 55g
Fiber: 4g
Protein: 26g

Keywords: chicken calzone, chicken recipe, freezer-friendly, back to school

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There you have it, it’s actually quite easy to make these chicken calzones and you can freeze any leftovers for quick meals. These are way better than any pizza pockets you’ll find in the frozen section. My daughter is thrilled that we can make these now as she likes far less “toppings” than her dad and I do, she basically adds chicken and pepperoni and she’s good to go.

Don’t forget to PIN this recipe for later!

How long will the chicken calzones keep?

Baked calzones can be stored in the fridge for three days or up to three months in the freezer. For the latter, it’s better if it’s in a vacuum seal package. You can also freeze unbaked calzones in a single layer on a baking sheet pan and then once frozen transfer to a ziploc bag to keep in the freezer.

How do you reheat a Calzone?

To reheat, you can thaw the calzone in the fridge for a few hours then reheat it in the microwave for 2-3 minutes total or if you want the shell to be a bit crispier you can warm it up in the oven or air fryer. Yep the air fryer, my daughter does this whereas I reheat in the microwave for about 90 seconds and then I do three minutes in an air fryer.

Make sure to check out our recipes section for more delicious recipe ideas like

Chicken Taco Salad Recipe For Easy Lunches
Lime Honey Sriracha Chicken Kebabs
Oven Baked Waffles Recipe – Gluten Free Option Too! – Hello Chicken and Waffles
Homemade Cream Cheese Cinnamon Roll Recipe

More info about Chicken Farmers of Canada can be found HERE

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