Home » Recipes » Snacks

Spicy Calzones

Many thanks to Mezzetta for sponsoring this post!

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. Everyone has a certain cheer and jolliness about them this time of the year. Maybe it's the beautiful music or the spiced scents that fill the air. One thing is for sure, the holiday recipes that we make every year definitely contribute to the spirit.

Spicy Calzones

 

For me the holidays bring back so many great memories. Of course, a lot of these memories involve festive treats.

I don't know about everyone else in the world, but on Christmas Eve our family gets together and feasts on all kinds of treats. They range from candies and cookies, to dips and calzones. The tradition has changed slightly over the years. We've moved our get-together to my parent's house since my Gram's passing. However, some things will never change. For one thing, the love that my Gramma passed down to me and the rest of the family for hot mixed vegetables, cheese, pepperoni, and olives still lives on. Every conversation I think Gramma and I ever had included a heaping plate of these. So the use of these ingredients is a large part of what makes sharing these spicy calzones with my family so special. They always bring the most cherished memories to the table on Christmas eve.

I would love to hear what your favorite holiday memory is!

Pumpkin cheesecake
5 Pumpkin Desserts for Thanksgiving

Discover what favorite pumpkin desserts should be at your Thanksgiving table this year

Spicy Calzones

Spicy Calzones

Do you want to see some of the additions that we like to add in our calzones?

Spicy Calzones

My favorite is the hot mix. It adds the perfect amount of crunch and spice to the calzone. I like to slice the pieces so they layer nicely and still have a nice crunch. It also makes a nice spread, if you throw it in a mini chopper and give it a few zaps. If you'd like to win some of these products, check at the bottom of the post for giveaway details!

It's a rather easy recipe to put together. I always buy my pizza dough, but you are more than welcome to make your own! Then get your cheese mixture together. Like so.

Spicy Calzones

Give it a stir. Then get all your other ingredients around and your pizza dough cut out. What I love most about using Mezzetta ingredients is that they are simple to add into a recipe.

Spicy Calzones

Next, start layering. Throw it in the oven and voila!

Spicy Calzones

Okay, so there's a tiny more to it.

Spicy Calzones

Spicy Calzones

5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Servings 4 calzones
Calories 818 kcal

Ingredients
  

Dough

  • 2 (13.8 oz) rolls of pizza dough

Filling

  • 1 cup ricotta cheese
  • 1 ¾ cups mozzarella cheese
  • ½ cup parmesan cheese shaved or grated
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 T. fresh parsley chopped
  • 1 tsp. garlic
  • ½ tsp. black pepper
  • pinch of salt
  • ½ cup Mezzetta hot mix vegetables drained and sliced
  • ½ cup Mezzetta mild pepper rings drained
  • ½ cup Mezzetta garlic olives drained and halved
  • ¾ cup sliced pepperoni

Olive Oil

  • 4 T. olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic finely chopped

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degree. Have a baking sheet on hand to place the prepared calzones on.

Olive Oil

  • hours to overnight before serving the calzones, add olive oil and garlic to a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate. This will infuse the olive oil.

Filling

  • In a large bowl, add in the ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan cheese, egg, parsley, 1 tsp. of garlic (I used the pieces out of my infused olive oil), black pepper, and salt. Stir with a spatula until combined.
  • Roll out the pre-packaged pizza dough and give it a roll. Make sure it's thin enough to be able to add two 7 -inch circles in it. Place a 7 inch round pan, I used a spring form pan, on one half of the dough and cut around it with a pizza cutter.
  • Using a basting brush, brush the side of the dough facing up with the infused olive oil.
  • On one half of the dough, add about â…“ - ½ cup cheese filling, 1 T. hot mix, 4-5 olives and pepper rings, and a layer of pepperoni.
  • Stretch the other half slightly to assure that it will cover the mound of filling. Be sure to not go overboard on the filling or the stretching.
  • Roll the opened edges and press them with a fork or a spoon if you want scalloped edges.
  • Brush on more infused olive oil on the outside of the calzone. Place on the baking sheet and prepare the rest of the calzones.
  • Place in the oven for 17-19 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven. Serve with marinara or ranch.

Nutrition

Calories: 818kcalCarbohydrates: 98gProtein: 39gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 131mgSodium: 1993mgPotassium: 132mgFiber: 3gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 800IUVitamin C: 1.2mgCalcium: 536mgIron: 6.1mg

(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)

This post was sponsored by Mezzetta. As always, all opinions are my own.

Similar Posts

11 Comments

  1. Love calzones, love spicy, love Mezzetta! Win! Thanks for a great recipe. I think I know what I'm having for dinner tomorrow!

  2. Mmm these calzones look so tasty and perfect. My husband especially would love them, he's a huge fan of different types of olives!

  3. Love reading all of these holiday memories! And your spicy calzones look amazing. I'm thinking of adding them to my Christmas eve menu. They would be a welcome addition to my casual supper. Off to click! 🙂

  4. Those sound fabulous! I love calzones, just as I love pizza...can't go wrong with cheesy carby goodness! 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating