Cheesy Italian Sausage Calzones are made with a homemade pizza crust that is filled with parmesan, mozzarella, ricotta, marinara sauce and Italian sausage. These homemade calzones can be filled with any of your favorite meats and vegetables.

How to make calzones

Calzones are made by enclosing all of your favorite pizza toppings into a simple, homemade crust. These homemade pizza pockets are completely customizable. This calzone recipe is pretty basic but you can add any types of meat and/or veggies that you normally put on pizza – peppers, mushrooms, olives, pepperoni, etc. Add your favorite types of cheese for a delicious meal the whole family will enjoy!

Cheesy Italian Sausage Calzones are a favorite at my house because they can be customized so easily for even the pickiest eaters! My kids like pizza, but they all have a hard time agreeing on toppings so calzones are the perfect solution to this dilemma. Everyone can start off with their own dough, tomato pasta sauce and then use whatever toppings they want to make their very own customized calzone!

One thing that is unique about this recipe is the cheesy filling. You can just add a little bit of mozzarella to your calzones, but this recipe calls for ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella. This combination of cheeses is absolutely delicious!

Make sure to use a sauce you love so that you can use it for dipping as well! You could use an alfredo sauce to make a Chicken Alfredo calzone with chicken, bacon and cheese-doesn’t that sound delicious?

Is there an easier alternative to making the calzone crust?

The crust used in these calzones is essentially a very simple homemade pizza crust. I have been using this recipe for years because it doesn’t require any time for rising! I think it’s delicious and it is made with just a few very basic ingredients that I always have on hand.

If you want to save a little bit of time, you can use a pre-made pizza dough. There are usually several different kinds found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store near the biscuits and pre-made cookie dough. You can also thaw out frozen bread or roll dough and use that as an alternative to making a homemade dough for the crust.

How to make Cheesy Italian Sausage Calzones

Homemade Pizza Crust ingredients

• 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 cup warm water (about 110° F)
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt

How to make a homemade calzone crust

1. In a medium bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand for about 10 minutes.
2. Add the flour, oil and salt to the mixture and mix until well combined and smooth. Let rest while you make the sausage filling.

Calzone filling ingredients

• 1 lb ground Italian sausage
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1 cup marinara/spaghetti sauce
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (either fresh or canned)
• any other meats and/or veggies (pepperoni, ham, Canadian bacon, peppers, mushrooms, olives, etc.)

How to make Cheesy Italian Sausage Calzones

1. In a medium skillet, cook the sausage and onion together until the sausage is no longer pink. Drain off any excess grease and let the sausage cool.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan together. Add the cooled sausage mixture to the cheese and mix together.
3. Divide the pizza dough into 8 equal parts. Roll each part into a 6″ circle and then place some of the pasta sauce in the middle of the circle, being careful not to get it within a half-inch of the edge of the dough.
4. Scoop about 1/8 cup of the cheese/sausage mixture and place on top of the sauce. Fold the dough in half to make a semi-circle shape and press the edges of the dough together. Use the tines of a fork to press the edges together all the way around the rounded edge of the calzone. Repeat with all of the dough.
5. Place the calzones on a greased baking sheet and bake at 400° for 15-17 minutes or until the edges and tops are lightly golden brown. Serve with warmed marinara sauce for dipping.

CHEESY ITALIAN SAUSAGE CALZONES

Cheesy Italian Sausage Calzones are a family favorite – homemade pizza crust filled with parmesan, mozzarella, ricotta, marinara sauce and juicy sausage!

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Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Servings: 8

Ingredients

Crust:

• 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 cup warm water about 110° F
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt

Filling: 

• 1 lb Italian sausage
• 1/2 medium onion diced
• 1 cup  marinara sauce
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese either fresh or canned

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand for about 10 minutes.

• Add the flour, oil and salt to the mixture and mix until well combined and smooth. Let rest while you make the sausage filling.

• In a medium skillet, cook the sausage and onion together until the sausage is no longer pink. Drain off any excess grease and let the sausage cool.

• In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan together. Add the cooled sausage mixture to the cheese and mix together. 

• Divide the pizza dough into 8 equal parts. Roll each part into a 6″ circle and then place some of the pasta sauce in the middle of the circle, being careful not to get it within a half-inch of the edge of the dough.

• Scoop about 1/8 cup of the cheese/sausage mixture and place on top of the sauce. Fold the dough in half to make a semi-circle shape and press the edges of the dough together. Use the tines of a fork to press the edges together all the way around the rounded edge of the calzone. Repeat with all of the dough.

• Place the calzones on a greased baking sheet and bake at 400° for 15-17 minutes or until the edges and tops are lightly golden brown. Serve with warmed marinara sauce for dipping. Enjoy!

Can calzones be made ahead of time?

Once the calzones are assembled, they need to be baked immediately. Once the calzones are baked, you can keep them in the refrigerator for a day or two and reheat them in the microwave or in the oven.

Baked calzones can also be frozen. Once the calzones have been baked and cooled, you can wrap them in plastic wrap and place them in a ziplock freezer bag before freezing. Each frozen calzone can be heated in the microwave for about 2 minutes or until heated all the way through.

Are calzones healthy?

There are a few different ways to make calzones healthier.

-Use whole wheat flour in the crust! If you swap just half of the flour with whole wheat flour, the consistency change won’t be too extreme and you may not even be able to tell!

-Use lean meat. Swap out the sausage with chicken. Or use a chicken or turkey sausage to lighten it up a little bit.

-Add more veggies. You can load up the calzones with veggies to add nutrients.

-Use less cheese. To reduce the calories without sacrificing much flavor, reduce the amount of cheese in the filling. Load the calzone up with veggies, shredded chicken, marinara sauce and just a sprinkle of mozzarella for a healthy meal!

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Cheesy Italian Sausage Calzones have parmesan, mozzarella, ricotta, marinara sauce and Italian sausage all baked in a simple homemade crust. Homemade calzones can be filled with any of your favorite pizza toppings.

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