Fully stuffed calzones are yummy baked “Italian hand pies”, filled with Italian sausage, pepperoni, green peppers, mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, etc.

Ever eaten Fully Stuffed Calzones? Maybe you’re saying, “Ever EATEN fully stuffed calzones? I don’t even know WHAT a calzone is!” Well, here is the answer some of you have been waiting for.

Webster’s Dictionary offers this definition of a calzone: “a food originally from Italy that consists of baked or fried dough folded over and filled with tomato sauce, cheese, etc.”.

Ugh…that’s okay, IF you know what etc. means. MY rookie definition is a calzone is a baked pizza dough “hand pie”, filled with all of our favorite pizza toppings!

UPDATED 1-8-2026

Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

How I Came Up With This Recipe

A year or two ago I made some homemade pizza dough (thinking I would throw together a pizza for dinner).

Once the dough was prepared, I decided to switch it up and try my hand at creating FULLY STUFFED calzones, without using a recipe.

Note: Make your own homemade pizza dough OR if you use purchased pizza dough, you will save some time!

Making Fully Stuffed Calzones

I gathered up the toppings our family loves on a great tasting pizza, which are Italian sausage, mushrooms, pepperoni slices, sauce, grated cheeses, onions and green peppers.

Cook crumbled Italian sausage, onions, mushrooms and green peppers in a large skillet until they are fully cooked. Drain the grease form the skillet and let the meat and veggies cool completely.

The Dough

Divide the pizza dough into 6 equal-sized dough balls. Roll each ball of dough into a 7″ circle on a floured surface.

Spread one heaping Tablespoon of the spaghetti sauce on each dough circle to within 1 inch of edge. (Don’t go all the way to the edge because the sauce will leak out while cooking).

Place the cooled meat filling on top of the sauce but only on HALF of each circle, to within 1 inch of the edge. (Remember the filling is for 6 calzones – disperse evenly!).

Add the pepperoni slices. (again…disperse evenly to within 1 inch of edge). Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.

Seal The Calzone

Carefully fold the dough over the filling to form a half circle. Makes sure the edges touch.  Pinch edges securely with your fingers (to seal), then use the tines of a fork to crimp the dough all the way around the edge to securely seal.

NOTE: You can also roll the edges instead of crimping them, if desired. TIP: Seal the edges well to prevent leakage.

Gently lift and place the stuffed calzones onto a large cookie sheet (or sheets). Brush the top of each fully stuffed calzone with a beaten egg.

Sprinkle the tops of the calzones with crushed dried oregano and additional Parmesan cheese (optional, but good).

Bake The Fully Stuffed Calzones

Bake the calzones at 375°F. for 25-30 minutes or until they are golden brown. Remove them from the oven; transfer them to a wire rack to cool for a couple minutes. Serve and enjoy!

These five calzones (shown below) were the ones I made with crimped edges (using fork tines).

The first time I made these yummy calzones, my final act was to put them in the oven and cross my fingers while they baked. Boy, was I surprised at how great looking these fully stuffed calzones turned out!

And guess what?  Once we tasted them, we were amazed at how delicious they were. Who knew? So that’s my story of creating these…and now YOU know.

The calzone shown below was made using a rolled edge, as opposed to the crimped edge calzones, shown above. It’s your choice how you seal each calzone!

Even though there are quite a few ingredients, the directions for these fully stuffed calzones are pretty simple…I hope you’ll give them a try!

Thank you for stopping by, and I invite you to come back soon for more family-friendly recipes. Take care, may God bless you, and have a wonderful day.

Looking For More ITALIAN Recipes?

You can find ALL of my recipes in the Recipe Index, which is located at the top of the page. I have many delicious Italian recipes to choose from, including:

• Make Grilled Pizzas On Your BBQ
• Mom’s Chicken Parmigiana
• Make it Yourself- Pepperoni Pizza
• JB’s Homemade Lasagna 
• Easy Fettuccine Alfredo

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Dough Recipe Source: The Oster Deluxe Bread And Dough Maker Owner’s Handbook (c. 1994 Sunbeam-Oster Household Products) Calzone Filling Source: My brain.

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Fully Stuffed Calzones

Prep Time

1 hr 30 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Total Time

1 hr 55 mins

 

Fully stuffed calzones are yummy baked "Italian hand pies", filled with Italian sausage, pepperoni, green peppers, mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, etc.

Category: Main Dishes

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: fully stuffed calzones

Servings: 6 calzones

Calories Per Serving: 680 kcal

Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!

Ingredients

For the dough: (or use your favorite pizza dough recipe)

• 1 cup water
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil (or vegetable oil)
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/4 teaspoons regular active dry yeast (or quick acting active dry yeast)

For The Filling:(or use your favorite pizza ingredients)

• 3/4 cup spaghetti sauce
• 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese , grated
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 3 Italian sausage links (casings removed)
• 1 cup mushrooms , sliced
• 1/2 cup brown onion , chopped
• 1/2 cup green pepper , chopped
• 1 cup pepperoni slices
• 1 egg , slightly beaten (to brush on tops of calzones, prior to baking)
• Oregano (dried) and Parmesan Cheese (to sprinkle on tops of calzones, prior to baking)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Using bread machine:

1. Put all the dough ingredients into the bread pan in the order listed. Select DOUGH cycle.
2. When dough is done, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
3. Divide dough into 6 equal dough balls. Roll each dough ball into a 7 inch circle on a lightly floured work surface.

If making by hand:

1. Mix the yeast and water in a large bowl or base of a stand mixer. Stir well, then let it sit for 5 minutes to "proof".
2. Add oil, sugar and salt. Stir well to combine.
3. Add the flour and mix well with your (clean) hands or use the dough hook on your stand mixer.
4. Knead dough (either by hand on a lightly floured surface or stand mixer) for 5-8 minutes, until the dough ball is smooth and elastic (you don't want it to be sticky).
5. When dough ball is ready, place it in a lightly oiled large bowl. Flip it over to the other side, making sure the dough is coated with oil. Place a slightly damp dish towel over the top of the bowl.
6. Put the covered bowl in a warm place and let the dough rise until it has doubled in size. This usually takes about an hour. Follow instructions above (under bread machine instructions) for forming the dough into individual circles

Make filling for the calzones while dough is rising:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet.
2. When skillet is hot, add the Italian sausage (casings removed), mushrooms, onions, and green peppers. Saute, crumbling the sausage into small pieces with a spoon as it cooks. Right before sausage mixture is fully cooked, add the minced garlic. When done, remove from heat to cool.

To fill the calzones:

1. Spread one heaping Tablespoon of the spaghetti sauce on each dough circle to within 1 inch of edge. (Don't go all the way to the edge because the sauce will leak out while cooking)

2. Place the sausage/mushroom/onion/pepper filling on top of the sauce but only on HALF of each circle, to within 1 inch of the edge. (Remember the filling is for 6 calzones - disperse evenly!)

3. Add the pepperoni slices. (again...disperse evenly to within 1 inch of edge). Add the mozzarella cheese (same instructions as above). Add Parmesan cheese (same instructions as above)

To seal the calzones and prepare for baking:

1. Carefully fold the dough over the filling to form a half circle. Makes sure edges touch.  Pinch edges securely with your fingers (to seal), then use the tines of a fork to crimp the dough all the way around the edge to securely seal. You want the edges sealed well to prevent leakage.

2. Gently lift and place the calzones on a large cookie sheet (or sheets). Brush the tops of the calzones with the beaten egg. Sprinkle tops of calzones with crushed dried oregano and parmesan cheese.

3. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until they are golden brown. Remove from oven to a wire rack and let cool for a couple minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

**Use whatever pizza ingredients you like for filling!

Nutrition Facts

Fully Stuffed Calzones

Amount Per Serving (1 calzone)

Calories 680 Calories from Fat 360

% Daily Value*

Fat 40g62%

Saturated Fat 15g94%

Cholesterol 117mg39%

Sodium 1613mg70%

Potassium 525mg15%

Carbohydrates 47g16%

Fiber 3g13%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 30g60%

Vitamin A 470IU9%

Vitamin C 14.6mg18%

Calcium 273mg27%

Iron 4.2mg23%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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