Thanksgiving Calzones bring together all of your favorite holiday tastes into a single warm and comforting hand pie so you can enjoy Thanksgiving’ish flavors all year long.
To make Thanksgiving calzones, pizza dough is filled with all kinds of yumminess then the edges are sealed and the calzone is oven-baked to a beautiful golden brown in just 20 minutes.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Thanksgiving flavors – No need to wait all year for Thanksgiving. Taste it anytime! (Try this Thanksgiving Leftover Salad and these Tastes Like Thanksgiving Meatballs too.)
- Easily customized – The Thanksgiving calzones recipe is delicious as is but substitutions are easy to make.
- 20 minute bake time – Hot, golden and ready for the table in minutes!
- America’s Test Kitchen recipe – It’s from my gifted copy of Five Ingredient Dinners. You’ll want this cookbook if you like creative, inventive recipes with few ingredients (salt, pepper, oil and butter aren’t counted). There are 100+ fast, flavorful meals included.
Ingredients
- Pizza dough – Look for the fresh, refrigerated pizza dough. It’s usually in the bakery/deli area and comes in a big ball.
- Shredded turkey or chicken – Use leftover turkey from the big meal or shredded chicken.
- Cheese – You’ll need two kinds of cheese to make the creamy, melty goodness inside the calzone. Use shredded sharp Cheddar and crumbled Boursin cheese. Together they are magical. (When choosing a shredded cheese, go for the thicker cuts. The thin strands don’t melt as well, in my opinion.)
- Dried cranberries – It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without cranberries.
Substitutions and Additions
- Dried cranberries work perfectly in this recipe. However, I think a spoonful of leftover homemade cranberry sauce or cranberry jelly would be equally delicious.
- Leftover mashed potatoes
- Thanksgiving stuffing
- Leftover sweet potatoes or butternut squash
- Instead of sharp Cheddar, try a Mexican Cheese blend or spice things up with shredded Pepper Jack cheese.
- Crumbled cooked bacon
- Leftover ham from Christmas or Easter
Step-by-Step Directions
Step 1: Divide the dough into four equal portions. Place one dough piece on clean counter and using your cupped hand, drag in small circles until dough feels taut and round. Repeat with remaining dough pieces and cover loosely with plastic wrap.
Step 2: In a separate bowl, combine chicken, cheddar, Boursin, cranberries, salt and pepper; set aside.
Step 3: Working on lightly floured surface, press and roll 1 piece of dough (keep remaining dough covered) into 8-inch round of even thickness. Repeat with remaining dough sections. Working with 1 dough round at a time (keep others covered), spread 1/4 of chicken mixture evenly over half of dough round, leaving 1-inch border at edge. Fold top half over filling and crimp edges to seal. Gently transfer to prepared baking pan and repeat with remaining dough rounds and filling.
Step 4: Using sharp knife, cut two 1-inch steam vents on top of each calzone, then brush tops evenly with 1 tablespoon olive oil (or you can brush with an egg wash, if preferred).
Step 5: Bake until golden brown, 18-22 minutes, rotating halfway through baking.
Step 6: Let calzones cool about 5 minutes before serving.
Five Ingredient Dinners Cookbook
This Thanksgiving calzones recipe is one of 100+ recipes in the America’s Test Kitchen Five Ingredient Dinners cookbook, all of which are made with just five ingredients. (Keep in mind that pantry staples like salt, pepper, butter and oil aren’t included in the count.)
I included all the ingredients in the printable recipe card below so you won’t have any surprises.
Recipe FAQ
Fold the disc in half so the filling is enclosed, leaving a one-inch gap between filling and dough edge. Wet the bottom edge with a little water to help it seal. Starting at one corner, press the top layer into the bottom layer, pressing fairly hard to seal. Continue all the way to the other end. If you like, you can press the tines of a fork into the dough edge all the way around.
Please don’t worry about appearance before baking. Mine are usually a right mess, but they always turn into delicious golden and appetizing calzones in the oven.
The crust is nice and golden brown, and the cheese is melted and oozing. If you tap on the crust with your knuckle, it will sound hollow.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lay calzones on a baking sheet, brush with oil or butter and bake for 20 minutes.
Related Recipes
Thanksgiving Calzones
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound pizza dough room temperature
- 2 cups shredded chicken
- 8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 5.2 oz pkg Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs Cheese crumbled
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil and brush with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- Place one dough piece on clean counter and using your cupped hand, drag in small circles until dough feels taut and round. Repeat with remaining dough pieces and cover loosely with plastic wrap.
- In separate bowl, combine chicken, cheddar, Boursin, cranberries, salt and pepper; set aside.
- Working on lightly floured surface, press and roll 1 piece of dough (keep remaining dough covered) into 8-inch round of even thickness. Repeat with remaining dough sections. Working with 1 dough round at a time (keep others covered), spread 1/4 of chicken mixture evenly over half of dough round, leaving 1-inch border at edge. Fold top half over filling and crimp edges to seal. Gently transfer to prepared baking pan and repeat with remaining dough rounds and flling.
- Using sharp knife, cut two 1-inch steam vents on top of each calzone, then brush tops evenly with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Bake until golden brown, 18-22 minutes, rotating halfway through baking.
- Transfer baking sheet to wire rack and let calzones cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- When choosing a shredded cheese, go for the thicker cuts. The thin strands don’t melt as well.
- Don’t worry if your calzones look a bit sloppy before baking. They’ll look much better when they come out of the oven!
- Once folded and sealed, brush tops of calzones with olive oil or an egg wash before baking. It helps bring out that delicious golden brown color.
- Dried cranberries work perfectly in this recipe. However, I think a spoonful of leftover homemade cranberry sauce or cranberry jelly would be equally delicious.
- You can also try other ingredient variations such as leftover mashed potatoes, Thanksgiving stuffing, cooked sweet potatoes/butternut squash, crumbled bacon, leftover ham.
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