Best Spinach And Meatball Calzones Recipes

UNBELIEVABLE SPINACH CALZONES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, eggs, Italian seasoning, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and spinach. Set aside.
• Divide the bread dough into 8 pieces and roll each piece out to about an 8 inch circle. Spoon about 1/2 cup of the ricotta filling onto each circle, fold over and seal the edges. Place onto a greased cookie sheet.
• Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until nicely browned on the tops and bottoms.

SAUSAGE, SPINACH AND RICOTTA CALZONE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Combine 1 cup flour, undissolved yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add very warm water and oil; mix until well blended, about 1 minute. Gradually add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Dough should form a ball and will be slightly sticky. Knead** on a floured surface, adding additional flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes. Cover and let rest on floured surface while preparing filling.
• Cook sausage in skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through; remove from skillet and drain excess fat. Add spinach and water to skillet; saute 1 to 2 minutes until spinach is wilted; drain. Return sausage to pan.
• Combine ricotta, mozzarella and egg in a mixing bowl. Stir in Italian herb seasoning, crushed red pepper and garlic salt; set aside.
• To make calzones divide dough into four portions. Roll 1 portion into an 8-inch circle on a floured surface. Spread approximately 1/3 cup ricotta mixture in center bottom half of dough. Top with heaping 1/3 cup sausage spinach mixture leaving outer 1/2-inch free of filling. Fold top half of dough over filling. Pull edge of lower crust over top; folding and pressing layers together to form a seal. Carefully transfer to greased baking sheet. Cut 3 to 4 vents in top. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until lightly browned. Transfer to cooling rack to keep bottom crust crisp while cooling slightly. Serve with pizza sauce or other sauce for dipping.

SPINACH CALZONES

Steps:

• Cook spinach according to package directions; drain well. In a bowl, combine the spinach, Swiss cheese, ricotta cheese, onion, basil, salt, garlic powder and pepper. , Roll pizza dough into a 15x10-in. rectangle; cut into six 5-in. squares. Spoon 1/3 cup spinach mixture onto the center of each square; brush edges of dough with water. Fold one corner over filling to the opposite corner, forming a triangle. Using a fork, crimp edges to seal., Place in a 15x10x1-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Prick tops with a fork. Lightly beat egg white and water; brush over dough. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 5 minutes. Serve with pizza sauce if desired.

BIG-BATCH HEALTHY BEEF, MUSHROOM AND SPINACH CALZONES

Steps:

• Set a pizza stone or baking sheet on an oven rack in the bottom third of the oven, and preheat to 425 degrees F.
• Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, 3/4 teaspoon salt and half the pepper flakes, and cook, breaking the beef up into large chunks with a wooden spoon, until the beef is browned all over, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms, 2/3 of the garlic and 3/4 teaspoon salt, and cook for 3 minutes more. Fold in the spinach, and cook until wilted, about 1 minute (the mixture should be relatively dry). Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, and let cool completely.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the remaining oil, garlic and pepper flakes to the skillet, and cook, stirring, to lightly brown the garlic, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and 3/4 teaspoon salt, and simmer the sauce until thick, about 6 minutes; set aside.
• Divide the pizza dough into 12 balls. Spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray. On a well-floured surface, roll out each ball into a 6- or 7-inch circle 1/8 inch thick. On the bottom half of each circle, mound 1/4 cup of the cooled beef mixture and top with 3 tablespoons of the mozzarella. Fold over the top half of the dough to form a semicircle, and pinch the edges to seal. Carefully transfer the calzones with a spatula to the prepared baking sheets. Lightly brush with the beaten egg. Cut 2 small slits on top of each to vent steam.
• Refrigerate half the calzones. With a spatula, transfer the rest of the calzones to the hot pizza stone or baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 22 minutes. Repeat with the remaining calzones. Reheat the tomato sauce, and serve on the side.
• To freeze: Let the baked calzones cool completely, then wrap each one tightly in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Place them in freezer bags, and freeze for up to a month. The sauce can be frozen in 12 small freezer bags for up to a month.
• To reheat: Thaw the frozen calzones in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours. Unwrap the calzones, then microwave them on a microwave-safe plate in 1-minute increments, rotating them after each, until heated through, 2 to 4 minutes. To reheat the sauce, microwave it in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until the sauce is hot.