Meat Lovers Calzones
An “inside out” pizza, or in other words…a calzone. This meat lovers calzone is the perfect movie night meal and so easy to make! Everyone can customize their own for a great family night in. And this is a dinner that comes together in under 30 minutes.
Serve it with Rootbeer Floats and Italian Garden Salad for an awesome meal.
We love family movie night. Love it. When I was growing up we did not have “tv” meaning we had no subscription service, cable, etc.
I used to tell people that we did not have “tv” when I was growing up, and I would get these stares like we were alien. I have to say that television subscription and show watching seems far more common now, especially since people can stream shows the next day, and what not. But anyway…that was a huge tangent, but the fact was, we did not have television shows, so we watched movies.
I grew up on a steady stream of Disney movies. We sang the songs, emulated the characters, and just loved the times we all snuggled up on the couch, or floor, and watched a movie as a family.
That may have been when I was nine, but not much has changed. I still love a good movie night with my kids. Especially on the weekends after a long week. I love popping a big huge bowl of delicious popcorn, and picking out a movie to watch together. In fact, a few years ago, we tried to establish a Sunday night movie night. It went really well for a few weeks, but we were rotating who got to choose the movie, and then it was my daughter’s turn. She chose a movie that regularly used phrases like “frenemies” so let me just tell you…it was torture. So we put it on hold until we could choose some movies the whole family would love. Can I tell you how hard that can be?
Well I saw Inside Out you guys, I LOVED that movie. I loved how hilarious it was. How on point it was. How relatable it was. Everything about it was so fun. And all of us liked it, from the youngest to myself! So of course, I had to buy it. And of course I had to have a movie night with the kids so we could watch it together.
To make our night more fun we made “inside out” pizza, or in other words, calzones. I love foods like this because they are pretty easy, and in addition, they are easily customizable. My kids could fill their calzone with their favorite items, and everyone was happy.
I just set out all the topping ingredients, some pizza sauce, olives, cheese, and the like.
Then I let the kids spoon on whatever toppings they wanted. When they got done, we sealed up the edges, put an egg wash (a fork whipped egg) over the top, and popped them in a preheated 350 degree oven for 22 minutes. So easy peasy.
Variations and Ideas
Here are some delicious filling ideas for calzones:
- Classic Italian:
- Mozzarella
- Ricotta
- Pepperoni
- Italian sausage
- Marinara sauce
- Fresh basil
- Vegetarian Delight:
- Spinach
- Mushrooms
- Bell peppers
- Onions
- Mozzarella
- Ricotta
- Garlic
- Meat Lover’s:
- Ham
- Salami
- Pepperoni
- Bacon
- Mozzarella
- Marinara sauce
- BBQ Chicken:
- Grilled chicken
- BBQ sauce
- Red onions
- Cheddar cheese
- Cilantro
- Four Cheese:
- Mozzarella
- Parmesan
- Ricotta
- Provolone
- Garlic
- Buffalo Chicken:
- Grilled chicken
- Buffalo sauce
- Blue cheese crumbles
- Mozzarella
- Celery
- Ham and Cheese:
- Ham
- Swiss cheese
- Dijon mustard
- Mozzarella
- Greek:
- Feta cheese
- Spinach
- Kalamata olives
- Red onions
- Sun-dried tomatoes
- Sausage and Peppers:
- Italian sausage
- Bell peppers
- Onions
- Mozzarella
- Marinara sauce
- Breakfast Calzone:
- Scrambled eggs
- Bacon or sausage
- Cheddar cheese
- Hash browns
- Green onions
- Hawaiian:
- Ham
- Pineapple
- Mozzarella
- Marinara sauce
- Philly Cheesesteak:
- Thinly sliced steak
- Provolone cheese
- Onions
- Bell peppers
- Mushrooms
- Caprese:
- Fresh mozzarella
- Tomatoes
- Basil
- Balsamic glaze
- Taco:
- Ground beef or chicken
- Cheddar cheese
- Jalapeños
- Onions
- Salsa
- Cilantro
- Pesto Chicken:
- Grilled chicken
- Pesto sauce
- Mozzarella
- Sun-dried tomatoes
While our “inside out” pizza’s were cooking, we got a bunch of blankets and pillows and cued up our movie!
And how yummy are these calzones?! I am sharing a meat lover’s version that has pepperoni, sausage, and olives.
Meat Lovers Calzones: Inside Out Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 tube pizza tube
- 1/2 cup market pantry pizza sauce
- 12 pepperoni
- 1/2 cup market pantry sliced black olives
- 1/2 cup sausage crumbles
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350
- Roll out pizza dough
- Cut into 6 inch rounds (you should get 4 out of a tube)
- Spoon on a Tablespoon of pizza sauce
- Top with 3 pepperoni, 1 Tbs sausage crumbles, and 1/2 tbs of black olive slices, and a sprinkling of cheese
- Fold over, and crimp edges
- Take an egg and whisk it in a small bowl with a fork
- Brush it over the top of the pizza dough, and sprinkle a little more cheese on top.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes.
Nutrition
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust says
I still haven’t seen that movie! My daughter loved it, so I’ll have to get it. And calzones – my favorite way to eat pizza!
David @ Spiced says
Calzones are totally one of my favorite comfort foods! I’m thinking an Inside Out movie night + these calzones needs to happen in our house soon! #client