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These Mini Ham & Cheese Calzone are easy to make. Homemade pizza dough is filled with tomato sauce, ham and cheese then folded and baked. They give pizza night a whole new meaning for kids and adults.

Mini ham and cheese calzones on a board with marinara sauce

Calzone is Italian for ‘stocking’ or ‘trousers’. It’s  like a pizza toppings, wrapped in dough and the fillings can range from plain cheese, to sausage and served with a  side of marinara sauce, recipe for the sauce is below.

Pulling apart ham and cheese calzones showing the cheese and ham center

Just like pizza, you can customize these Mini Ham & Cheese Calzone to fill them with any filling of your choice and a great change to regular pizza. For these particular calzones, I chose simple ham and cheese.

The making of these calzones is just as easy as shaping pizza dough and adding toppings, except, you are adding a filling. Start with shaping the dough, add the filling to 1 half of the dough, then simply fold over and pinch the edges.

The making of a ham and cheese calzone. Uncooked pizza dough with ham and cheese, then folded over

If you’ve never made your own pizza dough, I urge you to give it a try. It is so rewarding and delicious and IS easier than you think. I have a Homemade No Yeast Pizza Dough that is just as good as dough with yeast if you want to give that a try. If you want regular pizza dough, you can get the recipe here > Italian Sausage and Caramelized Onion Pizza (picture below).

Holding a slice of Italian sausage and caramelized onion pizza

I always have my own homemade marinara sauce (picture below) in the freezer for times like this (you can also use your favorite jarred sauce).

Marinara sauce being poured into a pan

Perfect entertaining bites or something to nibble on while watching a movie. These calzones are a pleasant departure from regular pizza and just like a pizza, you can stuff them with just about anything that takes your fancy. You can also make them full size to make a meal out of them. Make sure you have plenty of sauce because like to serve them with extra sauce for dipping.

If you’ve tried this Mini Ham & Cheese Calzone or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you they turned out in the comments below. I love to hear from my readers!

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Yield: 16

Mini Ham & Cheese Calzone

Mini Ham & Cheese Calzone

Homemade pizza dough is filled with tomato sauce, ham and cheese then folded and baked.

Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

  • For the dough
  • 1 cup (236ml) water warmed to 100– 110 °F (38 - 43°C)
  • 1 package (3/4 ounce) instant dry yeast
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 cups (450 grams) all-purpose flour
  • For the filling
  • 1 cup (225 grams) marinara sauce
  • 6 ounces (170 grams) mozzarella cheese, grated
  • Sliced ham

Instructions

  1. For the dough:
  2. Add the water to a bowl and stir in the yeast, honey, salt and olive oil.
  3. To a large bowl, surface add the flour and make a well in the center.
  4. Add a little of the yeast liquid and use your fingers or fork to slowly incorporate flour. Add a little more liquid as it is absorbed by the flour until you get a nice dough ball. You may not use all the liquid, don't let the dough be too sticky. Knead the dough for 5 minutes until smooth.
  5. Lightly oil a bowl with a little olive oil and transfer the dough to the bowl. Turn once to coat all sides with the oil. Cover the bowl and put the bowl in a warm area to rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.
  6. Lightly flour your surface and turn out the dough. Divide the dough into half, then divide each of those in half balls. Continue this until you get 12 small balls of dough. Cover and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
  7. Preheat oven to 325°F/165°C and cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  8. On a floured surface, roll out 1 ball to a 4 1/2 inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Place half a teaspoon of marinara sauce in the center and add 1 teaspoon cheese and a slice of ham, leaving a border around the edge. Fold the dough in half over the filling and press to seal using your fingers or a fork.
  9. Place on the parchment lined baking sheet and continue with the rest.
  10. Before baking, brush the pastry with milk and brush sauce onto the centers. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.

Nutrition Information

Yield

16

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 215Total Fat 9gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 12mgSodium 323mgCarbohydrates 28gFiber 1gSugar 2gProtein 6g

This nutrition calculation is provided by Nutronix that is only a guideline and not intended for any particular diet.

© Janette
Cuisine: Italian / Category: Appetizers