Vegan Calzone Recipe (Gluten-Free Pizza Pockets) - Elavegan (2024)

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5 from 7 votes

Best vegan Calzone recipe! These delicious pizza pockets are a great alternative to regular pizza or Stromboli. The Calzones are stuffed with mushrooms, peppers, and vegan cheese. The recipe is not only dairy-free and egg-free, but also gluten-free, and easy to make!

Vegan Calzone Recipe (Gluten-Free Pizza Pockets) - Elavegan (1)

Cheesy Vegan Calzone

Did you ever eat an Italian Calzone in a restaurant? I did (a couple of times) and absolutely loved it! Baked to perfection in a stone oven, stuffed with lots of cheese, and mushrooms! It’s probably my favorite pizza ever! I wasn’t vegan back then (only vegetarian), so the cheese wasn’t vegan (I was a cheese addict before going vegan)!

My boyfriend actually introduced me to this Italian dish after he ate Calzones multiple times in Italy, where they often serve a huge Calzone over two plates! Yes, two plates, haha! Of course, I wanted to create a homemade vegan Calzone recipe and here it is! Why should you give it a try? Because it’s:

  1. Cheesy (yep, it’s vegan!)
  2. Crispy
  3. Gluten-free
  4. Stuffed with mushrooms and veggies
  5. Damn delicious!

Vegan Calzone Recipe (Gluten-Free Pizza Pockets) - Elavegan (2)

Simple Ingredients For Vegan Calzone

This recipe contains only a couple of ingredients which are easily available. I used mushrooms, peppers, onion, and garlic for the filling because I simply love the combo! Peppers add a very nice flavor, same goes for onion and garlic. Mushrooms are a must, in my opinion (I just love them) but if you don’t like mushrooms, simply use something different. Some examples would be zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant, olives or whatever you prefer.

The great thing about Calzones is, that you can make them with your family or friends and everyone can choose their own favorite filling. Of course, I also had to add vegan cheese, because… well….cheese!

You can decide if you want to make a regular dough with e.g. wheat flour or spelt flour. If you are gluten-free, then try out my Gluten-Free Pizza Dough, which is also linked in the recipe. Please handle the dough carefully, because any gluten-free dough without eggs is much more brittle than gluten-based dough and tends to burst easily (don’t ask me how I found out, haha). They also don’t brown very well, so please keep that in mind. 🙂

Vegan Calzone Recipe (Gluten-Free Pizza Pockets) - Elavegan (3)Vegan Calzone Recipe (Gluten-Free Pizza Pockets) - Elavegan (4)

How To Make A Vegan Calzone?

It’s pretty easy to make this vegan calzone recipe. At first, you have to prepare the dough and let it rise. Meanwhile, you can start making the filling. Then you split the dough into 4 pieces and roll out each piece. Put some of the fillings on one half of the dough and carefully fold the dough over the topping so that it looks like a half-moon.

I brushed the tops with a mixture of soy sauce, water, a few drops of oil, and a pinch of smoked paprika, and turmeric! Repeat with all calzones and bake in the oven until crispy! Check out the step-by-step photos below and the complete recipe instructions in the recipe card.

Vegan Calzone Recipe (Gluten-Free Pizza Pockets) - Elavegan (5)Vegan Calzone Recipe (Gluten-Free Pizza Pockets) - Elavegan (6)

Air Fryer Calzone

Spray the air fryer basket with oil and place the calzones in the air fryer basket (I can fit two at a time with space in between). Air fry for 9-12 minutes (6-8 minutes for mini calzone) at 375 F/190 C, flipping halfway, until golden brown and crispy.

Can You Freeze Calzones?

Absolutely! Once the calzones are baked (and cooled), wrap them individually in ziplock bags. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let them thaw in the fridge before baking.

Vegan Calzone Recipe (Gluten-Free Pizza Pockets) - Elavegan (7)

These Vegan Pizza Pockets Are:

  • Gluten-free
  • Dairy-free
  • Egg-free
  • Stuffed with mushrooms, peppers, and vegan cheese
  • Relatively easy to make with simple ingredients
  • Hearty
  • Crispy
  • Tasty

Vegan Calzone Recipe (Gluten-Free Pizza Pockets) - Elavegan (8)

Useful Tips For This Vegan Calzone Recipe

  1. Prepare the veggie mixture ahead of time and store it in the fridge for up to 2 days.
  2. Double the batch and make additional calzones to freeze for later use.
  3. Try using buckwheat flour or quinoa flour for a grain-free calzone (please note that I haven’t tried it out yet!)

Vegan Calzone Recipe (Gluten-Free Pizza Pockets) - Elavegan (9)

Should you recreate these easy to make pizza pockets, please leave a comment below and don’t forget to tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with @elavegan and #elavegan because I love to see your remakes!

Vegan Calzone Recipe (Gluten-Free Pizza Pockets) - Elavegan (10)

Vegan Calzone Recipe (Gluten-Free Pizza Pockets) - Elavegan (12)

Vegan Calzone

Best vegan Calzone recipe! These delicious pizza pockets are a great alternative to regular pizza or Stromboli. The Calzones are stuffed with mushrooms, peppers, and vegan cheese. The recipe is not only dairy-free and egg-free, but also gluten-free, and easy to make!

5 from 7 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Resting time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Snack

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4

Calories 458 kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 batch gluten-free pizza dough or your favorite pizza dough
  • 10 oz (280 g) mushrooms
  • 2 bell peppers colors of choice, chopped
  • 1 medium-sized onion chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1 cup tomato sauce (e.g. marinara sauce) (see notes)
  • 7-8 oz (200 g) vegan cheese or one batch of vegan cheese sauce
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp ground oregano
  • Sea salt and black pepper to taste
  • ½ tbsp olive oil

Instructions

  • First, prepare the gluten-free pizza dough, as described in this recipe or make your own favorite pizza dough (for example, with wheat flour, if not gluten-free).

  • Heat oil in a pan/skillet over medium heat and add the onion. Fry for about 3-4 minutes, then add garlic, mushrooms, and peppers. Fry for a further 6-10 minutes until the water from the veggies has evaporated.

  • Add onion powder, ground oregano, salt and pepper to taste and turn off the heat. Set aside until ready to use.

  • Preheat oven to 480 °F (250 °C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the pizza dough into 4 equally sized pieces.

  • Roll out one piece of dough on a floured surface into a 6-7" (15-18 cm) circle, about 1/4" (0.6 cm) thick.

  • Spoon a little of the tomato sauce on one half of the dough, add the mushroom/veggie mixture, and vegan cheese of choice or this vegan cheese sauce. Make sure to leave at least 1/2" (1.25 cm) of space around the edge of the dough.

  • Carefully fold the other half of the dough over, and pinch the edges of the pocket with your fingers to seal (check pictures in the blog post above). Please note that gluten-free doughs can be quite brittle and tend to burst easily. So make sure to handle it carefully.

  • Repeat this step with the remaining dough. Use a spatula to transfer the pizza pockets to the prepared baking sheet. Optional: Brush tops with a mixture of 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tbsp water, a few drops of oil, and a pinch of smoked paprika and turmeric.

  • Bake the calzones for about 14-18 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, then serve with the remaining pizza sauce on the side. Please don't burn your mouth as the filling is very hot. Enjoy!

Notes

  • You can use store-bought tomato sauce or make your own by simply mixing passata or tomato purée with salt, pepper, ground oregano, garlic powder, and onion powder to taste!
  • You can also check out my Mexican Pizza Recipe With Refried Beans.
  • Recipe serves 4. Nutrition facts are for one serving.
  • Check the blog post for theair fryer method.

Nutrition Facts

Vegan Calzone

Serving Size

1 calzone

Amount per Serving

Calories

458

% Daily Value*

Fat

12.9

g

20

%

Carbohydrates

70

g

23

%

Fiber

7

g

28

%

Sugar

11

g

12

%

Protein

11.5

g

23

%

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

Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically

Vegan Calzone Recipe (Gluten-Free Pizza Pockets) - Elavegan (13) Simple and Delicious Vegan Cookbook by ElaVeganCLICK HERE to order!

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Vegan Calzone Recipe (Gluten-Free Pizza Pockets) - Elavegan (14)

Vegan Calzone Recipe (Gluten-Free Pizza Pockets) - Elavegan (2024)

FAQs

How do you make calzone not soggy? ›

Don't forget to cut steam vents in the top of each calzone.

This prevents the dough from getting soggy, but it also releases the steam that builds up inside the pocket and causes the seam to burst.

What's the difference between a calzone and a stromboli pizza? ›

A stromboli is larger and longer than a calzone and is baked as one piece and then cut into slices for serving a crowd. Calzones also start with pizza dough, but instead of forming a large rectangle, a small or medium ball is rolled or stretched out into a round.

Is calzone a pizza pocket? ›

A Calzone can be simply described as an Italian style folded stuffed bread that is made with a leavened pizza dough. For this reason, it is also often referred to as a 'turnover' or more popularly as Pizza Pockets or Calzone Pocket.

Is a calzone just a folded pizza crust? ›

A calzone is an Italian dish that features a circular piece of pizza or yeasted bread dough that's folded in half over a filling that includes ricotta, and often mozzarella and Parmesan, too, cured meats, vegetables and herbs, then sealed shut using a crimping technique.

Is calzone dough the same as pizza dough? ›

Both are prepared with flour, water, salt, and yeast; that's the solution. In contrast, the eggs and olive oil used in most calzone dough give it a deeper flavor and a softer texture. Eggs and oil are not common ingredients in pizza dough, contributing to its crispiness and durability.

Should a calzone have ricotta? ›

Calzones use ricotta cheese, and stromboli does not. Stromboli is made with mozzarella cheese (preferably low-moisture) to keep moisture at a minimum. This helps the interior dough cook fully. Calzones usually use a blend of cheese that almost always incorporates ricotta.

Is calzone more unhealthy than pizza? ›

Did you know that a standard calzone has over 1000 calories? On the other hand, a slice of pizza is around 300 calories. So just because they're technically the same in terms of ingredients and taste, they're not! A calzone can equal 3 slices of pizza so choose wisely!

Do calzones have pizza sauce in them? ›

While the strombolis are folded into cylindrical shapes like crispies, calzones are crescent-shaped with no tomato sauce in the filling.

What is a calzone pocket? ›

In essence, A "Calzone "is a Pizza which is folded over and baked, a "Pasty" is a Meat Pie or Meat Turnover, what I call a Pocket.

What is veg calzone made of? ›

These vegetarian calzones are filled with fresh veggies like kale, onions, mushrooms and bell peppers plus ooey gooey cheese. Don't forget the tasty pizza sauce for dipping!

Which is better, calzone or stromboli? ›

If you are looking for food for multiple people, a stromboli is the better option because it can be sliced for multiple people to eat. Both calzones and stromboli are equally delicious Italian dishes so there really is no wrong answer when deciding between the two options!

What does the word calzone mean in Italian? ›

The origin of the calzone began in Naples, Italy in the early 1700s. If you were to translate 'calzone' from Italian to English, it would mean 'pants leg. ' Pants leg refers to the Italians with the need for a pizza on the go!

What is a fried calzone called? ›

Panzerotti originated in southern Italy and central Italy, especially in the Apulian cuisine. They are basically small versions of calzoni, but are usually fried rather than oven-baked, which is why they are also known as calzoni fritti ( lit. 'fried calzones') or pizze fritte ( lit.

Why is my calzone soggy? ›

To prevent your calzones from becoming soggy, it's important to properly drain any ingredients that have excess moisture, such as vegetables or cooked meats. Additionally, make sure not to overfill your calzones, as this can cause them to leak and become soggy during baking.

Should calzones have sauce inside? ›

Calzones never have tomato sauce inside the dough. They're always dipped. While stromboli is also dip-able, it's totally cool to put some sauce inside stromboli, pre-roll. Whether you're team stromboli or team calzone, these distinctions shouldn't inspire hate.

Do you have to flip a calzone in the oven? ›

Calzone is done when it's golden brown and reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Tip: To achieve a crisper bottom crust, use tongs or a spatula to flip the calzone over for the final 2 to 3 minutes of baking. Be careful, some ingredients may leak out the top.

How do you seal the edge of a calzone? ›

Dip your finger in a bowl of water and use it to lightly wet the edges of the calzones. This will help seal it much better.

References

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