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

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!

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 is the difference between a calzone and a folded pizza? ›

But while the look of a calzone can't be mistaken for a pizza, many people think it's just that – a pizza folded over, with the topping all on the inside. True, a calzone often features many ingredients of a great pizza, including tomatoes, mozzarella and vegetables.

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

A calzone is simply an Italian oven-baked folded pizza that originated in 18th century Naples. Often described as a turnover, calzones are made with leavened dough (typically the same yeast dough that you would use for a regular crust). Pizza pockets are essentially the same as calzones, but often smaller in size.

Why is pizza the unhealthiest food in the world? ›

Pizza is high in saturated fats due to cheese and processed meat toppings, which can increase your cholesterol levels as well as risk for heart disease. Eating three-four slices of pizza or more, on a regular basis, can have detrimental health consequences.

What is the healthiest pizza to eat? ›

There are plenty of pizza choices that can be considered healthy. Some options that can easily fit into a nutritious and balanced diet include a thin-crust pizza and a cauliflower-crust pizza. Topping choices on the more nutritious side are vegetables, chicken, shrimp and cheese.

Can you fold a pizza into a calzone? ›

Pile the filling onto one half of each pizza base then lay on the mozzarella. Season with salt and black pepper. To make the calzones, run a wet finger around the border of each pizza base, fold over the uncovered half and press the edges down. Roll the edges back over on themselves to seal tightly.

Is calzone dough different from 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 sauce? ›

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.

What is a Roma calzone? ›

This is your favorite Chicken & Roma Tomato pizza toppings but in a Calzone! We hand pound our traditional pizza dough and brush it with our White Garlic Sauce. Then, we top it with Mozzarella, Chicken, and Roma Tomatoes. Finally, it's sealed then brush with garlic butter and baked to perfection.

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 is the fancy name for Pizza Pockets? ›

Panzerotti are wonderful Pugliese fried savoury turnovers. This crescent shape stuffed pocket is also called Pizze Fritte (fried pizza) and these pockets hold a delicious filling of melty cheese and tomatoes or mortadella and gooey cheese!

Is pizza or burgers worse for you? ›

About fat, burgers are about 1.8 grams higher than pizza. A pizza with just two slices contains 18 grams of fat and 8 grams of harmful saturated fat. Then the burger contains 19.8 grams of total fat and 9.2 grams of saturated fat.

How is a calzone different than a pizza? ›

Calzones are also called to be a type of pizza, but inside out. Yes, you heard it right- calzones are bread stuffed with stuffing instead of having a flatbread layout for your toppings. It's compact, and you can get all the flavors in one bite.

What is a healthier option than pizza? ›

Pita Bread with Hummus

One of the best and healthiest alternatives to pizza is whole grain pita bread with hummus. Unlike pizza, which traditionally is loaded with cheese and meat and therefore contains high amounts of saturated fats, pitas and hummus are surprisingly healthy.

What is the healthiest way to order pizza? ›

Choose vegetables over meat

Vegetable toppings for pizza are always healthier than meat. Most restaurants will offer vegetable choices like spinach, tomatoes, peppers, and mushrooms. Mix and match your veggies to find the perfect and healthiest combination for you.

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