This easy calzone recipe features a homemade pizza dough and a spinach, mushroom, and two-cheese filling. It’s the ultimate weekend dinner!
Alex and I love making our own pizza, so why not calzones? While sharing half a pizza is wonderful, eating that same pizza half in the form of your own personal pizza pocket is that much more fun! You can use any vegetables you like in this easy calzone recipe, especially if you’re not a mushroom lover (we’d recommend substituting artichokes if that’s the case). Even better, use any cooked vegetables (or meat) that you have on hand, which is the easier and more traditional Italian way. Keep reading for our easy calzone recipe.
Calzones originated in Naples, Italy (where all the best food comes from) and are essentially a giant pizza pocket. Although they can be packed with anything you’d like, they’re traditionally filled with cured meats, cheeses, and whatever veggies you have on hand. Calzones typically don’t have any tomato sauce in them, as you’re supposed to dunk them in sauce before each bite. (For this recipe, we’ve included a bit of the sauce in the filling for more flavor.) Calzones are folded over and crimped along the edges to seal all the fillings in, and are baked until the outside is golden brown and the cheese filling is bubbly.
Many people mistakenly believe that calzones are a tricky dish best left to the professionals at your local pizza parlor. However, homemade calzones surprisingly easy to make! I’m not sure I’d go so far as to say this easy calzone recipe takes less effort than making a full pizza, but you really don’t need a lot of specialized skills to make one of these bad boys.
Arguably the most important part of making a calzone is the filling. Make sure to sauté your veggies before filling the calzone; this not only ensures that the calzone will be fully cooked through once it goes golden brown on the outside, but sautéing the vegetables also releases most of their liquid. This last bit is especially important because there’s no way for steam to be released from a calzone. If you don’t sauté the veggies, you’ll wind up with a soggy calzone, which isn’t what you’re looking for.
When filling the calzone, put in less cheese and vegetables than you think you’ll need. An overstuffed calzone will start oozing in the oven and the crust will get soggy. Overfilling it will also make it tougher to crimp the edges of the calzone closed and will make the whole process incredibly messy (it’d still be delicious though!).
If you’re planning to make this easy calzone recipe for guests, I’d recommend making the pizza dough in advance. This way it’s on hand the day you’re ready to start baking and you won’t have to worry about letting the dough rise the day of. You can also make the red sauce ahead of time as well, although it’s not much trouble to whip it up while the calzones are baking.
Looking for Italian recipes? Here at A Couple Cooks we specialize in Italian recipes outside of this easy calzone recipe, here are some of our favorites:
15-Minute Gnocchi with Romesco Sauce Tomato Basil Gnocchi Soup Pumpkin Sage Stuffed Shells Skillet Eggplant Marinara Italian Vegetable and Gnocchi Soup How to Make Artisan Pizza at Home Perfect Neapolitan Pizza All our Italian recipes!
This recipe is…
This easy calzone recipe is vegetarian.
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(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 1)
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Yield: 4
Category: Main Dish
Method: Baked
Cuisine: Italian
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Pin RecipeThis easy calzone recipe features a homemade pizza dough and a spinach, mushroom, and two-cheese filling. It’s the ultimate weekend dinner!
Keywords: Easy Calzone Recipe, How to make Calzones, Calzone Recipe, Italian, Vegetarian Calzone, Vegetarian
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A Couple Cooks - Recipes for Healthy & Whole Living
Learn how to cut sweet potatoes and how to cook sweet potatoes, plus everything in between! Sweet potatoes are an amazingly nutritious food and are very versatile with how you can prepare and eat them. Plus I’ve included 15+ easy, tasty, and healthy sweet potato recipes for you to enjoy!
Let me start this post by stating I’m a big fan of sweet potatoes. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever disliked sweet potatoes. Like ever. In any recipe.
I always have them around and I can never get enough of them.
I love how versatile sweet potatoes are. I’m also obsessed with their sweet taste and amazing texture.
You’re probably familiar with baked sweet potatoes or sweet potato skins. But there are so many other things you can make with sweet potatoes. What’s the best way to cook sweet potatoes? I can’t decide. I really can’t.
That being said, there are A LOT of different ways to cook sweet potatoes, such as baking, mashing, roasting, steaming, and so on. In this post, I want to share all the different ways you can make sweet potatoes so we all can share in the sweet potato love.
These sweet potato recipes are amazeballs. Yes, all of them.
And, along the way, you’ll learn how to prepare potatoes, how to cut sweet potatoes, how to cook sweet potatoes, how to bake sweet potatoes, how to roast sweet potatoes, how to mash sweet potatoes, and how to boil sweet potatoes. All these tips and cooking techniques will come in handy when trying my sweet potato recipes.
There are soooooooo many ways to cook sweet potatoes, and each method creates a unique flavor and texture.
Here are some of the different ways to cook sweet potatoes:
Roast Saute Bake Fry Boil SteamKeep reading and I’ll share how to cut sweet potatoes in order to cook them all these ways.
TOOLS FOR HOW TO COOK SWEET POTATOESYep, in order to cut your sweet potato into various shapes and sizes, there are a few tools that will help you to do so. Here’s a list of my favorite kitchen tools and gadgets for how to cook sweet potatoes (numbered in the image below):
“Y” Vegetable Peeler – This is great for removing the skin of the sweet potato, if needed. While I don’t usually like to remove the skin, it is necessary for recipes that can’t be chunky, like these Sweet Potato Tots. Chef Knife – My favorite kitchen tool, period. A good chef knife will do almost anything you need for cutting a sweet potato and definitely most of all the cuts here, minus spiraling and grating. Mandolin – Mandolins make slicing super thin slices of sweet potato extremely easy and consistent. It’ll make perfect slices for lasagna or nachos, among other things. Kitchen Grater – Graters will help make quick work of turning a whole sweet potato into shredded sweet potato that can be used as a hash or as a filler in baked goods. Spiralizer – Making spiralized noodles out of sweet potatoes, among other veggies, is an absolute must for healthy pastas and fun new ways to enjoy your veggies.
ARE SWEET POTATOES HEALTHY?
One question I get asked a lot about sweet potatoes is: Are they healthy?
The short answer is: Yes. Let’s discuss why. Sweet potatoes are…
an excellent source of beta-carotene, which promotes healthy skin, helps our immune system, and improves eye health and vision; high in Vitamin B6, which is good for heart health; high in Vitamin C, which helps with bone and tooth formation, digestion, blood cell formation, accelerates healing, and produces collagen which helps maintain skin’s elasticity; a good source of Vitamin D which promotes healthy bones; contain iron which promotes a healthy immune system; great for blood sugar regulation, as they provide a balanced and regular source of energy, despite tasting sweet; a good source of potassium, which helps to regulate heartbeat and nerve signals.Now you tell me. Are sweet potatoes healthy?
Yeah…they’re pretty darn healthy and good for you, in addition to being super tasty.
DO YOU HAVE TO PEEL SWEET POTATOES?
You can totally do it if you want. But do you have to peel sweet potatoes? I get asked if it’s necessary to peel sweet potatoes all the time. The bottom line is it comes down to your preference. Do you like a little added texture, or want it completely smooth? Personally, I like the texture in almost any recipe, though I do remove the peel for making my Sweet Potato Tortillas and Sweet Potato Tots.
Including the peel or skin of the sweet potato will add a lot of nutrients to your food, as much of the fiber and vitamins are contained in the peel. That being said, if you really, really don’t like the texture of peel in your mashed sweet potatoes, for example, you can blend it into a puree using a food processor or heavy-duty kitchen blender — then, you’d have the best of both worlds.
If you opt for peeling sweet potatoes, start by scrubbing the sweet potatoes with a brush, then rinse them in water and peel them. For peeling, you can use:
a vegetable peeler; a paring knife.
HOW TO CUT SWEET POTATOES
In the image above, there are numbers 1-7 to show the most common ways of how to cut sweet potatoes. Let’s go over each one and what type of dish it would be used in if cut this way.
Spiralized: Sweet potatoes can be spiralized to be used as noodles using a Spiralizer. This type of cut would work well in pasta. An example of a recipe to use spiralized sweet potato noodles would be this Shrimp Scampi. Small Dice: A small dice is perfect for making a hash, like in this Sweet Potato Hash recipe. Large Dice: Large diced sweet potatoes are perfect for roasting, like these Roasted Sweet Potatoes, or for adding to soup or stew, like this Slow Cooker Beef Stew recipe. They can also be perfect to steam and then mash into these Mashed Sweet Potatoes or these Sweet Potato Tortillas. Fry (AKA Batons): Yep, you guessed it. This type of cut is perfect for frying sweet potatoes. You can either fry them in oil or bake them, like these Baked Sweet Potato Fries. Sliced: Sweet potatoes can be very thinly sliced using a mandolin or a sharp knife. You can make cottage fries this way or, as I like to do, turn them into tortilla chip replacements in Sweet Potato Nachos or into a lasagna noodle replacement in Sweet Potato Lasagna. Shredded: Shredding sweet potatoes using a kitchen grater or food processor breaks them down into small, thin strips. Shredded sweet potato is great for making hash browns or adding into baked goods, like breads or muffins. Whole: Keeping sweet potatoes whole is great for baking them so you have en entire baked sweet potato. You can then either enjoy the full Baked Sweet Potato or Sweet Potato Skins or use the baked sweet potato to make Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Sweet Potato Tortillas, or even turn that into Sweet Potato Tots.No matter how do you cook a sweet potato, there’s a tasty way to enjoy it!
HOW TO BAKE SWEET POTATOESHow did you find the preparing sweet potato part? Easy, right?
Well, I’m pleased to inform you that baking sweet potatoes is just as easy.
If you want to bake the sweet potatoes whole:
make sure you choose thinner sweet potatoes ‘cuz they bake better; always poke holes in the sweet potatoes using a fork or a knife; wrap the sweet potatoes in aluminum foil to ensure moisture is not escaping the sweet potatoes and they cook evenly.How long to bake sweet potatoes:
That depends on your oven and the size f your sweet potato, but in general it’ll take between 45 and 60 minutes.
HOW TO BOIL SWEET POTATOESAnother question you might have is how to boil sweet potatoes – and the answer is pretty straightforward. To boil the sweet potatoes:
dice them into cubes; place them in cold water (make sure the water covers the sweet potatoes); boil until tender.How long to boil sweet potatoes?
Just 15-20 minutes should be enough to boil sweet potatoes, but you can check by piercing the sweet potatoes with a fork. If they are tender, they are done. If not, allow them to boil for a few more minutes.
HOW TO MASH SWEET POTATOESI’m guessing you wanted to know how to boil sweet potatoes because you want to make sweet potato mash. Good for you. Sweet potato mash is totes delicious.
You probably want to know how to mash potatoes too so here’s how:
use a blender or food processor if you want the mashed potatoes to be very smooth; use a potato masher if you don’t have a blender.So simple. The difficult part is how to season the mashed potatoes. And yes, that’s hard because there are so many options.
WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO COOK SWEET POTATOES?I’d say the best way to cook sweet potatoes is… your favorite way! As long as it’s healthy. 😉 I know it can be hard to decide so that’s why I have these sweet potato recipes for you. But now that you know how to cook sweet potatoes in a different way, I’d definitely recommend experimenting with different recipes.
19 HEALTHY SWEET POTATO RECIPESThere’s not a single recipe for sweet potatoes on this list that I don’t love. All of them are easy to make, all of them are clean eating, and healthy. And all of them are totes amazing. I guess I said that before but I’m really excited.
1. SWEET POTATO TORTILLA – These easy homemade tortillas are great for tacos, wraps, enchiladas, quesadillas, or just enjoying by themselves, and only require 3 ingredients. Get the recipe.
2. SWEET POTATO LASAGNA – Cheesy, savory, creamy sweet potato goodness – you’ll never even miss the noodles. Get the recipe.
3. SWEET POTATO FRIES – These sweet potato fries are a better, healthier, baked sweet potato fries recipe you’re gonna love. Get the recipe.
4. SWEET POTATO NACHOS – Smothered in shredded chicken, cilantro, and salsa verde, these sweet potato nachos are the perfect meal. Get the recipe.
5. MASHED SWEET POTATOES – Just three ingredients needed for this incredibly easy and delicious Mashed Sweet Potatoes recipe! This recipe is vegan, vegetarian, and refined sugar-free! Get the recipe.
6. HEALTHY SWEET POTATO SKINS – Make this better-for-you potato skins recipe for Game Day. I know sweet potatoes skins are not the healthy normally. But I made them healthy. So you can totally enjoy them guilt-free. In case you’re curious, the sweet potato skins are stuffed with spinach, chicken, and Greek yogurt. <- LOVE Get the recipe.
7. HEALTHY SLOW COOKER BEEF STEW WITH SWEET POTATOES –This healthy slow cooker beef stew is the perfect easy weeknight dinner that you can prep ahead! This stew makes an amazing Fall and winter dinner and it’s packed with protein and fiber. Plus it’s super tasty. Get the recipe.
8. SOUTHERN SWEET POTATO PIE – Make this homemade southern sweet potato pie recipe from scratch using whole, unrefined ingredients! It’s so easy to make and your guests won’t even know it’s healthy! A dessert that is easy on the waistline? Yiipee. Get the recipe.
9. SWEET POTATO AND LENTIL HASH –This high-protein, high flavor sweet potato and lentil hash will fill you up and make you feel great! Get the recipe.
10. BAKED SWEET POTATO – Perfectly sweet and creamy, these baked sweet potatoes are heaven. Baking sweet potatoes is easy but I want to make sure you have all the information you need to make the process even easier. Check out this post. It’ll teach you everything you want to know about how to bake sweet potatoes. Get the recipe.
11. CRISPY BAKED SWEET POTATO TOTS –These crispy baked sweet potato tots are perfectly sweet, crunchy, and especially delicious when dipped into the Greek yogurt dip. They’re the perfect solution to your fry cravings Get the recipe.
12. EASY SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE –This Easy Sweet Potato Casserole uses fresh sweet potatoes, and is perfectly sweet, dense, and crunchy. It’s also healthy because the brown sugar is replaced coconut sugar and the butter by coconut oil. This casserole makes a great sweet addition for the Thanksgiving table. Get the recipe.
13. ROASTED SWEET POTATOES – Did I tell you how to roast sweet potatoes? I think I did but I did not give you all the tips. Head over to the Roasted Sweet Potatoes post and learn how to roast sweet potatoes. Possibly the easiest sweet potato recipe ever, with so much flavor. These roasted sweet potatoes are quite addicting. Get the recipe.
14. SWEET POTATO ROLLS –These buttery, hot, and amazing Sweet Potato Rolls are so delicious and you’d never believe they’re actually good for you! Get the recipe.
15. SWEET POTATO HASH – This sweet potato hash recipe is a healthy, delicious, vegetarian side that is easy to make and can even be a full meal. Get the recipe.
16. SWEET POTATO SOFT PRETZEL BITES – Delicious, nutritious, and perfect for munching on guilt-free, these Sweet Potato Soft Pretzel Bites made with sweet potato dough and baked in the oven. And don’t even get me started on the 2 different dipping sauces that come with the recipe. YUMMY. Get the recipe.
17. SWEET POTATO HUMMUS – You know what my favorite healthy dip is? Hummus. You know what else I love a lot? Sweet potatoes. See where I’m going with this? Sweet Potato Hummus, everybody! A Fall-themed hummus ready in just 10 minutes? Yes, please! Get the recipe.
18. BREAKFAST MEAL PREP | EGG WHITE SCRAMBLE + SWEET POTATO HASH – Remember the sweet potato hash I talked about a couple of minutes ago? Well, if you pair it with egg white scramble, you get an amazing breakfast you can make ahead and enjoy all week long. Get the recipe.
19. HOW TO MAKE PROTEIN PANCAKES + 4 EASY PROTEIN PANCAKE RECIPES – Have you ever made sweet potato pancakes? If the answer is no, hurry up and try my sweet potato protein pancakes. They are breakfast-perfect, gluten-free and they taste heavenly. Bonus – 3 extra pancakes recipes that are also healthy and good for you. Get the recipe.
Did I miss anything? What other ways to cook and/or cut sweet potatoes did I miss in this post? Share in the comments below!
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The post How To Cook Sweet Potatoes + 19 Easy Sweet Potato Recipes appeared first on A Sweet Pea Chef.
Winter roasted butternut squash black lentil salad with juicy grapes served over a bed of arugula and drizzled with a creamy tahini dressing! Full of texture, comforting and so delicious! Has anyone been exhausted lately? Maybe it’s that fact that Winter is truly coming, or perhaps it’s because I haven’t eaten anything green in over [...]
The post Winter Roasted Butternut Squash Black Lentil Salad with Grapes + Arugula appeared first on Ambitious Kitchen.
