Ham & Cheese Mini Calzone Recipe is cheesy, loaded with delicious cheese and ham, then folded perfectly for a grab-and-go meal! They’re loved by kids, teens, AND adults!
Forget going to your local pizza restaurant to get a calzone – you can make them at home! Ham and Cheese Mini Calzones are the perfect dinner for on-the-go families like mine (we also always make these pepperoni pizza puffs…YUM).
This calzone recipe is stuffed with gooey cheese, delicious sauce, and sliced ham for the ultimate hand-held meal (or appetizer!). My sons love making homemade calzones with me, especially because they can customize them however they want!
HAM & CHEESE MINI CALZONE
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My boys have reached the age of wanting to hang out with their friends ALL. THE. TIME. They’ve always had their cousins around, but my nieces and nephews are practically second children to me, so nothing much changed when they came over (aka, leftovers out of the fridge for dinner).
Now that I seem to have a constant stream of pre-teen and teenage boys through my house, I also seem to have a constant stream of food leaving my refrigerator. All those people who told me when my boys were little to “just wait…” to see how much they would eat, that time has come and nothing could’ve prepared me for it.
Don’t get me wrong. I love being the house that hosts all the kids. I love to see my boys grow their friendships and getting to know who they’re hanging out with. Also, I love cooking for the masses and seeing their faces light up when they realize I’m making one of their favorite recipes.
There is almost nothing more that teenagers like than a homemade calzone. Even better? Ham and cheese MINI calzones! They’re cheesy, delicious, and most importantly – hand-held (so they can be grabbed off the plate in a flash and the boys can carry on with whatever they were doing).
This ham and cheese calzone recipe is simple, delicious, and the perfect dinner that is both kid and parent-approved!
Ingredients for this ham & cheese mini calzone recipe
You can absolutely use store-bought pizza dough from your local grocery store (or your favorite pizza restaurant – I just learned that my favorite pizzeria sells their uncooked dough… game changer).
I love to make homemade dough for calzones though. There’s something that’s just so yummy about fresh-made dough. I promise it’s super easy and you won’t regret it!
For the dough:
- Warm water
- Rapid-rise yeast
- Honey
- Kosher salt
- Olive oil
- All-purpose flour
For the filling:
- Marinara tomato sauce or pizza sauce
- Grated mozzarella cheese
- Sliced ham
- Milk
I always have my own homemade marinara sauce in the freezer for times like this (but you can also use your favorite jarred sauce). I’ve also been known to swap out marinara for some homemade pizza sauce. Both options are equally delicious.
How to make a calzone
When making dough, you want your water to be between 120 and 130 degrees F. Any hotter and it will kill your yeast, any cooler and it won’t activate it. I use a candy thermometer to check my water temp!
Start by making your calzone dough:
- Put the warm water in a bowl and stir in the yeast, honey, salt, and olive oil.
- On a clean work surface, pile the flour and make a well in the center.
- Add a little of the yeast liquid and use your fingers to slowly incorporate the flour. Little by little, add more liquid to the flour until you get a nice dough ball. (NOTE: You may not use all the liquid, don’t let the dough be too sticky!!!)
- Knead the dough for 5 minutes until smooth – really put some muscle into it!
- Next, lightly oil a bowl with a little olive oil and transfer the dough to the bowl.
- Give the dough one turn around the bowl to coat all sides with oil. Cover the bowl with a towel and put the bowl in a warm area to rise. You’ll know your dough is ready when it has doubled in volume (this usually takes about 40 minutes, depending on how warm your space is).
- Now, punch down the dough and place it on a lightly floured surface.
- Divide the dough into 12 balls. Cover and allow to rest for 20 minutes (yes, more dough resting… I said this recipe was easy not necessarily quick. It’s worth it though, believe me!)
- While your dough balls are resting, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Once the dough balls have rested (working on a floured surface), roll the dough out to a 4 1/2-inch round for each ball, about 1/8-inch thick.
Now to fill your mini calzones:
- Place half a teaspoon of sauce in the center and add 1 teaspoon cheese and a slice of ham, leaving a border.
- Fold the dough in half over the filling and line up the edges of the dough. Then use your fingers or a fork pressing around the edges to seal the dough. You want to make sure it is well sealed, or else you’ll have cheese and sauce oozing out!
- Place your mini calzones on the parchment-lined baking sheet and continue with the remaining dough balls.
- Before baking, brush the top fo the pastry with milk and brush sauce onto the centers (this gives them that beautiful crispy outside!).
- Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
- Get ready for them to vanish WAY faster than it took for them to cook – your family will be obsessed.
What is a calzone?
I’m convinced that whoever invented the calzone was a mom of boys who was tired of having pizza stains all over her couch. Calzones are literally JUST like pizza, except in a folded pizza pocket, and way neater way. Take your favorite pizza ingredients, put them on some dough, fold it over, seal it and BAM! You’ve got a calzone. Hand-held, delicious, and totally mess-free!
Stromboli vs. Calzone: What is the difference between a Stromboli and a calzone?
Ah, the age-old Italian (or Americanized Italian) battle – which is better…. a Stromboli or a Calzone? The answer is there is no winner here. They are both hand-held pizza perfection.
A calzone, as we discussed earlier, is basically a folded over pizza. You fill it with all your favorite toppings like meats and cheeses, seal it up, and bake it.
A Stromboli is the same in many ways (pizza dough, your favorite toppings, cheese, etc.), but the pivotal difference is the construction. While you fold a calzone, a Stromboli is rolled.
You could totally use calzones and Strombolis as some SAT practice for your teenagers…
Calzone is to taco as Stromboli is to… BURRITO!
Whether you eat your pizza by the slice, folded into a calzone, or rolled into a Stromboli, it’s sure to be a delicious meal your family will love!
Want more Family-Friendly dinner ideas? Check out these other Real Housemoms favorites!
- Buffalo Chicken Pizza Bites
- Cheesy BBQ Chicken Quesadillas
- Parmesan Chicken Tenders with Onion Dip
- Crock Pot Pizza
- Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
- more DINNER recipes…
Tools used to make this Ham & Cheese Mini Calzone Recipe
Instant Read Thermometer: I use this to measure the temperature of my water to make sure I’m not killing my yeast!
Baking Sheet: whether you’re making cookies or ham and cheese mini calzones, a good baking sheet is a must-have for every kitchen!
*This post originally posted on 03/19/2016.
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 packet rapid-rise yeast (0.75 ounces)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
Filling
- 1 cup marinara sauce plus more for dipping
- 6 ounces mozzarella cheese shredded
- Sliced ham
- ¼ cup milk for brushing
- ¼ cup marinara sauce for brushing
Instructions
Dough
- Add the water to a bowl and stir in the yeast, honey, salt, and olive oil.
- To a clean work surface pile the flour and make a well in the center.
- Add a little of the yeast liquid and use your fingers 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 get too sticky!
- Knead the dough for 5 minutes until smooth.
- 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.
- Punch down the dough and place it in a lightly-floured surface.
- Divide the dough into 12 balls. Cover and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
Assembly
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Once the dough balls have rested, working on a floured surface, roll out one dough ball to a 4 1/2-inch round (about 1/8-inch thick).
- Place half a teaspoon of sauce in the center and add 1 teaspoon cheese and a slice of ham, leaving a border.
- Fold the dough in half over the filling and press to seal using your fingers or a fork.
- Place on the parchment lined baking sheet and continue with the rest.
- Before baking, brush the pastry with milk and brush marinara sauce onto the centers. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving, or until they're cool enough to handle. Serve warm with extra marinara for dipping.
Nutrition
Andrew A Sutton says
Last step is confusing to me:
“Before baking, brush the pastry with milk and brush sauce onto the centers. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.”
Brush sauce onto the centers?
Aubrey says
Hey Andrew I’m sorry that last step confused you. After you brush the outside of the pastry with milk you will also brush some of the sauce onto the outside. You will do this only to the centers of the calzones. When we say center we’re not referencing the inside of the folded calzones but rather the center of the outside. There are a few pictures in the post that will illustrate this step. Hope that helps you.