Healthy Calzone Recipe {Veggie} (2024)

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Homemade calzones are easy to make at home and you will love these veggie calzones! They are stuffed with kale, mushrooms, and ricotta cheese. Serve marinara sauce on the side for dipping! This calzone recipe is a dinner winner!

Healthy Calzone Recipe {Veggie} (1)

Family-FriendlyMeatless Calzone

I always ask Josh what he wants for dinner. I really don’t know why I ask for his input because we rarely make what he wants. Don’t feel bad for Josh because he eats well:) I just don’t want to make for dinner every night. Josh alwayssuggests pizza. He never gets tired of pizza.

Last week when Josh asked for pizza, I compromised and suggested calzones. Josh loved the idea. He asked what kind of calzones and I told him Kale, Mushroom, and Ricotta Calzones. I could see the look of disappointment in his face when I didn’t mention sausage or pepperoni. I told Josh to cheer up because these meatless calzones were going to be incredibly tasty and I was right! Even Josh didn’t miss the meat!

Healthy Calzone Recipe {Veggie} (2)

How To Make Calzones

You can make homemade pizza dough or you can use store bought dough for this recipe. If we are feeling lazy, we buy Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods pizza dough. Their refrigerated pizza doughs are excellent!

Once you have your dough, you can get started on the filling. I am on a kale kick and can’t get enough. I cooked the kale with onion, garlic, and tossed in some mushrooms.

Next, I stirred together ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese. A trio of cheese, please! I added in a little crushed red pepper, dried basil, salt, and pepper. I added in the kale and mushroom mixture and our filling was ready to go!

Josh rolled out the pizza dough into circles and we filled our calzones with the kale, mushroom, and ricotta filling. We folded the dough over the filling, pinched the edges, and brushed them generously with olive oil. Into the oven they went and 20 minutes later, our calzones were golden brown and ready to be devoured.

We served our calzones with our Easy Marinara Sauce. Our Slow Cooker MarinaraSauce would also be good with the calzones! We had fun dipping and dunking our calzones!

Kale, Mushroom, and Ricotta Calzones are perfect for Meatless Monday…or any night. Josh already asked if we could have these calzones for dinner again and I think I will have to say yes!

If you like this calzone recipe, give these pizza recipes a try!

  • Spinach Artichoke Pesto Pizza
  • Pepperoni Pizza Rolls
  • Garlic Knots
  • Easy French Bread Pizza

Healthy Calzone Recipe {Veggie} (3)

Healthy Calzone Recipe {Veggie} (4)

Vegetarian

Kale, Mushroom, and Ricotta Calzones

Calzones filled with kale, mushrooms, ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese. Serve our Easy Marinara Sauce on the side. These calzones are fun to dip and delicious to eat!

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Ingredients

  • 1 pound fresh pizza dough homemade or store-bought
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil plus additional for brushing
  • 1/2 yellow onion diced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 cups chopped kale ribs and stems removed
  • 1 cup mushrooms
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
  • Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • All-purpose flour for dusting the counter
  • Easy Marinara Sauce for serving

Instructions

  • 1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Make sure your pizza dough is at room temperature. Set aside.

  • 2. To make the calzone filling, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the kale and mushrooms, cover and cook until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

  • 3. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheeses. Stir in the kale and mushroom mixture. Add the dried basil, crushed red pepper, and season with salt and pepper.

  • 4. Divide the pizza dough into 4 equal portions, and shape each portion into a ball. Lightly flour your work space. Start with 1 ball and roll it out into a circle, about 7 inches in diameter. Brush the edges of the round lightly with water. Place about a ½ cup of the kale cheese mixture on half of the round, leaving a 1-inch border. Gently fold the dough over so the edges meet and pinch the dough together with your fingers. Pierce the top of the calzone with the fork and carefully transfer to a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Brush each calzone with olive oil.

  • 5. Place the calzones in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let the calzones cool for about 5 minutes. Serve warm.

  • Note-I like to use Trader Joe's Kale that is already chopped. Great time saver! And if you don't want to make pizza dough from scratch, we love Trader Joe's and Whole Foods refrigerated pizza dough.

Have you tried this recipe?

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Healthy Calzone Recipe {Veggie} (2024)

FAQs

Can calzones be healthy? ›

If it's loaded with low-fat cheese and veggies as well, then it should fill a person up enough to curb their hunger. It contains plenty of protein and nutrients to do so. Calzones can be enjoyed any time of year as long as they're made a little healthier than usual.

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!

How many calories are in a vegetable calzone? ›

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving: 631 calories; fat 26g; saturated fat 11g; protein 28g; carbohydrates 70g; fiber 4g; cholesterol 102mg; sodium 1116mg.

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!

Which is healthier stromboli or calzone? ›

A calzone is healthier because it has less cheese. While a stromboli contains cheese and pepperoni, a calzone has leaner meat and whole-wheat dough. The whole-wheat dough is lower in calories and contains more fiber. You should also avoid processed meats.

Should Calzones have sauce inside? ›

Calzones' fillings do not include sauce; marinara is served on the side for dipping. Stromboli portions can also be dipped, but they can also be baked with the sauce inside.

Why are Calzones so high in calories? ›

Calzones aren't exactly healthy food, especially if they are stuffed with meat and large amounts of cheese. A calzone typically uses the same amount of pizza dough as a pizza crust and is meant to serve four people. Eating a whole calzone yourself can mean eating more than your recommended calories for the day.

How many calories in a spinach and feta calzone? ›

Per Serving: 275 calories; calories from fat 23%; fat 7.1g; saturated fat 2.7g; mono fat 2.9g; poly fat 0.9g; protein 11.7g; carbohydrates 43.2g; fiber 5.4g; cholesterol 13mg; iron 6.5mg; sodium 576mg; calcium 240mg.

How many calories in a 8 inch calzone? ›

There are 320 calories in 8 cubic inches of Calzone with Meat and Cheese.

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.

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 most unhealthy ingredient in pizza? ›

Most types of pizzas are high in calories and sodium, as they're usually topped with cheese, salty meats and other high-calorie toppings. Plus, some pizzas contain added sugar in the crust, certain toppings and sauces.

How many calories are in a average calzone? ›

On average, a typical restaurant-style calzone can contain anywhere from 500 to 1,000 calories or more, depending on factors such as the type and amount of cheese, meats, vegetables, and dough used in its preparation.

Are Calzones high in protein? ›

calzone has over 60 grams of protein. and is incredibly delicious. and healthy alternative to satisfy your pizza cravings.

Why are Calzones good? ›

Calzones are different — they're a classier dish. Each bite is a perfect combination of bread, sauce, cheese and other toppings. Especially if you're eating in public, you don't want the humiliating experience of eating messily and spilling all of your food. There's more freedom with diverse dipping sauces.

Do Calzones have a lot of carbs? ›

Calzone, with meat and cheese contains 39 calories per 11.5 g serving. This serving contains 2 g of fat, 1.7 g of protein and 3.6 g of carbohydrate. The latter is 0.1 g sugar and 0.2 g of dietary fiber, the rest is complex carbohydrate.

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