Ham and Broccoli Calzones! Easy, delicious, freezer-friendly- the kids are going to love them!
Take it away, Kelly!
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Before my daughter Isla was born, I prepped and froze two week’s worth of dinners. It was amazing to have homemade meals on-hand while I was recovering and bonding with the newest member of my family.
Isla is 19 months old now and I still freeze simple and healthy recipes for days when I don’t have enough time (or energy) to cook. I even published a cookbook of my favorite freezer recipes titled, “15-Minute Freezer Recipes.”
Ham & Broccoli Calzones are one of the two calzone recipes in my cookbook (the other is “Mexican Calzones”). I love making calzones because they can be defrosted one at a time for a quick, homemade lunch or dinner. Plus my daughters love them and don’t seem to notice the meat and vegetables inside – two things that can otherwise be a struggle to get them to eat!
The directions in this Ham & Broccoli Calzone recipe explain how to freeze the calzones, but you can certainly skip that step and put them right into the oven instead!
Ham & Broccoli Calzones
Ingredients
· 2, 6.5oz packages pizza crust mix (I use Betty Crocker)
· 1/8 lb mild cheedar cheese (about 1/2 cup)
· 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
· 1/2 lb boneless ham, diced
· 1 cup frozen chopped broccoli
· 3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
· 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, divided
Directions
· Prepare pizza crust according to directions on package.
· Shred cheese (freshly shredded cheese tastes so much better than the pre-packaged stuff!).
· Use olive oil to oil hands and 2 baking sheets.
· Separate dough into 7 even-sized balls (3 on one baking sheet, 4 on the other).
· Flatten dough as thin as possible with hands.
· On one side of each flattened dough ball, add: 1/4 cup ham, 2 tablespoons of broccoli (for easy measuring, split 1/4 cup between 2 calzones), 1 tablespoon of cheddar cheese, 1 tablespoon of ricotta cheese, 1/7teaspoon of Italian seasoning (sprinkle the full teaspoon across all 7 calzones)
· Fold the empty side of the flattened dough ball over the toppings and seal the edges with your fingers.
· Place baking sheets in freezer for an hour or until calzones are frozen firm.
· Wrap calzones in wax paper and foil and then place in gallon-sized plastic freezer bags.
· Freeze.
Cook
· Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
· Bake 35 minutes or until golden brown.
Dr. Kelly McNelis is the owner of New Leaf Wellness, LLC. Kelly offers classes and private wellness coaching to help moms get back in shape after having a new baby. She’s a social psychologist, certified wellness coach, runner, and mom of two little girls. Kelly lives in Pittsburgh, PA with her husband, Andy, and their two daughters, Cameran (3) and Isla (1).
For more recipes from Kelly, visit her blog or follow her on Pinterest (@kellymcnelis).
Now your turn- what are your kids eating?
Heather @ What Does She Do All Day? says
Those calzones look yummy! I want one! I’ll have to try them and see if my picky eater will give them a try. Thanks for sharing.
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl says
These look GOOD! I would so love to make these (without the ham, though) and I am not even close to being a kid! 😉
Jen says
LOVE the calzone idea. Definitely going to give it a try!
Laura @ Mommy Run Fast says
Ohmygoodness, those calzones look fantastic! Even when L was not picky, she never cared for broccoli but most kids seem to love it. I bet she’d gobble these up!
Tiff @ Love, Sweat, & Beers says
Forget the kiddos – I want to make those calzones for myself! 😉
Sarah@ making thyme for health says
Homemade hot pockets! Great idea, 🙂
Matt @ The Athlete's Plate says
Those calzones look amazing! I sort of wish I was a munchkin 😉
Kelly McNelis says
Thanks for sharing! My whole family loves these calzones. We do all kinds of filling combinations besides Ham & Broccoli!
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Joy says
Question: Are the cooking directions for frozen calzones, or ones that have already been defrosted?
Kelly @ New Leaf Wellness says
Straight from the freezer to the oven!
Mandy says
Do you think that I can use frozen pizza dough for this if I just thaw it out and stuff it? I need to make a lot of these and I’m wondering if I could get a better deal doing it this way than buying multiple bags of the pizza crust mix. Thoughts?
Kelly @ New Leaf Wellness says
I’m not sure. You’ll want to roll it out pretty thin, so the consistency of the dough is key. My favorite dry mix is Betty Crocker and it only costs $1 or so per package. (I know some people have tried my calzone recipes with the Jiffy dough, and they haven’t turned out as well.) if you end up using the frozen dough, please let us know how it turns out!
Emily says
My family doesn’t eat pork so I’m thinking about subbing ham for beef or chicken… I know ham is usually precooked, right? So does that mean the subbed meat would need to be precooked too, or might raw chunks work? Your opinion on this would be greatly appreciated!!! Not having to pre cook the meat would make it quicker 🙂 Though I plan to use homemade dough too.
Emily says
…
Kelly @ New Leaf Wellness says
Yes, you absolutely need to use precooked meat. I’ve used leftover grilled chicken or crockpot shredded chicken in the past with great success. Even rotisserie chicken is delicious and a great shortcut!