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Easy Turkey Calzone with pizza dough is great for leftover turkey or chicken. It’s a quick and easy dinner recipe with just a few ingredients – who doesn’t love pizza? Skip the turkey sandwiches and make this instead!
Leftover Turkey Calzone
After I roast a turkey (or chicken) or buy a rotisserie chicken I always have leftovers and struggle to find new and fun ways to use them. This is one of my favorite ways – combining two things I love – turkey and pizza!
It’s an easy calzone recipe made with refrigerated pizza dough so your dinner is on the table quick. Add your favorite pizza fillings and leftover turkey or chicken and you’ve got the perfect dinner!
Ingredients Needed
- Pizza dough: Choose which type of dough works best: store bought or my homemade pizza dough.
- Ricotta cheese: This can be optional if you don’t have it or don’t want it.
- Garlic: Don’t skimp on the garlic. It’s delicious.
- Italian seasoning: The perfect pizza seasoning.
- Ground black pepper: Freshly ground black pepper is best.
- Shredded parmesan cheese: The more parmesan, the better.
- Pizza sauce: Buy it at the store or make your own. You can also use marinara sauce.
- Shredded mozzarella cheese: You can also use any type of shredded cheese that you’d like. I recommend shredding it yourself for ultimate meltiness!
- Cooked turkey or chicken: Make sure that it’s shredded or cut up really tiny. I love using leftover roasted turkey or my shredded chicken leftovers.
- Olive oil: I also will use avocado oil or coconut oil as well.
How to make a Turkey Calzone
- Mix together the garlic, spices, parmesan cheese, and ricotta.
- Spread out the pizza dough in a rectangle shape on a lightly floured surface. Spread garlic mixture over the dough.
- Top with pizza sauce.
- Add mozzarella.
- Add turkey meat.
- Fold the top half of the dough over the filling and then make sure to seal the edges. This will help prevent it from spilling out.
- Add the rest of the garlic with oil and brush on top of the dough. Make a few slits on top to vent.
- Bake until golden and hot.
FAQs
The key to keeping a crisp crust is to make sure that you not only preheat the oven but you preheat the cooking sheet as well. When you add on the calzone to bake, the nice hot surface will keep it from getting soggy.
Yes, you can. You can leave it out and fill that void with shredded cheese or nothing at all. It’s up to you. I would suggest making it with the ricotta cheese the first time and then changing up the recipe after that. That way, you know how to edit it so that you get what you want.
Perfectly baked calzones should be baked for 18-23 minutes. Once the dough starts to turn golden brown, it’s a good sign that it’s done cooking and ready to be taken out of the oven. Be sure to let the calzone cool down once you take it out of the oven. It’s going to be piping hot!
Turkey Calzone
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 1 can pizza dough or one homemade recipe
- ⅓ cup (74g) ricotta cheese
- 1 tablespoon garlic divided
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ cup (10g) shredded parmesan cheese
- ⅓ cup (92g) pizza sauce
- 4 ounces (115g) shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup (138g) cooked turkey or chicken (shredded or diced small)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Unroll pizza dough and spread out into a rectangle approximately 10×15-inches in size.
- Stir together ricotta, 2 teaspoons garlic, spices and parmesan. Spread over the long half of the pizza dough.
- Top the ricotta with pizza sauce, mozzarella and turkey.
- Fold the top half of the dough over the filling and crimp/roll the edges to seal.
- Stir together remaining teaspoon of garlic with oil and brush over the top of the dough. Cut a few slits in the top to vent.
- Bake 18-23 minutes or until dough is golden brown and cooked through. Serve hot.
- Store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Recipe Notes
- Use freshly shredded cheese for best melting results.
- Use chicken or turkey (rotisserie or leftover).
- Use whole or part skim rictotta.
Recipe Nutrition
Other Favorite Pizzas
Turn leftovers into a Turkey Calzone! This is an easy pizza recipe for a quick weeknight meal – 30 minutes! Use rotisserie chicken too!
