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5 from 2 votes

Chicken and Parsley Pesto Calzone

Hearty grilled chicken and parley pesto calzones topped with green bell peppers, onions, mozzarella cheese, salami pepperoni and spices.
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Course: Sandwiches, Pizza
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 6
Calories: 738kcal
Author: HWC Magazine

Ingredients

Pizza Dough

  • 2.5 cups flour
    bread flour but can use all purpose flour as well
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 package yeast
    dry
  • 2 teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup water
    warmed to about 105F -110F
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil and a little more for the bowl while resting

Pizza Toppings

  • ½ pound chicken breasts cooked, pre-grilled (marinated in olive oil, basil, garlic, onion and salt and pepper)
  • ¼ pound pepperoni
    thinly sliced or salami
  • ½ cup green bell pepper
    chopped
  • 2/2 cup onion
    chopped
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese
    grated
  • dried chili peppers
    to taste- optional
  • 1 tablespoon jalapeño peppers
    chopped - optional
  • 1 tablespoon tomatoes
    ultra thin sliced Malaysian cherry tomatoes-optional
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
    (basil, oregano, garlic, onion and dried sweet bell pepper)
  • salt and pepper
    to taste

Parsley Pesto

  • 1.5 cups parsley
    curly or flat
  • 1 clove garlic
    chopped
  • ¾ cup olive oil
  • ½ cup parmesan cheese
    grated
  • 1 teaspoon basil
    dried
  • 1 egg
    beaten
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
    brush on top of calzone
  • hot pepper flakes to taste- optional

Instructions

  • Make the Pizza Dough: In a large bowl combine flour, yeast, sugar and salt and then add the warm water and olive oil. Mix well and then knead for about 5 minutes until soft and pliable. Place dough bowl in a oiled bowl and cover for about ½ hour or until doubled in size. (I also do not own one of those fancy kitchen aids with the dough hooks. So if you are like me, a fork works just fine and you can get a great finished product with a bit of kneading)
  • Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F or 232 degrees Celsius. (If you happen to have a pizza stone, heat it up in the oven but if you are like me and do not have one this recipe works just fine on a cookie sheet)
  • Gather up and prepare the calzone fillings. I sliced chicken breast, pepperoni-salami, chopped up green pepper and onions.
  • Make your parsley pesto: In a blender add your parsley, garlic, olive oil, parmesean cheese, basil, hot pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste. Blend until a nice bright green thin sauce. Set aside.
  • Take your risen pizza dough and punch down until flat to get the bubbles out. Place your pizza dough on a greased cookie sheet. Spread the dough out into a 12 inch circle.
  • On one half of the calzone pizza, spread a thin layer of the parsley pesto, all of your toppings like your chicken breasts, peppers, onions, pepperoni-salami, jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and spices. Do not overload as you will have difficulty folding over and sealing your calzone. Leave at least one inch empty around the sides of the calzone to allow for sealing.
  • Brush around the edges of the pizza with your egg wash. Pull over the empty side of the calzone over the side with all of the fillings and press down and around. I used the fold over technique to seal my calzone. You fold over the edge while holding on to the edge and then move along and fold over and new portion of the edge until it is sealed. You could also use a fork to seal the edges or whatever way works best for you.
  • Brush the calzone with a little olive oil and seasonings of choice. My boys wanted dried red peppers but maybe you would like a little garlic salt or oregano.
  • Bake calzone for about 15-20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and it sounds like a thud when you tap it with your fork. (I know that sounds like odd advise but it really does make a thud sound when you tap it when it is perfectly cooked. )

Notes

You can fill your calzones with whatever your little heart desires but this just happens to be what was available on our pantry shelves and refrigerator today. We also added grilled chicken, bell peppers, grilled onions, parley pesto and pepperoni before sealing up our calzone.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 738kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 49g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 92mg | Sodium: 1427mg | Potassium: 435mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1572IU | Vitamin C: 33mg | Calcium: 243mg | Iron: 4mg