Spinach Artichoke Calzones: Everyone’s favorite dip is transformed into the filling for a calzone. Your pizza night has been completely revolutionized.
Your pizza night is about to be transformed.
Do you see that yummy spinach falling out of a freshly baked calzone? Look close, you will see artichokes as well.
Yep, you guessed it! I took everyone’s favorite dip and turned it into the filling of a calzone. Prepare for your pizza night to be revolutionized!
I mean come on, even people who HATE spinach (yes, they are crazy and I married one!) most often can be caught hand in the rich and cheesy dip. For those people who still turn up their nose at the dip–cover it with bread dough and dip in marinara and you have a winner!
Spinach Artichoke Calzone
This is not quite the same as stuffing your beloved dip into bread dough. Nope, that would probably be a bit too rich to eat much of. Imagine all that sour cream or mayonnaise–too much of a good thing?!
So I started with what nearly every calzone starts with, ricotta cheese.
And to that ricotta, I added defrosted chopped spinach, chopped artichokes, and cheese.
Dip this calzone into homemade marinara sauce (or your favorite store brand) and you will be whisked away into culinary heaven.
The Process
- Make homemade bread dough. I used my recipe for the dough I used in my Garlic bread. Feel free to use your favorite one pound bread dough recipe or defrost a loaf of frozen bread dough.
- Make the filling for the calzone.
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
- Divide the dough into 4 portions. And roll into 1/4 inch thick rounds.
- Top each round with 1/2 cup filling on half the round.
- Fold the dough over and seal together by crimping with your fingers or a fork.
- Brush each calzone with an egg wash (or olive oil) and sprinkle with seasons. Make 3 slits on top of calzone to allow steam to escape while baking.
- Bake.
- Resist to bite into immediately and allow to cool.
- Devour!!
Go get a napkin and wipe the drool off your face.
The Recipe
Spinach Artichoke Calzones
Ingredients
- 1 pound bread dough
- 16 oz ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup feta cheese
- 1/4 cup fresh Parmesan cheese grated
- 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1 cup defrosted chopped spinach
- 1 cup defrosted chopped artichokes (or canned artichokes)
- 1 teaspoon garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional
- 1 egg for an egg wash
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Marinara for serving
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
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Mix together the ricotta, cheeses, spinach, artichokes, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes.
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Divide dough into 4 equal portions and roll out into 1/4 inch thick rounds.
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Place about 1/3- 1/2 cup of mixture onto 1 half of each round, leaving a 1/4 inch border.
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Fold the dough over and seal by crimping with your hands or fork.
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Mix the egg with a splash of water and brush over each calzone. Sprinkle with oregano and more Parmesan cheese if desired.
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Cut 3 slits on top of each calzone.
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Bake for 18-20 minutes until crust is golden brown.
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Allow to cool and cut into half to serve along side marinara sauce.
Wow! This looks super yummy! I will make this next week. Thanks for sharing. Pinning.
Thanks Starla!! I hope you love it!
Kristen,
My family loves our Friday Night Pizza, and I love changing things up all the time. This sounds like a delicious idea for a calzone–my spouse would gobble it right up! I like the addition of feta–I don’t use that in my spinach artichoke dip but it goes great in spanakopita so why not?
Thanks!
I don’t add feta to my dip either, but in the pizza it really helps cut through the richness of the ricotta and bread. Plus feta is AWESOME!!
Mmmmm I’m totally drooling over that filling!
It is over the top good Ashley!
Calzones are my favorite. The spinach and artichoke combo in this is perfect!
You will love this Julia!
What a great idea to put it in a calzone!
Thanks Pam!
I could totally go meatless for a calzone that sounds that good!
So true–this would make a great meatless entree.
i love spinach and artichoke anything. It is such a great comfort food flavor. Would love a calzone right now!
You will love these! Hope you try them soon.
What a great way to vary pizza. My husband makes “real” NJ homemade pizza dough and he’s made calzone, but always includes tomato sauce. Think I’ll have to convince him to let me try this filling.
Since you serve this with sauce, maybe he will go for it.
well I happen to LOVE spinach, and I think I’ll plan to make these for Sunday night dinner – the perfect thing to enjoy while watching the SNL Anniversary show! thanks for the recipe!
This is great food to nosh on during a TV marathon. I hope you enjoy it.
Spinach artichoke dip is one of my family’s favorites. I love the idea of using it in a calzone/pizza. I bet it was wonderful!
Then your family will go crazy for this!
Theses look dreamy. And the filling is brilliant! 🙂
Thanks Susan!
Looks incredible! I’m going to have to try this one out!
Yum! I love spinach! This looks like a great recipe.
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Thanks Jennie!
Hi Kristen. I’m stopping in from Let’s Get Real tonight. This recipe is a wonderful combination of flavors. Artichokes and feta…………I can’t wait to try it.
Thanks Christina–always love you your party! I hope you enjoy this Calzone!
Yummy yummy! Who doesn’t love artichokes and spinach? Pinning this to my dinner ideas board, I’m sure we will be trying this soon on our Meatless Mondays!
I hope you love it!
This is a great idea! Pretty sure I am now craving this for lunch.
Thanks Marye. Makes a great lunch for sure.
These look unbelievably good!
Thanks so much Dorothy!
This is such a great idea and by making the filling lighter, it’s so much healthier! It looks delicious!
Thanks Joanie.
These look so wonderful! I love the filling, and I’m thinking this might be a great way to get my grandchildren to eat spinach!! Great recipe!
Susan, fingers crossed the grandkids dig in!
These look so delicious! I definitely want to try this recipe!
I hope you do Linda!
wow!! This looks so awesome, such a great and delicious idea! I love artichokes but you don’t really see them much here in the UK, or I’m not shopping in the right places haha
Hmm, I wonder why you don’t find artichokes that easily. You can try in the pickled section (sometimes jarred like pickles), the canned section, or the frozen section. We have them in all places here in the US. Good luck finding them. And if not, just the spinach with feta would be a great combo on it’s own. Of course you could add mushrooms or chicken or anything your heart desires.
I love calzones and the spinach artichoke combo, these sound wonderful!
Thanks Joy! The spinach and artichoke combo is really great.
That looks really good! I’ve been meaning to try making calzones…I make strombolis a lot. You make it sound relatively easy…I think I am going to give it a try!
Michelle, if you can make strombolis, calzones will be a walk in the park for you!
This is definitely my kind of pizza night! I love the spinach artichoke combination! Yum!