We have a tradition of meeting some of our friends at our favorite pizza place once a year. Unfortunately, this pizzeria does not offer dairy-free cheeses (though they will leave the cheese out upon request). After seeing Marc enjoy a big, beautiful calzone on our most recent visit, I knew I had to whip up a dairy-free calzone recipe at home.
A Brief History of the Calzone
You probably won’t be surprised to learn that the calzone, like pizza, hails from Italy. Street vendors began selling calzones in Naples during the 1700s. Its folded shape makes it easy to eat while walking around.
Called calzoni, meaning “trouser” or “stocking” in Italian, calzones are typically filled with meats, vegetables, and cheeses, but not tomato sauce, and then baked.
Calzones are often confused with stromboli, their Italian-American cousins. But calzones are always crescent-shaped, like a pizza folded in half, whereas stromboli are rolled into cylinders or folded into rectangles.
Italy also boasts a fried rather than baked calzone-like pastry called panzerotti.
Dairy-Free Calzone Tips
You can use any type of dairy-free cheese, but I prefer Aldi’s mozzarella-style shreds (not sponsored). They are the most affordable vegan cheese where I live, and the flavor and texture are the most like mozzarella of any brand I’ve tried.
If you live in a household with “real” cheese eaters as I do, you can easily customize some of the calzones with real cheese and some with vegan cheese. Just be sure to mark which is which! If you do forget, you should be able to tell when you cut into the calzone. Vegan cheese melts down and becomes translucent, while mozzarella tends to hold its own.
Since we’re talking ingredient swaps here, feel free to substitute plant-based meats to make this recipe totally vegetarian.
This is a big recipe, making eight servings. It’s great for parties or for having leftovers for lunch the next day. You can reheat your calzones in the microwave, or pop them in the oven for a few minutes at 350 F to make them taste crispy and fresh.
Or, you can cut the recipe in half if you prefer.
Each half-circle-shaped pie represents two servings, so you will want to cut them in half before serving.
What About the Sauce?
As noted above, Italian calzones do not traditionally contain tomato sauce, and neither do these. But some American versions do. The main reason I opt not to include the sauce in the pastries is that it makes them difficult to close and can result in soggy lower crusts. If you do choose to include tomato sauce, spoon it in sparingly and make sure it does not run to the edges of the dough.
The Perfect Dough
You may remember my long-sought-after pizza crust recipe. These calzones utilize the same dough, doubled, but I’ve made a slight change to the process. Previously, I placed all the dry ingredients (including the yeast) in the mixer before adding the liquid ingredients.
Now, I mix the yeast, sugar, and water in a measuring cup and let it sit for 10 minutes before adding it to the dry ingredients. This has resulted in a more consistently leavened dough that rises and rolls out well.
This recipe also employes an egg wash. The egg wash helps hold the edges of the pastry together and gives the top a crispy, golden brown finish.
Dairy-Free Calzone Recipe
Equipment
- Stand mixer with dough hook or mixing bowl and spoon
- Rolling Pin
- baking pans
- basting brush
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups warm water
- 3 tsp sugar
- 4.5 tsp yeast
- 4 cups flour
- 4 tbsp garlic powder, divided
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb ground Italian sausage
- 1 package pepperoni
- 1 carton baby portabella mushrooms
- 8 oz dairy-free cheese
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 1.5 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Combine warm water, yeast, and sugar. Allow to sit for 10 minutes.
- Add flour, salt, and 2 tbsp garlic powder to your mixer or large mixing bowl. Add the yeast mixture and oil. Using a dough hook, mix until well blended and a ball forms.
- Cover the dough with a damp towl and allow to rise undisturbed for at least one hour or up to three hours.
- While waiting on your dough, cook the sausage and crumble. Thinly slice the mushrooms.
- Preheat the oven to 425 F.
- Turn the dough onto a floured surface. Divide dough into four pieces. Roll out each section of dough into a circle.
- Transfer the dough to a baking sheet. Layer 1/4 of the pepperoni, 1/4 of the sausage, 1/4 of the mushrooms, and 1 oz of vegan cheese on 1/2 of each circle, keeping it at least 1/4 inch from the edges.
- Beat the egg with 1 to 2 tbsp of water to create an egg wash.
- Brush a small amount of egg wash onto the 1/4 inch of dough surrounding the ingredients. Fold the other half of the dough over the ingredients to create a crescent or half-circle shape. Press and seal the edges of the dough using the tines of a fork.
- Brush the top of the calzones with the remaining egg wash. Sprinkle with salt, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. The calzones are ready when they turn a golden brown.
- While the calzones bake, heat the tomato sauce on low in a small saucepan. Add the remaining garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and salt to taste.
- Serve the calsones with tomato sauce for dipping.
One part Lois Lane, one part Jimmy Olsen, one part Johnboy Walton, and a bit of that Clark Kent secret identity thing thrown in for good measure.
Cara Siera is a freelance writer and photographer with a passion for travel and exotic cuisine. Join Cara, her husband Marc, and one very spoiled German Shepherd on their next great adventure.