This Cast Iron Calzone is an easy perfect meal that’s a great twist on pizza night! Only 7 ingredients and done in under an hour, this delicious recipe is also easily customizable for your favorite fillings.
Original post: February 2021 | Updated: March 2025
Why This Recipe Works
- Unique twist on pizza night the whole family loves.
- Super versatile and so delicious – Cater the veggies and meat to your liking.
- Only 7 simple ingredients and done in under an hour start to finish.
I have always been a fan of calzone. It’s like a pizza in pie form and filled with the most delicious options. I love making all sorts of different calzone for a unique twist on pizza night, but this is one of my family’s favorites. Mine too.
This Cast Iron Calzone comes together so easily and takes less than an hour of your time.
And this recipe only calls for 7 ingredients as written, but can be catered to your liking with all sorts of meats and veggies.
Easy, versatile, delicious… What’s not love? Your family may never go back to traditional pizza night again!
Calzone Ingredients
Use fresh ingredients for maximum flavor in all your cooking.
Ground beef – Replace with ground sausage, turkey or chicken.
Veggies – Stick with 2 veggies for space purposes. Options: yellow or white onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, broccoli or black olives.
Pizza dough – Purchasing frozen dough is so much easier than making your own. Thaw according to package directions. This easy no yeast pizza dough recipe works too!
Marinara sauce – Traditional calzones don’t have sauce in them, but I just love the addition. Go store-bought, or make your own marinara or homemade pizza sauce tastes great too.
Pepperoni – Replace with bacon or Canadian bacon if desired.
Mozzarella cheese – Or another melty cheese.
How to Make Cast-Iron Skillet Calzone
This is a shorter form of the complete directions in the recipe card. Use the full instructions at the bottom of the post for best results.
Step 1
Cook ground beef in a cast-iron skillet until no longer pink.
Add the veggies and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
Transfer contents of the skillet to a bowl and drain grease (do not clean skillet bottom).
Step 2
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Divide pizza dough nearly in half. On a lightly floured surface roll dough balls into two circles, one being slightly bigger.
Place the larger piece of dough on the bottom and up the sides of the skillet. You can trim away any excess dough or roll it into the crust.
Step 3
Spread the marinara sauce evenly onto the dough, transfer meat mixture, and top with your fillings.
Place the remaining circle of dough over the top. Pinch the dough edges together creating a seam. Cut a few vent lines into the top of the calzone.
Step 4
Transfer skillet into the preheated oven and bake until uniformly cooked through.
Cut and serve with extra marinara sauce, if desired.
Recipe Notes & Tips
- Drain the grease from the skillet after the ground meat has cooked. You can wipe skillet, but do not clean it fully. The now-empty skillet will provide great flavor to the bottom crusts.
- Use room temperature dough. Cold dough will be hard to roll out.
- When you divide dough ball, make sure one piece is slightly larger than the other.
- Use your imagination to build your favorite calzone creation.
- Use a paring knife to cut 1-inch vents into your top dough before baking.
- You can use a store-bought pizza dough or make your own.
- If using frozen dough, make sure it’s thawed completely.
- Use a wooden spoon or spatula to spread the filling ingredients in an even layer.
- You can brush top of calzone with an egg wash for a browner top crust.
- Trim overhang or edges of dough away to crimp dough edges more easily.
- Move the oven rack to the lower-middle position to accommodate the skillet.
Calzone Fillings
Basically anything that goes on a pizza can go into a calzone. Try out all sorts of different meat, cheese, and veggie combinations to make all kinds of delicious calzones. You can even make breakfast calzones!
- Meats – Pepperoni, Italian sausage, salami, ham, turkey, chicken, ground meat all work great!
- Veggies – Squash and zucchini, red pepper and green peppers, broccoli or broccoli rabe, spinach. Try any of your favorites!
- Sauce – Tomato sauce is a usual go-to, but try using an Alfredo sauce or pesto in your calzones. And don’t dismiss Buffalo or barbecue sauce for a chicken calzone.
- Different cheeses – Honestly, all cheese will work great. From parmesan cheese to mozzarella to cheddar to Boursin and everything in between.
More Calzone Ideas
- Turkey and Cheese
- Chicken Broccoli Alfredo
- Buffalo Chicken
- Sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast calzones
What To Serve With Calzones
How To Fold a Calzone
Divide the pizza dough approximately in half. One part should be slightly bigger than the other.
On a flat, floured surface roll out the dough pieces into two circles, again one should be slightly larger.
Place the larger circle on the bottom of your pan and up the sides. Add your fillings.
Place the remaining circle of dough over the top. Pinch the dough edges together creating a seam. Using a sharp knife, cut a few vent lines into the top of the calzone.
Stromboli vs Calzone
While both can be filled with your favorite fillings and served with or without sauce, the main difference between a stromboli and a calzone is the shape.
Calzones are usually crescent shaped and sealed at the edges, while stromboli is rolled in rectangular shape and baked seam-side down. Think of the difference between a quesadilla and a burrito.
You can check out some of my stromboli recipes to see the difference and try my Veggie and Cheese Stromboli, Buffalo Chicken Stromboli, or Chicken Parmesan Stromboli for delicious alternatives to more traditional stromboli.
How to Store Leftover Calzones
Allow any leftover calzone to cool completely before covering for storage. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
How to Reheat
In the Oven – Heat oven to 350 and place the leftover calzone in a baking dish or on a baking sheet. Heat in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until heated through.
In the Microwave – Place calzone on a microwave safe plate and heat on high for 2-3 minutes until heard all the way through.
Delicious Pizza Recipes
7 Ingredient Cast Iron Calzone
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 1 lb frozen pizza dough thawed according to package directions
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- 20 pepperoni slices
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
- Cook the ground beef in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add onions and green peppers. Cook until veggies are soft, about 5 minutes. Transfer contents of the skillet to a bowl and drain grease (do not clean skillet).
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Divide the pizza dough nearly in half, one part being slightly bigger than the other. On a flat, floured surface rough the dough into two circles, one 10 inches in diameter and the other 12 inches.
- Place the larger circle on the bottom and up the sides of the skillet, letting the dough hang over the edge. Spread the marinara sauce evenly onto the dough and top with the cooked meat and veggies. Top with a layer of pepperoni and then the cheese.
- Place the remaining circle of dough over the top. Pinch the dough edges together creating a seam. Using a sharp knife, cut a few vent lines into the top of the calzone.
- Place the skillet into the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes. Cut like a pizza and serve with extra marinara sauce, if desired.
Video
Notes
- Drain the grease from the skillet after the ground meat has cooked. You can wipe skillet, but do not clean it fully. The now-empty skillet will provide great flavor to the bottom crusts.
- Use room temperature dough. Cold dough will be hard to roll out.
- When you divide dough ball, make sure one piece is slightly larger than the other.
- Use your imagination to build your favorite calzone creation.
- Use a paring knife to cut 1-inch vents into your top dough before baking.
- You can use a store-bought pizza dough or make your own.
- If using frozen dough, make sure it’s thawed completely.
- Use a wooden spoon or spatula to spread the filling ingredients in an even layer.
- You can brush top of calzone with an egg wash for a browner top crust.
- Trim overhang or edges of dough away to crimp dough edges more easily.
- Move the oven rack to the lower-middle position to accommodate the skillet.
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