Calzones are the perfect combination of pizza and pot pies. This is an easy chicken broccoli Alfredo recipe that you can cook up in less than an hour. It’s so quick and delicious, you’ll want to add it to your normal dinner rotation.
The great thing about this recipe is that you can customize it. You can go the quick and easy route by using canned pizza dough and a jar of pre-made Alfredo sauce, or you can make your favorite pizza dough from scratch and mix up a batch of the sauce recipe given below.
Calzone Ingredients
- pizza dough (whatever size you want)
- 1 batch of Alfredo sauce (see below)
- 2 chicken breasts, thawed
- 2 cups of cooked broccoli
- Italian seasoning
- Salt and pepper
- ¼ cup melted butter
Alfredo Sauce Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 minced cloves of garlic (or 1 tablespoon of garlic powder)
- ½ teaspoon cracked pepper
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- ¾ cups mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Cook the chicken. You want to make sure it’s cooked thoroughly, but still very juicy so it doesn’t dry out when you baked the calzones. To do this, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Bake it for 20 minutes at this heat and set it aside until you’re ready. Don’t turn off the oven–just turn it down to 425° when the chicken’s done.
- Now is a good time to make the Alfredo sauce. In a saucepan, melt the butter with the olive oil over medium heat.
- Add the garlic, pepper, and cream. Bring it all to a low simmer. Stir this often so the cream doesn’t burn.
- Add the parmesan cheese and stir it all up until the sauce is thick. This can take up to 10 minutes. If you think the sauce is too runny, add more cheese. If it’s too thick, add more cream.
- Now add the mozzarella and stir it until it’s creamy. Don’t walk away from the stove at this step, or you’ll burn it!
- Once the chicken is cooked, shred it up. Some people like their calzones with chopped chicken, but shredding it lets all the flavor of the sauce mix in. Season the chicken with a bit of salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
- Spread some flour on a baking sheet. Roll out your pizza dough until it’s very thin, about 1/8 inch thick, and the size you want for your calzones. You can make one huge calzone or a bunch of small ones—it’s up to you!
- Spread the chicken and broccoli over half of the calzone, leaving room to flip the dough over and seal it. Spoon in a generous amount of Alfredo sauce.
- Seal the calzones by flipping the dough over the toppings. Seal it by pressing it with a fork or pinching it with your fingers.
- With a knife, cut two or three slits in the top of the calzone. Brush the top with some melted butter. Bake it on the floured pan until the dough is golden and crispy (about 10-12 minutes).
Enjoy these delicious calzones with some of the extra Alfredo sauce you made. You can freeze or refrigerate your leftovers for later. If you’d like some more ideas on Italian food, visit Ynot Italian or another local Italian restaurant.
