These make-ahead breakfast calzones are a gift to your future (or present) self! They're easy and customizable so you can use your own preferred fillings. Just pull one out of the freezer, heat it, and you'll be out the door in minutes!
Recipe: $4.85 | Per Calzone: $0.20 | Yield: 24 Calzones
This recipe was originally posted in November of 2015, but has recently been updated for clarity and to include gluten-free instructions. Thank you for being here!
Why I Love These Breakfast Calzones
These babies are just the bomb diggity. Why don't we always (and I mean always) have mini calzones in the freezer? Between my love for these versatile breakfast calzones and the Hawaiian Ham & Pineapple Calzones, it's clear that I'm a calzone fiend!
For this recipe we went with "breakfast sausage" (which is really just ground beef or pork seasoned with sausage-like seasonings) with onion, frozen spinach, cheese, and scrambled eggs. You can use whatever you have on hand though!
Then, all you have to do is freeze them for a busy morning, or just when you don't feel like putting effort into cooking! Grab them out of the freezer and you've got the most delicious and low-maintenance breakfast possible.
Suggested Ingredients for Breakfast Calzone Fillings
- You can always go with the classic: ham, egg, & cheese.
- Or get a little fancy with sun-dried tomatoes, feta, basil or pesto, & eggs. I love this combination so much, especially because I also have pesto in my freezer ready to go for recipes like this.
- Can't go wrong with spinach, bacon, white cheddar, & eggs
- Or how about a southwestern twist? Use black beans, salsa, bell peppers, & eggs.
- Or, and hear me out....spiced pork with homemade chorizo seasoning! Talk about delicious!
How to Make Your Calzones
Make Breakfast Calzone Fillings
Start by browning your ground beef/pork and seasoning it with salt, fennel, sage, cayenne powder/red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Drain the meat and set it aside.
Then, sauté the onions until they're soft and translucent and add chopped frozen spinach and stir it until it's thawed and combined. Mix it with the meat and set it aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs. If the pan is dry, melt ½ tablespoon of butter (or use a little bit of oil) and add the eggs. Scramble the eggs over low heat until the eggs are mostly cooked. It's okay if they're just a bit gooey because they'll cook again in the oven.
Mix the eggs with the meat, spinach, onions, and a cup of cheese.
Incorporate the Calzone Dough
Divide the pizza dough in half and place half aside, keeping it covered. Divide the first half you're working with into 12 even balls, and roll them out much thinner than pizza dough.
Fill the dough with ⅛ cup of the filling and then pull the dough closed. Use a little water around the edge to seal it, then further seal the dough by pressing a fork around the edges. Repeat until all calzones are formed.
Cook Your Breakfast Calzones
Place all of the calzones on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake them at 500ºF for about 12 minutes, or until the top is browned.
FAQ
I promise it's not too bad! You'll make 24 mini calzones in 20-30 minutes. That's worth it, right? I recommend rolling out half the dough balls, filling and closing them, then baking them (or setting them aside) while you roll out and fill the second half.
Or, if you have a friend nearby, have him/her fill while you roll. Assembly lines are the key to success, and having a Harry Potter movie playing in the background doesn't hurt!
I recommend putting frozen calzones on a plate in the fridge to thaw overnight, then warm in a toaster oven for 5-10 minutes for best results. You can also thaw these using the defrost setting on your microwave from frozen. Thaw them at 10% power for 5 minutes. Then warm through by toasting them on the stove (like warming a quesadilla - warm on a dry pan with lid, flip and remove lid until warmed through), or by microwaving on full power for 1-3 minutes. You may want to poke them before microwaving!
How to Make Gluten Free Breakfast Calzones
This recipe is completely gluten-free except for the dough! In order to make it gluten-free, you'll just have to use a gluten-free pizza dough and keep the rest of the recipe as-is.
Calzones will work best with a gluten-free flour blend that includes xantham gum, but alternative grain-free options will also work as long as they have something starchy holding it together.
Here are some of my favorite gluten-free pizza dough options:
- Simple Mills pizza dough
- Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour (skip the xantham gum, which is already included) in this recipe for gluten-free pizza dough.
- Paleo Running Momma's grain-free pizza dough
More Dietary Substitutions and Modifications
Paleo: this is stretching the definition of Paleo, but for dietary purposes, skip the cheese and use a Paleo pizza dough (such as one listed above).
Vegetarian: skip the sausage to make this vegetarian!
Low FODMAP: this recipe may be tolerated on a low FODMAP diet if you skip the onions and use a low-FODMAP pizza dough. Most low-FODMAP pizza doughs are also gluten-free.
Additional Breakfast Recipes
- Paleo Egg Muffins
- Pear Baked Oatmeal Bars
- Easy Homemade Granola
- Jalapeño Cheddar Scones
- Sausage & Pepper Frittata
- Breakfast Salad with Sausage & Tomatoes
- Sausage & Spinach Cheddar Casserole
I hope you enjoy this delicious breakfast recipe - and if you make it, please be sure to leave a ⭐️ review and comment below!
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Sausage, Egg, & Spinach Breakfast Calzones
Ingredients
- 1 pizza dough any gluten-free or Whole Wheat Pizza Dough - see other suggestions in the notes below
- ⅓ pound beef or pork
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon fennel
- ⅛ teaspoon sage
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne or red pepper flakes
- ½ cup minced onion
- 1 package frozen spinach chopped = 1 cup thawed/cooked and chopped
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup shredded cheese - try cheddar crumbled feta, pepper jack, etc., OR ricotta!
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef/pork and season with the salt, fennel, sage, cayenne powder/red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Drain and set aside.
- Sauté the onions until soft and translucent. Add the chopped frozen spinach and stir until thawed and combined Mix with the meat and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs. If the pan is dry, melt ½ Tablespoon of butter (or use a little oil) and add the eggs. Scramble over low heat until the eggs are mostly cooked. It's okay if they're just a bit gooey still because they'll cook again in the oven.
- Mix together the meat & spinach & onions with the eggs and 1 cup cheese.
- Divide the pizza dough in half and place half aside, keeping it covered. Divide the working half into 12 even balls. Roll each out - much thinner than pizza dough. Fill with almost ⅛ cup of the filling, then pull the dough closed. Use a little water around the edge to help it seal, then seal the edge by pressing a fork around the edges. Repeat until all calzones are formed.
- Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake on 500ºF for about 12 minutes, or until the top is browned.
Notes
- Overnight Pizza Dough by Good and Cheap)
- Store bought: whole wheat, white, or gluten-free!
- Simple Mills pizza dough
- Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour in this recipe for gluten-free pizza dough.
- Paleo Running Momma's grain-free pizza dough
- I recommend putting frozen calzones on a plate in the fridge to thaw overnight, then warm in a toaster oven for 5-10 minutes for best results.
- From frozen: you can thaw these using the defrost setting on your microwave. Thaw at 10% power for 5 minutes. Then warm through by toasting on the stove (like warming a quesadilla - warm on a dry pan with lid, flip and remove lid until warmed through), or by microwaving on full power for 1-3 minutes. You may want to poke them before microwaving!
Love a grab and go breakfast!
So yum!
Thank you Lyn! I love these. :)
I love calzones so I'm excited to get to eat these for breakfast :)
Yay! I love them too. Thank you, Ashley!
I have dough in the fridge and ready to go. How long do you reheat these at work.
For breakfast from frozen, I use the defrost setting on the microwave and defrost it for 2 minutes, then microwave on a normal setting for 30 seconds. (All microwaves are different though!) And sometimes I toss one in my lunchbox in the morning for lunch, so by the time I eat lunch, it's defrosted so I just microwave it for about 40 seconds. I hope this helps!