One of my favorite things to order out is calzones. They’re brimming with flavor but it’s all contained perfectly in a crusty package. If you also love these Italian delicacies then this recipe is for you.

When I first encountered the idea of making calzones in the waffle iron my first thought was that this process had the potential to be very messy. But, I can say that the clean up wasn’t bad at all. My other worry was that the dough wouldn’t be cooked properly. But, to my great delight these came out of the waffle iron perfectly done with no underdone sections of dough.

To make this a simple recipe we’re using pre-made pizza dough from the store. These little bags of yeast dough are usually to be found in the deli section of the grocery. Roll out a piece of dough about 4″across or a size that will fit inside your waffle iron well. Or you can also roll out a piece of dough that’s longer than you need and just top one half of the dough. You can use a second piece of dough or simply fold over the longer piece if you made it double width to start with.

Jarred pizza sauce is another shortcut for this recipe. Spread a bit of sauce on the dough, followed by the cheeses and the pepperoni. Add a dash of Italian seasoning to your taste before closing up the dough. You can add anything you want to the calzones like diced red onion, sliced black olives, or fresh basil leaves.

Then place your calzone in the waffle iron and let it do the rest. My waffle iron has a sensor light for making waffles and it turns off after about 4 minutes. Since it takes 6-8 minutes to make these calzones, you’ll need to ignore this signal if your iron has this feature.

Keep the ones that are already done warm in the oven on its lowest setting, then you can work on the rest.

I like to serve these with some warm marinara sauce or some cold ranch dressing for dipping. These waffle iron calzones are a fun take on a classic and they are simply a joy to eat!