The other day while my husband was away on business I had some leftover pita pockets to be used up and I was craving pizza. So I decided to stuff them full of pizza toppings and toast them in a pan until the cheese inside was melted and gooey. When I took my first bite I realized that I had stumbled onto something wonderful. They tasted exactly like Calzones, fresh from the oven, and all I did was turn on my stove top.

When making these I think the key to getting that Calzone-y taste is to use homemade pita pockets. They have way better flavour then the prepackaged ones from a store and when you serve them warm, stuffed with pizza toppings, they taste an awful lot like pizza dough.. just not gooey (bonus!). You can make a bunch of pita pockets on a rainy day and store them in the freezer. They”re great for picnics too!

Change it Up

I think it would also be great to do these on the grill, giving them that extra smokey flavour. Or, make stove top pizza pops by using mini pitas.

Get creative and stuff these with your favourite Calzone fillings. These ones were made with my Deluxe Pizza Pop filling because those were the ingredients I had on hand at the time. There are so many more variations that I would like to try.

While making homemade Calzones from scratch is a lot of fun – in the summer we”re on the lookout for quick, simple meals that don”t heat up the house. And, this one certainly fits the bill.

What recipes do you like to convert to the stove top for summer?

Stove Top Calzones

  1. Preheat a large non-stick pan over medium. Stuff the pitas with filling and place in pan. Cook for 10 minutes on each side until filling is melted and pita is golden. Serve immediately.

* If you have a large enough lid you can cover the pan to help the filling heat through faster.

* If you stuff them very full the filling may have trouble heating all the way through (if not covered). If you have this problem simply zap them in the microwave for 10 or so seconds to finish them off. The crust won”t get soggy as long as you don”t microwave it for too long.