Buffalo Chicken Calzone

Do you have a pizza night at your house? We have it at mine, and that means take out. We have tried all the take-out pizza places available and I wanted to surprise my family with something different.

I came across this buffalo chicken calzone and thought it would be a great homemade and special substitute for the regular pizza. Boy were they surprised! And let me tell you it was a very pleasant surprise.

They loved it! I made my life easy by buying refrigerated pizza dough so I didn’t have to go through all the work of making my own.

INGREDIENTS FOR BUFFALO CHICKEN CALZONE

• 1 lb skinless boneless chicken breasts, halved
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• ¼ cup Buffalo wing sauce
• 1 refrigerated pizza dough
• 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil, separated
• 2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese

HOW TO MAKE BUFFALO CHICKEN CALZONE FROM SCRATCH

• Step 1. preheat oven to 410F
• Step 2. Cook chicken breasts in water in a medium-sized saucepan for 15 minutes or until done. Remove from heat, drain and shred with two forks

• Step 3. In a medium-sized skillet, melt butter and add shredded chicken. Cook for a couple of minutes and add Buffalo wing sauce. Cook a couple more minutes until heated through.

• Step 4. On a well-floured surface, roll pizza dough into a 12 inch round. Brush dough with one tablespoon of oil.
• Step 5. Spread 1 cup mozzarella cheese on one half of the round.

• Step 6. Place chicken on top of the cheese.

• Step 7. Top chicken with the other cup of mozzarella cheese and fold the dough to cover the chicken and the cheese. Brush top of the dough with one tablespoon of oil.

• Step 8. Cut a few slits on the dough to let steam out so the cheese doesn’t burst through the dough while baking.

• Step 9. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes or until brown.

WHAT TO PUT IN A BUFFALO CHICKEN CALZONE

If you want to make your buffalo chicken calzone even more delicious and interesting, you can add sliced onions, sliced bell peppers, or even sliced pickles!

Your imagination is the limit. Just try to avoid ingredients that are too wet or that when cooked can produce too much liquid like tomatoes because they can make the cheese a bit runnier and it can burst through the dough while baking.

If you want to add tomatoes, I recommend you sautee them first until most of the moisture has evaporated.

HOW MANY CALORIES ARE IN A BUFFALO CHICKEN CALZONE?

Each serving has 572 calories. Remember this calzone yields 4 servings, the whole recipe has 2,288 calories, and half the calzone has 1,144. Let me assure you that a serving is big enough for even the big boys in the family!

TIPS FOR BAKING THE PERFECT BUFFALO CHICKEN CALZONE

1. If you buy frozen pizza dough, let it thaw completely before using it.
2. If you buy refrigerated pizza dough, you can keep it in the fridge until ready to use.
3. Remember to cut a few slits with a sharp knife on top of your calzone to let steam out during baking. That way, your cheese won’t burst through the dough and ooze out
4. Do not add ingredients that are too wet to your buffalo chicken calzone, or it may make the cheese ooze out.
5. You can make your calzone ahead of time, but let the chicken completely cool off before adding it to your calzone. Use your dough cold and immediately after forming the calzone, cover it, and refrigerate it. Otherwise, the dough will begin to rise and it will get too large.

OTHER RECIPES YOU MIGHT ENJOY

• 2-INGREDIENT SLOW COOKER SALSA CHICKEN
• EASY CHICKEN LOMBARDY
• MELT IN YOUR MOUTH CHICKEN
• CRISPY CHEDDAR CHICKEN
• CHICKEN PICCATA WITH LEMON SAUCE