I was a teenager the first time I tried a calzone. One of my first jobs was at a pizza parlor in downtown Overland Park called Papa Keno’s. And one of the perks of the job was free food. There I tried a number of food combinations I had never been ambitious enough to try before, like blue cheese and pineapple on pizza. Don’t knock it til you try it.
We also served calzones at Papa Keno‘s. My manager showed me how to make them and and it instantly became a favorite. I love pizza, but calzones make for a nice change of pace every now and then.
When the “two ingredient dough” became a big phenomenon in the WW community, I excitedly started brain-storming all the things I could make with it. It makes a great pizza crust, and one day I’ll do a pizza recipe for Grub Delite. But today it’s my calzone recipe. It turned out so good and guess what guys – it’s only five points! I filled it with chicken, spinach, mushrooms, ricotta, and mozzarella cheese. Then I served it with a side of zero point, fat free pizza sauce.
For those unfamiliar with the two ingredient dough, it’s simply self-rising flour and nonfat Greek yogurt. Or you can use all purpose flour, baking powder, and nonfat Greek yogurt instead, making it three ingredients – my preferred method. I also added spices to the dough mixture (like in my Skinny Pepperoni Pizza Bites.)
The Method
Spray a large pan with nonstick cooking spray and cook chicken over medium heat, approximately 3 minutes per side or until thoroughly cooked inside.
Set chicken aside, and add 1 tsp of olive oil to pan. Add mushrooms and spinach. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are softened. Return cooked chicken to pan, and add garlic powder, onion powder, and salt and stir well. Remove pan from heat and set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, oregano, garlic powder, and crushed red pepper in a large mixing bowl and whisk well.
Add nonfat Greek yogurt to bowl.
Use a fork to lightly stir until yogurt and flour are well combined. It will look like little chunks of dough.
Lightly flour a work space and start kneading dough about 15 times. Add flour as needed until it’s tacky but doesn’t stick to your hands. Form dough into a ball.
Divide dough into 6 equal pieces (it helps to cut the ball in half, then cut the halves into three pieces). Using a rolling pin, flatten dough into a circle that it is about 6-7 inches in diameter. (If needed, sprinkle a little more flour on dough to prevent it from sticking to rolling pin.)
On the bottom half of the circle, spread a layer of ricotta (1-2 tbsp), chicken and vegetable mixture (2 tbsp), then top that with mozzarella (1-2 tbsp).
Fold over the top half of the dough to bring edges together, making a semi-circle. If the dough tears a bit, it’s not a big deal. Just try to patch any holes back up a bit – it will still taste good! With your fingers or a fork, seal the edges together. Tear 2-3 small tears on top of calzone. Brush melted light butter onto calzones and sprinkle with Parmesan.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with a side of fat-free pizza sauce.
Calzones with Chicken, Spinach, and Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz sliced mushrooms
- 4 cups fresh spinach
- 2 tsp of salt (divided)
- 2 tsp of garlic powder (divided)
- 1 tsp of onion powder
- 1 cup all purpose flour (or self-rising flour)
- 2 tsp baking powder (skip if using self-rising flour)
- 1 tsp of oregano
- 1 tsp of crushed red pepper
- 1 cup of plain nonfat Greek yogurt, strained
- 3/4 cup low fat ricotta
- 3/4 cup of part skim mozzarella, shredded
- 1 tbsp of light butter (I use Brummel & Brown), melted
- 1 tbsp of Parmesan, grated
Instructions
- Spray a large pan with nonstick cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Cook chicken for approximately 3 minutes per side or until thoroughly cooked inside.
- Set chicken aside, and heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in pan. Add mushrooms and spinach. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are softened. Return cooked chicken to pan, and add 1 tsp of garlic powder, 1 tsp of onion powder, and 1 tsp of salt and stir well. Remove pan from heat and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine flour, baking powder, 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of oregano, 1 tsp of garlic powder, and 1 tsp of crushed red pepper in a large mixing bowl and whisk well. Add nonfat Greek yogurt to bowl. Use a fork to lightly stir until yogurt and flour are well combined. It will look like little chunks of dough.
- Flour a work space and start kneading dough about 15 times. Add flour as needed until it’s tacky but doesn’t stick to your hands. Form dough into a ball. Divide dough into 6 equal pieces (it helps to cut the ball in half, then cut the halves into three pieces). Using a rolling pin, flatten dough into a circle that it is about 6-7 inches in diameter.
- On the bottom half of the circle, spread a layer of ricotta (1-2 tbsp), chicken and vegetable mixture (2 tbsp), then top that with mozzarella (1-2 tbsp). Fold over the top half of the dough to bring edges together, making a semi-circle. With your fingers or a fork, seal the edges together. Tear 2-3 small tears on top of calzone. Place calzones on a large baking sheet.
- Brush melted light butter onto calzones and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with a side of fat-free pizza sauce.