Spinach Artichoke Calzones
Turn a favorite dip into a meal with a batch of these Spinach Artichoke Calzones!
This Spinach Artichoke Calzones post is sponsored by Cabot Creamery, but the recipe and opinions are entirely my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Spiced!
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Ah, spinach. That leafy green that gets so much attention as a nutritional powerhouse. It shows up in everything from salads to side dishes. And it also commonly gets pushed around the plate by kids everywhere. For some reason, spinach gets a bad rap. And that’s where spinach artichoke dip comes in!
Spinach artichoke dip is hands-down one of our favorite comfort food dips around here. I’ve made it so often that I can almost recite the recipe from memory. Almost. We make spinach artichoke dip for parties. We make it for quiet nights in the basement. Sometimes it gets served with veggies like baby carrots and sliced bell peppers. Sometimes it gets served with pita chips or tortilla chips. No matter the occasion or how it’s served, leftovers are never a concern!
Spinach Artichoke Calzones
Spinach Artichoke CalzonesI’ve always loved calzones. They’re a close cousin of pizza, and that automatically puts them into the favorite category in our house! Recently, I got to playing around with making calzones here at home, and it’s been a lot of fun. I use my go-to pizza dough, but instead of rolling it out into a large round pizza, I divide it into 6 smaller pieces. Each of those pieces gets stuffed, folded and baked. Similar process, similar taste. But it’s fun to mix things up from time to time, right?
For these Spinach Artichoke Calzones, I took those 6 pieces of pizza dough and stuffed them with a generous scoop of spinach artichoke dip. The dough gets folded over and sealed together before heading off to the oven.
Oh, before it gets baked, I brushed an herbed olive oil on top. We learned this trick years ago, and we’ve been brushing the crust of our pizzas with an olive oil + herb combination ever since. I swear sometimes the crust is my favorite part of homemade pizza now! That herbed olive oil that gets brushed on top of these calzones is one of the secret tricks that takes these calzones from good to great.
The other trick? Cabot cheese. Some years ago, I experimented with different cheeses in our go-to spinach artichoke dip. After several versions, I settled on a combination of Cabot’s Monterey Jack along with a bit of Cabot’s Seriously Sharp Cheddar. The Monterey Jack is a tasty cheese that melts especially well…perfect for dips! And the extra ½ cup of Seriously Sharp cheddar cheese really boosts the flavor of spinach artichoke dip.
I know cheddar might be a bit unusual in spinach artichoke dip, but give it a try. The additional layer of flavor in there will leave folks asking for the recipe – and it’ll keep you from having to worry about leftovers!
We’re huge Cabot fans in our house, and I always make sure to keep a variety of Cabot cheeses in the fridge. Sometimes those bars of cheese get shredded into various recipes. Sometimes those bars of cheese get sliced and eaten by themselves. It just depends on the day! If you aren’t familiar with Cabot, then you should be! Cabot is a co-operative creamery owned by hundreds of farm families in New York and New England. Oh, and they also make a bunch of award-winning cheeses. Check their product finder to see what Cabot cheeses are available in your area.
I’ve had a lot of fun taking Robbie to visit a local farm owned by one of the Cabot farm families. We visit every year, and we always take treats for the cows – by treats, I mean apples or entire ears of corn. If you have kids, I highly recommend taking them to a local farm. It’s important to teach our kids where our food comes from – and most kids love the chance to see a working farm! If you don’t live near farmland, then check out Cabot’s virtual farm tours. They have 3 virtual tours you can take, and Robbie has watched portions of all 3 videos with me.
Bonus – Cabot offers an educational program where kids can learn about dairy farms and earn a Farm Love Patch for their efforts. And once your kids complete the program, you can fill out the online survey to get free patches and samples sent to your house. It’s a pretty awesome program, and it’s a great way for kids to learn about the dairy industry. I highly recommend it!
In the meantime, I also recommend making a batch of these Spinach Artichoke Calzones. They’re delicious, and they’re a fun way to mix up pizza nights at home! Happy baking!
Did you make a batch of these Spinach Artichoke Calzones at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me (@Spicedblog) and Cabot (@CabotCheese) on Instagram – we’d love to see your version!
Spinach Artichoke Calzones
Ingredients
- 16 oz. pizza dough homemade or store-bought
- 24 oz. frozen spinach thawed
- 2½ Tbsp olive oil divided
- ¾ cup diced white onions
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- ½ Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 cup shredded Cabot Monterey Jack cheese
- ½ cup Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- 1 cup sour cream
- 8 oz. cream cheese softened
- 1 14-oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
- 1½ tsp kosher salt divided
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp dried Italian seasonings
Instructions
- Divide dough into 6 equal portions.
- Prepare the filling by first cooking the spinach according to the instructions on the package. Once cooked, press the spinach into a colander to drain out as much liquid as possible. Set spinach aside. (Tip: Press spinach with paper towels to soak up the extra liquid.)
- Using a large sauté pan, add ½ Tbsp of olive oil and place over medium heat. Once hot, add onions and garlic; cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add lemon juice, cheeses, sour cream, cream cheese, chopped artichokes, 1 tsp of kosher salt, paprika and drained spinach; stir until well combined. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking until mixture begins to simmer (~5 minutes).
- Preheat oven to 500°F.
- Working on a well-floured cutting board or counter top, roll/flatten 1 piece of dough into an 8” round circle. (Note: Keep the remaining dough covered while working. Use additional flour as needed to ensure dough does not stick.)
- Place ~½ cup of the spinach artichoke filling into center of the dough.
- Using a small bowl, whisk together egg with 1 Tbsp of water. Lightly brush the edge of half of the dough with the egg mixture. Fold dough in half and crimp edges with a fork to seal. Place calzone on a lightly oiled baking sheet.
- Repeat process using remaining dough, filling and cheese. (see note)
- Cut 2-3 small vents into the top of each calzone to let steam escape.
- Using a small bowl, combine the Italian seasonings with the remaining 2 Tbsp of olive oil, remaining ½ tsp of kosher salt Brush the tops of the calzones with this herbed olive oil mixture.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until calzones are golden brown in color.
Looking for more cheesy recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
Loaded Cajun Nachos
Cheesy Baked Burritos
Cheesy Garlic Butterflake Rolls
Embarrassing fact: while I’m good at making pizza, I’ve never made calzone!
Just a fact: I love savoury baked goods probably even more than sweet ones (It doesn’t mean I will refuse a cake after a savoury pie. That’s all about balance of savoury and sweet, right? haha). So these calzones are right up my alley; they look terrific and so delicious. Loving the Mediterranean flavours vibes!
Ah, if you’ve made pizzas, then you can totally make calzones! They’re just pizza in a slightly different form. And stuffing those calzones with spinach artichoke dip? Delicious! In fact, I suspect this recipe will become a regular weekend recipe in our house this fall!
Love the idea of stuffing spinach and artichoke into a hand-held calzone! Sometimes I get into a rut of meatball or pep and cheese calzones, so this will be a great version to try!
I hear ya, Michelle – I sometimes get in a rut, too. (Of course, a rut isn’t all that bad when we’re talking about meatball calzones!) Give the spinach artichoke version a shot sometime, though – we really enjoyed these!
oh yum i love spinach and i don’t mind a calzone either 🙂 THese look fab david.
Haha! Well you’re in luck, Sherry – calzone + spinach artichoke dip = delicious! 🙂
My mom and sister love spinach artichoke dip – I think they could eat in their sleep! So, the next time we host a gettogether I am going to have to make these Spinach Artichoke Calzones! Such a brilliant idea to add the cheddar in there! A definite must make! And we love cabot cheese too. So cool if them to have their virtual farm tours. I used to take Lil S to a place called Cagles Dairy when she was young. It was a working dairy farm that gave tours on Saturdays and so n the fall had a huge bonfire and smores and all. And, her experiences there were so memorable!
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe, my friend!
Oh yes! This would be a really fun recipe for folks who love spinach artichoke dip. I mean wrapping anything in pizza dough is always a good bet, right? Haha! I’m glad to hear that you took Lil S to a dairy when she was young. I wonder if that contributed to her love of cooking and food today? It’s so important to know where our food comes from!
Oh, these look amazing!!! That cheesy spinach filling looks perfect. Anytime you can make something handheld, it just makes it that much more delicious! I can’t wait to dig in!!!
You’re totally right about the handheld angle here, Kathy! Plus, wrapping anything in pizza dough usually leads to good things. 🙂 Thanks so much!
It has been FOREVER since I’ve made calzones, and this cheesy, spinach artichoke version has me inspired to change that ASAP! Thank you for the reminder!
Ah, well I think this weekend sounds like a good excuse to get in there and make calzones again! They really are quite fun – perfect for curling up on the couch and catching up on some tv! 🙂 Have a great weekend, Marissa!
I don’t think I’ve ever had a calzone that wasn’t made with ricotta cheese. Your recipe sounds like a great way to change things up, especially with spinach and artichoke.
I hear ya, Karen – and I do love ricotta in my calzones! However, this was a fun experiment, and it turned out quite fantastic. In fact, we’ve been talking about making another batch of these for the long holiday weekend coming up soon! 🙂
I hate spinach as well but they turn out really good depending on how it is prepared. Your calzone reminds me of our Spinach Dip here in NZ, that made me ate it, and a lot.
Spinach does get a bad rap by itself, but if it’s used to make spinach artichoke dip? Yes, please!! I can’t get enough of it then. 🙂