Tomato Basil Calzone Recipe (Made With Sweet Potato Dough!)

If you’ve ever had a frozen calzone and a homemade calzone, then you already know how they are truly worlds apart. With this calzone recipe, you can have your fresh, hot cheese calzone ready for eating and enjoying in less than 30 minutes!

Calzone recipes mainly vary in terms of what fillings are used. For these calzones, we’ll definitely keep the usual tomato sauce and cheese for the filling, but we’ll use super nutrient-rich ingredients (like sweet potato)  for the dough while leaving out the wheat flour. That’s right — you’re about to learn a calzone dough recipe that is totally free of wheat and gluten.

Before we get to this delicious calzone recipe, what is a calzone exactly?

What Are Calzones?

Like pizza, calzones are said to have first been made in Naples, Italy. A calzone is folded pizza dough that usually contains tomato sauce and cheeses like mozzarella and ricotta. A calzone is often described as a version of pizza you can more easily walk around with. If you order a calzone in the United States, you’ll often find some meats and vegetables hiding inside the baked dough as well. But no matter what country you get your calzone in, the dough should be in a half circle or half moon shape. Once they are ready for eating, calzones are often dipped in a side of tomato sauce or a garlic and olive oil mixture. (1)

Nutrition Facts

One serving of this recipe (half of one calzone) contains about: (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)

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• 651 calories
• 9.3 grams protein
• 37.8 grams fat
• 67.6 grams carbohydrate
• 4.3 grams fiber
• 5.5 grams sugars
• 619 milligrams sodium
• 13,758 IUs vitamin A (275 percent DV)
• 14 milligrams vitamin C (23.3 percent DV)
• 148 milligrams calcium (15 percent DV)
• 1.9 milligrams iron (10.6 percent DV)
• 0.2 milligrams vitamin B6 (10 percent DV)
• 4.9 micrograms vitamin K (6 percent DV)
• 197 milligrams potassium (5.6 percent DV)
• 17 milligrams magnesium (4.3 percent DV)
• 0.05 milligrams thiamin (3.3  percent DV)
• 0.05 milligrams riboflavin (2.9 percent DV)
• 28 milligrams phosphorus (2.8 percent DV)
• 0.8 milligrams vitamin E (2.7 percent DV)
• 0.5 milligrams niacin (2.5 percent DV)

All of the ingredients in this recipe are healthy, but let me highlight a few of the stars:

• Sweet potato: Sweet potato is definitely not a common calzone ingredient, but it’s a delicious addition that gives this calzone recipe its impressively high levels of beta-carotene. The body is able to convert beta-carotene into vitamin A, which is an essential vitamin for good vision, bone growth, skin health and more.
• Cassava flour: How to make a calzone without wheat or gluten means leaving out the typical all-purpose flour and opting for a gluten-free flour like cassava. If you haven’t heard of cassava flour, it’s made from cassava root — also more commonly known as yuca. Many cooks and bakers find that cassava flour is almost indistinguishable from wheat-based flours. Cassava root and cassava flour are rich in essential vitamin C, which can help protect the body against free radical damage. (13)
• Arrowroot : The other key ingredient in this gluten-free dough is arrowroot starch, which is not only beneficial to the digestive system, but studies have even shown that it can help boost immunity, too. Research published in 2012 reveals that both in vitro (in test tubes) and in vivo (in a live animal), arrowroot extracts stimulated the immune system. (14, 15)
• Tomato sauce: Tomato sauce contains a powerful antioxidant called lycopene, which research has shown may improve blood flow in the body and boost heart health. (16) If you have the time, you can also try making my homemade pasta sauce recipe.
• Basil: The fresh basil in this calzone recipe provides a lot of flavor and some great health benefits as well. Basil is a medicinal herb that is said to have both antibacterial and antioxidant properties. (17)

How to Make Calzones

Before you run over to your local pizzeria for a fresh calzone, making calzones at home is a lot easier than you might expect! For this easy calzone recipe, you basically just need to form the dough, put the filling inside and bake it.

Before you get started, make sure your oven is preheated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, mix sweet potato, flour, starch, eggs, oil and salt until well-combined.

Knead dough with hands until it is pliable like pizza dough.

Form the dough into two relatively equal sized balls.

Lay parchment paper on a flat surface and sprinkle some starch. Now, flatten half the dough with a rolling pin into roughly a 5” circle.

Transfer dough on parchment paper to a baking sheet; fill one side of dough with mozzarella, basil leaves and marinara sauce.

Fold other side of dough to cover the toppings; this should look like a half circle.

Fold the bottom into the top to create a lip enclosing the fillings completely.

Repeat steps 3–6 for the remaining dough.

Bake for 15–20 minutes or until calzones are golden brown. Enjoy!