A calzone is a pizza that travels, and at hand-pie size the air fryer bakes them better than most home ovens: blistered tops, cooked-through bases, eight minutes. Shop pizza dough is fine and honest here. The rules are cold filling, a tight seal, and restraint with the sauce, which belongs on the side for dunking.
Everything you need
- 500 g pizza dough, shop-bought or the GramCups recipe
- 1½ cups (170 g) mozzarella, grated and squeezed dry
- ½ cup (123 g) ricotta
- ½ cup pepperoni, chopped, or cooked mushrooms
- 3 tbsp (19 g) parmesan, grated
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 cup marinara or pizza sauce, warmed, for dunking
- oil spray
Single layer, always. Crowding the basket steams food instead of crisping it. Tap any ingredient to open its converter.
Method
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Mix the mozzarella, ricotta, pepperoni, parmesan and oregano. No sauce inside: it turns the seam to soup.
For this step
- 1½ cups (170 g) mozzarella
- ½ cup (123 g) ricotta
- ½ cup pepperoni
- 3 tbsp (19 g) parmesan
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 cup marinara or pizza sauce
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Divide the dough into 8 and roll each into a 12 cm circle on a floured surface.
For this step
- 500 g pizza dough
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Spoon filling onto one half of each circle, leaving a 1.5 cm border. Brush the border with egg, fold over and press hard, then crimp the edge with a fork.
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Brush the tops with egg and cut one small vent in each.
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Preheat to 190°C / 375°F for 3 minutes. Spray the basket, lay the calzones in with space, and spray their tops lightly.
For this step
- oil spray
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Air fry in batches for 8 to 10 minutes until deeply golden and blistered. Rest 3 minutes (molten interiors take no prisoners) and serve with the warm marinara.
For this step
- 1 cup marinara or pizza sauce
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Air fryer notes
- Cook at 190°C / 375°F and preheat for 2 to 3 minutes for the crispiest result.
- Keep everything in a single layer with space around each piece. Overcrowding steams food instead of crisping it, so cook in batches if your basket is small.
- Shake or turn halfway, and check a few minutes early, since air fryers cook faster than ovens and every model runs slightly differently.
Cook's tips
- Squeeze the grated mozzarella in a paper towel first. Wet cheese is the leading cause of calzone blowouts.
- The vent is doing real structural work. Sealed pockets of steam find the weakest crimp and burst it.
Make it your own
- Ham and pineapple inside, and take the consequences proudly.
- Brush the cooked tops with garlic butter for a garlic-bread-adjacent finish.
Storing & reheating
Fridge for 3 days, reheated at 180°C for 4 minutes. They freeze cooked for 2 months and revive from frozen at 180°C for 8 minutes, which makes them superb lunchbox planning.
Frequently asked
Can you cook calzones in an air fryer?
Small ones, yes, and well: 8 to 10 minutes at 190°C / 375°F. Full-size calzones brown before the dough centre cooks, so keep them hand-pie sized.
Why does my calzone leak?
Wet filling, sauce inside, an unsealed edge, or no vent. Keep sauce for dunking, dry the cheese, egg-wash the seam and crimp it with a fork.
Adapting your own recipe? Use the oven to air fryer converter for temp and time, or the recipe scaler to halve or double this.
More air fryer recipes
A note on cooking safely. Recipes are provided for informational purposes only and are not medical or nutritional advice. Cooking times, temperatures and quantities are suggestions: use your own judgement, and check that meat, poultry, fish and eggs are properly cooked before serving.
Consult a qualified healthcare professional before making dietary changes, particularly if you have allergies, a medical condition or specific nutritional requirements.