J Dub’s Buffalo Chicken Calzones are great with a fresh green salad on any busy weeknight. You can also slice these up and serve as an appetizer with a side of wing sauce and some blue cheese dressing. Super Bowl, anyone?

Ingredients

2 packages frozen pizza dough

1/2 cup Frank’s Original Wing Sauce

2 generous cups cooked Rotisserie chicken, chopped

2 generous cups mozzarella, shredded

4 tablespoons butter, divided and melted

1 teaspoon kosher salt

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 Tablespoons sour cream

1 1/2 teaspoons granulated garlic, divided

Flour to keep dough from sticking when you roll out and to sprinkle on pans

Directions

  1. First, preheat ovens to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 
  2. After the cream cheese has softened, add sour cream to cream cheese, and stir until spreadable. ( I use a fork to to mix it together.)
  3. Add 1 teaspoon granulated garlic to this mixture and stir again.
  4. Set the mixture to the side while you prepare the chicken and dough.
  5. Pour wing sauce over the chopped chicken and stir to coat. 
  6. After the dough comes to room temperature, sprinkle flour on your surface.
  7. Now, using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a rough 12 inch Circle.  If the dough is still cool to the touch and won’t stretch, pick it up and hold it by the edges. Turn the dough in a circle using your fingers.  It will start to stretch.
  8. Once you have your circles formed, spread the cream cheese mixture over the center of the ENTIRE circle of dough, leaving a 1/2 inch boundary around the entire outside of the circle.
  9. Top 1/2 of each circle of dough with approximately 1/2 cup of mozzarella, leaving the 1/2 inch boundary.
  10. Top1/2 of a circle of dough with 1/2 of the chicken mixture (approximately 1 cup) over the cheese mixture. Make sure to keep this only on 1/2 of the circle.  Repeat with other circle.
  11. Next, top the chicken mixture with the remaining mozzarella cheese, using approximately 1/2 cup for each circle of dough.
  12. Gently grab the edge of the circle (the side with no toppings) and fold it over the chicken and cheese mixture.
  13. Pinch the edge of the calzone to seal in the fillings so that it doesn’t ease out the sides while baking.  You can also use a fork to make creases around the sides to seal.
  14. Grease and lightly flour your pizza peel.
  15. Slide the calzone onto a pizza peel, and then onto the pizza pan. I use a peel to move my calzone from my work surface to the pizza pan.
  16. Once you have the calzone on the pan, brush the top of each calzone with 2 Tablespoons of butter and then sprinkle the top with sea salt to taste.
  17. Next, place it in oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until top is golden brown.
  18. While calzone is baking, add 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic to the remaining two tablespoons butter.
  19. Finally, remove the calzone from the oven and top the melted garlic butter.

Try J Dub’s Buffalo Chicken Calzones and let me know what you think! If you are looking for more great recipes for your next Super Bowl party, don’t forget to try out J Dub’s Queso for a Crowd or J Dub’s Black Eyed Pea Dip!

Tips:

  1. I use The New French Bakery Artisan and thaw it in fridge overnight.  After it has thawed, I allow the dough to rest on the kitchen counter for about an hour until it comes to room temperature.
  2. If you don’t have double ovens you can bake these one at a time.
  3. I like my chicken lightly coated, not soaked.  Feel free to add more sauce if that is what you like.
  4. If you don’t own a peel, two large spatulas will work to move the calzone from the work surface to the pan.

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