My husband loves pizza pockets, but the frozen ones that you get from the store have all kinds of unnecessary ingredients in them. So, I decided to make these from scratch and they turned out SO GOOD. These are perfect for an appetizer or a fun party snack, but the best part is that you can freeze these babies and heat them back up in the microwave as needed (wanted LOL).
These definitely aren't on the healthy side of snacks, but if you are going to indulge, it's best to make these from scratch, so you know exactly what is in them, which in turn makes them a little healthiER.
This recipe makes 20 pizza pockets.
Preheat oven to 425 F.
First things first, the pizza dough. You can absolutely make your own dough, but my favorite the pizza dough from Trader Joes. It's inexpensive and sooo easy. I usually go with their whole-wheat pizza dough, but they were out when I went to get the ingredients for this recipe, so I went with the plain pizza dough (also delicious).
Flour the surface that you will be using to roll out the dough. Take the dough out of the bag and let it sit for 30 minutes, until room temperature. Then, you will want to start rolling out the dough with a rolling pin. Roll the dough out until it is as wide and long as you can get it, trying your best to make a large rectangle. Be sure to not make the dough too thin.
Once you have the dough rolled out, with a pizza cutter or knife, create rectangle slices. See the photo below.
Next, you will be adding the marinara sauce. I chose a no salt added marinara, but you can choose what you prefer. You will need about 1 and 1/2 to 2 cups of sauce (per dough), depending on how much you would prefer to have in your pizza pockets. With a spoon, place a layer of sauce on one side of the rectangle slice. Repeat with all slices. See the photo below.
After the sauce has been applied, add about 1 tbsp of part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese. You can add as much cheese as you'd like.
Then, go ahead and add the pepperoni slices. I went to my local deli and bought large freshly sliced pepperoni. SO delicious! Add as much as you'd like. I also made a few without pepperoni. Then top with more cheese, because why not?
After you have added all of the fillings, it's time to close them up. Fold the side with nothing on it over the side with the filling. Then, seal each pocket with a fork. It might be a little messy and the pockets might not look the prettiest LOL, but I promise they're yummy!!
Once all the pockets are all sealed, move them to a baking sheet. This is optional, but I added more mozzarella cheese and a sprinkle of Italian seasoning to the top of each pocket.
Bake the pizza pockets for 12-15 minutes or until they become golden brown.
Serve immediately or let them fully cool, then place in a freezer Ziploc bag and place in the freezer. To reheat, wrap the pocket in a damp paper towel and place in the microwave to cook for 1 minute. Let it cool a bit first before eating.
20 pizza pockets, adjust the recipe as needed.
INGREDIENTS:
2 1LB bags of pizza dough from Trader Joes
1 25oz. Jar of no salt added or low sodium marinara sauce
1 8 oz. bag of part-skim shredded mozzarella
1/2 pound of freshly sliced pepperoni
1 tsp of Italian seasoning
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. Flour surface for the pizza dough. Take the dough out of the bag and place it on the floured surface. Let it sit for 30 minutes until it reaches room temperature.
3. Roll the pizza dough out as long and as wide as you can, making a large rectangle. Make sure it’s not too thin.
4. Cut the dough down the middle length-wise, then width-wise, cutting into a total of 10 smaller rectangles.
5. Spread the marinara sauce, add the mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni onto one side of the pocket slice. Repeat with each slice. Add your desired amount.
6. Fold over the empty side of the pocket slice to close, seal each pocket with a fork. Top each pocket with Italian seasoning and a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese.
7. Place the pizza pockets on a baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately or let them cool completely and freeze.
8. Repeat with second pizza dough.
Enjoy!
Comments