These Homemade Pizza Pockets are SO easy to make using store bought pizza dough and your favorite toppings – plus you can freeze them to enjoy anytime!
How to make homemade pizza pockets
By starting with store-bought pizza crust, it takes no time at all to make these pizza pockets. A batch of eight will be ready in about 30 minutes and it’s an easy recipe to double. Follow these instructions for a twist on your classic pizza night:
- Roll out the pizza dough to half an inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Using a little bit of flour will help prevent the dough from sticking to the surface or the rolling pin (or your hands!)
- Cut the dough into rectangles. One regular pizza crust will make eight pizza pockets.
- Put sauce, cheese and toppings on half of each rectangle. Don’t overstuff them or they will be impossible to keep folded.
- Fold over and seal the edges. You can pinch them together or use a little water to make the two sides stick together.
- Bake at 425F for 20 minutes. Bake them on parchment paper to keep them from sticking to the tray.
Ingredients for pizza pockets
I make these pizza pockets with store-bought pizza dough. Taking this short cut eliminates the need to let the dough rise and get the temperature right for yeast.
Other ingredients you will need are:
- Pizza sauce
- Mozzarella cheese (for best results, use fresh mozzarella and grate it yourself.)
- Any toppings you like on your pizza (My standard topping list is pepperoni, red onion, green pepper and mushrooms.)
Ingredient substitutions
One of my favorite things about any pizza recipe is that you can put anything at all that you like in it. We all have our favorite pizza toppings so don’t be afraid to use them in this recipe too.
Any standard pizza topping will work great in this. But so will other unusual combinations. Try any of these besides my favorites for starters:
- Chicken
- Sun dried tomatoes
- Broccoli
- Ham
- Olives
- Spinach
- Bacon
You can get really creative and make new combinations too. Try changing out the sauce and the cheese as well. Use chicken, roasted red peppers and Thai sauce for a unique and slightly spicy pizza. Or use alfredo sauce! You can also make a vegetarian version with roasted veggie, pesto and feta cheese.
The options are endless.
Making pizza dough from scratch
Once you learn to make your own pizza dough from scratch, you can use it for any kind of recipe, including these pizza pockets.
You will be working with yeast in this dough. That is what makes it rise to the fluffy crust. You do need to keep it at a warm temperature to activate the yeast.
To make homemade pizza dough, you only need flour, water, salt, olive oil, sugar and yeast. You can use regular flour, but bread flour will produce a crisp crust.
- Some people proof the yeast before adding it to the dough. This means you dissolve the yeast in warm water to activate it.
- Mix all the ingredients together in a stand mixer with a dough attachment. You can adjust the consistency during this step. If it is too sticky, add flour. If it is too dry, add a touch of water.
- Kneed the dough and shape it into a ball. Let it sit in a warm dry place for about an hour until it has doubled in size.
- Roll it out to the shape you need to use it for pizza or pizza pockets.
What type of cheese to use
I prefer my pizza pockets to be oozing with melted cheese. If that’s what you are going for, use fresh mozzarella cheese. Cheese that is purchased already shredded is covered in potato starch to keep it fresh. But this also prevents it from fully melting and becoming that ooey gooey cheese you're going for. In order to get the cheesiness, you'll want to use a ball of pizza mozzarella for best results.
Other cheeses that melt well in this are:
- Gouda
- Cheddar
- Goat
- Ricotta
- Swiss
- Provolone
Storing and reheating
Homemade pizza pockets will last in the refrigerator for five days. They make a great snack or an easy lunch.
Kids love having something that tastes just like pizza in their lunch box. They are easy to transport and don’t make a mess since everything is contained in the pocket. Wrap each pizza pocket individually to keep them fresh.
No need to plan ahead to thaw these frozen pizza pockets. Just put them in the microwave for a minute or two and they will be thawed.
From there, you can choose to continue to heat them in the microwave for another 2-3 minutes to fully heat them, or put them back in the oven for a crisp exterior (you should be good to reheat at 375 F for 10-15 minutes).
Freezing pizza pockets
Pizza pockets make a great freezer meal solution too. Fully bake them and let them cool. Wrap each pocket in plastic and store in the freezer for up to three months.
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Super Easy Homemade Pizza Pockets
Ingredients
- 1 ball store bought pizza dough
- 1 cup pizza sauce
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese grated
- 1/2 cup pepperoni I used turkey pepperoni
- 1/2 cup mushrooms sliced
- 1/2 green pepper diced
- 1/2 red onion, diced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F.
- Roll out pizza dough until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into rectangles that will easily fold over. On one half of the rectangle, spread a bit of sauce, cheese and toppings, leaving space around the edges for the dough to touch together. NOTE: you only want about 1 tbsp per topping (eg 1 tbsp mushrooms, 1 tbsp green pepper, etc.)
- Seal all edges, using a bit of water if necessary. Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 20 minutes until dough is crisp and golden. Wait 5 minutes before eating – they will be hot!
- TO FREEZE: You can also freeze pizza pockets for up to 3 months. If freezing, make sure to freeze them after you have baked them in separate freezer bags, and then microwave for 1-2 minutes to thaw. Place paper towel over pizza pocket and then microwave another 1-2 min to completely heat through. You can also freeze raw, then bake for 30-40 minutes from frozen for fresh pizza pockets.
Comments & Reviews
Liz says
Looks so good I will try in tonight.
Would it be ok to use W/W flour?
Thanks
Liz
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Liz – do you mean whole wheat flour? I think that would be fine!
Melanue says
Do you really mean 1/2 inch thick? That’s a centimetre! Cookies are 1/4″ and pie crust is 1/8″. Is it a typo?
Do you mean 1/2 cm?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Melanie – yes, that was a typo. I have updated to 1/4 inch thick.
Sarah Reid says
What’s the weight of the dough ball? I make my own and was looking for an approximate weight
Taylor Stinson says
Unfortunately I don’t have a weight but will update the recipe the next time I go to the grocery store and take a look at what the average weight is of most store bought pizza dough.
Sarah says
I am so exited to make this this is a easy meal a that a kid can make and I am this will be great
George Pope says
Looks delicious! & just what I was looking for!
How long to microwave the frozen product, please, to get it ready to eat?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey George – I just updated with reheating instructions. Reheat 2-4 minutes in the microwave, just make sure you have cooked them first before freezing!
Katie says
Love this! How long do you put them back in the oven for when reheating from frozen?
Gabrielle says
yes, reheating instructions would be awesome!