Healthy Treat for Today: Homemade Pizza Pockets
ByLunch time around here can be a hectic time…
These Pizza Pockets are a perfect treat that you can make ahead put in the freezer…then throw in the oven at lunchtime.
Here’s how I made these:
I used my regular pizza recipe…
Crust
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teasoon sea salt
1 cup melted butter
1 cup plain yogurt
Stir ingredients together until thoroughly mixed. You can make these pockets right away, or you can allow this dough to soak for 12-24 hours in order to break down the phytates and make the grain more easily digestible.
Pizza Sauce
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 1/2 teaspoon basil
Stir together and simmer for a few minutes.
Pizza Pocket Fillings
Grated mozzarella or white cheddar cheese, cooked hamburger, pepperoni, olives, peppers, mushrooms
To form a Pizza Pocket
Roll a small ball of dough into a circle. Place one tablespoon of pizza sauce in the center. Put in a small amount of your choice of toppings. Fold the dough in half. Use a fork to pinch the edges together.
Lay Pizza Pockets on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze for about one hour. Pop them off the cookie sheet and put them into a freezer bag…and back into the freezer.
Bake your Pizza Pockets
For frozen Pizza Pockets, bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. If the Pizza Pockets are thawed, bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
I love the convenience of this nutritious ”fast food”! Serve them with fruit and veggies(God’s fast food!)…and you’ve got yourself a quick and easy lunchtime treat!!
You’ll find more healthy treat recipes here.
Those look like fun! I’m going to print this out and try my hand at it. I actually tried to bake bread yesterday. I thought it came out too doughy and heavy…but everyone in my family raved about it. Not too bad for a first attempt. (I don’t have a bread machine, but I did use my Kitchenaid for the kneading!)
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Yummy!!!
I make these too! Usually I just use some canned biscuits…flatten the biscuit and then add fillings. When I make pizza dough, my family thinks they actually need a big round pizza! LOL
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Wow looks really yummy and not too difficult either! THX
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Yummy… I may wait until next week to make these, because I’m sore from making 46 berocks last night, and making crust and rolling dough doesn’t sound fun today! LOL
Thanks for always sharing such great, yummy recipes!
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Great idea!
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I was hoping you would share this recipe. :)
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What a great idea for a fast lunch!
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These look like something we would really enjoy! Thanks for the all the great recipes you share! Have you thought about putting together a cookbook and submitting it to a publisher?
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Okay- what did I do wrong? My dough was sooo flaky/crumbly, it wouldn’t roll out, and could not make pockets out of it…
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How many pockets does one recipe make? Thanks.
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I made these last night and they were yummy! I froze half for some quick and tasty meals. Great idea!
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I made these and got about 20 nice sized pockets. The dough mixes up very well and is easy to work with. I used 1/2 cup olive oil/1/2 cup butter, as that seemed a little healthier. The finshed product tasted very good! We’ll see if the kiddos agree tomorrow!!
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I’m doing a spin on these for dinner tonight. Barbecue chicken pockets. I chopped the chicken and added some barbeque sauce and chipotle seasoning.
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What about freezing them? Do they work in the microwave for re-heating (thinking school lunch!)
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Laura Reply:
September 7th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
I freeze them all the time. I’m not a big fan of microwaves so I haven’t personally warmed one this way, but if you bake them first, then re-warm them in the microwave, I’m sure they’d do fine!
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DO you soak your grain for this?
I am thinking about making these but my son is gluten ree…can I soak the grain to make easier to digest. or should I just use gluten free flour?
thanks
Tara McMillan
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Laura Reply:
December 15th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
I do soak my grain for this and it works great!
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thank you!! i have been looking for make ahead and freeze meals! these look so yummy and are surely better for you than the store bought pizza pockets! YUMMY!
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Sounds great! I love that you put directions for heating from frozen and unfrozen. I also like that the recipe doesn’t call for cooking, freezing, then heating in the microwave. We got rid of ours due to health concerns, so when I see recipes like that, I’m thinking…”okay, how do I reheat it without a microwave? Will it be overcooked if I try it in the oven?”
So thank you!
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I also had trouble with the dough being flaky and crumbly and difficult to roll out. The ones I did get together are in the oven baking at the moment, so we’ll see how they come out…they smell good!
I love this idea, though I may use the breadmaker pizza dough recipe I usually use for our pizza & movie nights, as I didn’t have much success with this dough recipe (perhaps it is my flour? My flour tends to be on the grainy side…)
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Laura Reply:
March 3rd, 2010 at 8:36 am
Might have been the grainy flour. I know that I usually have to work my dough (like playdough) for a while sometimes to make it nice enough to roll. Hope yours tasted good anyway!
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If I used a yeast dough for the crust do you know if it would freeze and work as well?
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Laura Reply:
March 11th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
Yes, I think it would work perfectly!
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Just a tip I’ve found when making mass amounts of pizza pockets: You can roll out a huge amount of dough and cut it with a pizza cutter into desired size squares. Then top the dough and fold over or pull up edges and tuck all the ends under sorta like a bread roll with the filling in the middle.
Love looking over your recipes and can’t wait to actually get busy and make some!
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I read above that you said you soaked the flour. Do you soak it before you add the other ingredients or do you just mix all the ingredients and let it sit? If you soak it before what do you soak it with?
Thanks, I am trying to soak my grains and learning how to convert recipes so this is helpful. I can’t wait to try these!
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Laura Reply:
March 31st, 2010 at 7:53 am
I mix all the ingredients together and let it soak. You don’t have to add anything because the cultures in the yogurt break down the phytates!
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Wow, I just found your site…I’ve been skimming through and saving tons of recipes and links! Love it, thanks so much!
Sorry to have you repeat yourself, but when you freeze them how do you reheat them?
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Laura Reply:
April 22nd, 2010 at 8:14 am
For frozen Pizza Pockets, bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. If the Pizza Pockets are thawed, bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
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I bake these off and THEN freeze them so I can give them to my husband for lunch. Works well for us!
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These are a hit in our house! My dough also was crumbly and fell apart the first time I made these. I think it’s because my butter was not completely melted. However, I just kept kneading it and working it, and it softened right up after about 5 minutes.
I now use this concept to make pasties. I can get 5-6 out of the dough recipe. Instead of pizza fillings, just fill with ground beef, carrots, onions, potatoes, spices and 1 T. of butter. Serve with gravy.
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I made these last night with pizza toppings. Was thinking to make some with breakfast items, eggs, cheese, sausage…for breakfast pockets. Also, apples with butter and cinnamon for a desert or breakfast pocket. Can’t wait to make batches of them for the freezer.
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I have a batch of the mini pizzas ready for the oven. A genius tip occurred to me late last night: roll the dough out as one piece and use a jar mouth to cut each piece. I’m sure someone else is smarter than I and already thought of that ;)
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I tried making these last night and it was a flop! But that’s because I am not the best cook! :) The dough turned out mushy and totally hard to work with. I’m going to try again this week – maybe I incorrectly measured the butter or something.
I do have one question. How large are your circles that you cut out to fold?
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Laura Reply:
October 12th, 2010 at 11:00 am
Hmm, you may have needed more flour? I usually cut my circles with a wide mouth jar, then flatten it a bit more.
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I don’t see it in the instructions so how long do you normally let the batter sit and soak? Is it the same amount of time for all recipes using nothing but whole wheat flour?
Does the soaking make the flour/batter easier to work with?
Thanks!
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Laura Reply:
November 18th, 2010 at 3:27 pm
I usually mix it up and leave it on the counter overnight (or a few hours longer).
Soaking does make the batter a little bit easier to work with.
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How many pockets should you get from the one batch of dough?
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Laura Reply:
December 9th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
Depending on the size of your pockets, about 15-20.
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I’m assuming the answer to my question is no, but do you think that this recipe would work with rice flour?
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Laura Reply:
January 16th, 2011 at 3:03 pm
I really have no idea. :( I don’t have any experience with rice flour. I’d love to know the answer to this myself so that I could pass it along to others!
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I make a very similar thing for breakfast. I just put in ground sausage and cheese. My kids love them. I’ve tried the pizza but they don’t like it as well.
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I’m off to make some more of these. They are fun to make and such a great thing to have on hand for an easy meal!
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Whoops. I forgot to check the temp before putting them in the oven. I’ve got them in at 350 instead of 400, plus with an egg wash. Can’t wait to see how they come out!!! My older son’s idea of the perfect lunch is a couple of Amy’s Organic Pizza Pockets, so this might fill the niche, and for a lot less money.
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A couple leaked, but they’re very pretty. My husband is “testing” a couple and the rest will go into the fridge for the kids’ lunches tomorrow.
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We are trying to convert to whole wheat flour, so I made these with part whole wheat flour and part white flour. But they came out tasting… well… too much like grainy whole wheat crust. I tried to roll them out thin enough, so the crust wouldn’t be too thick but it didn’t work well. Is it my whole wheat flour or do we just need to get used to the whole wheat taste?
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Laura Reply:
February 20th, 2011 at 2:43 pm
I’m not sure if you read my “Switching to Whole Wheat” post, but that might answer the question. I’d try using whole wheat flour from WHITE wheat to see if that makes a difference: http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/switching-to-whole-wheat-flour-making-the-transitions-easier
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I hate to add my blooper. I made them but I substituted heavy cream for the yogurt as I didn’t have any (its a dairy, right?). I suppose I was supposed to roll out the dough? I just squished it flat (sorta) with my hand. So, here’s the question: I put the sauce on first and it made a WHOLE…as in oozed out especially as I folded it over, right in the top center. Was this due to my changes mentioned above? I haven’t given up; I was just hoping for some tips….Thanks! I ended up putting pepperoni down first to make a “barrier” and then the sauce on top and I also kept the dough pretty thick…
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Laura Reply:
February 20th, 2011 at 2:45 pm
Hmmm…yes, it could have been that the cream changed the dough. Sometimes I have sauce that oozes out, but it doesn’t make a hole in my dough. I wonder if the yogurt would have held the dough together better?
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What kind of tomato sauce do you use??
Thanks!
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Laura Reply:
February 20th, 2011 at 2:46 pm
I use my home canned tomato sauce: http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/canning-tomato-juice-and-tomato-sauce
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Also,
Can you subsstitute buttermilk for the yogurt?
Thanks
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Laura Reply:
February 20th, 2011 at 2:46 pm
Yes, that shouldn’t be a problem!
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I forgot about the dough and left it out for 2 days. Do you know if it’s still good?
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Laura Reply:
March 12th, 2011 at 9:15 am
I’m late in replying to this, sorry about that! I’ve also forgotten my soaking dough for longer than I was supposed to. As long as it isn’t stinky or moldy…it’s fine. It’s gonna smell a little sour no matter what, because it becomes a type of sourdough…but by stinky I mean that if it sends you running and screaming from the room…I wouldn’t use it. :)
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I just made some of these for lunch, and they were wonderful!! The kids ate them up! I used what I had on hand- Prego, black olives, shredded cheese, and a little cottage cheese w/ parmesan, garlic salt, and oregano mixed in. I’m excited to try these next time we have leftover pot roast or chicken!
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I have the dough sitting on my counter soaking right now, alongside the frozen breakfast sausage that I will be using to make breakfast pizza pockets. I am so excited to see how these turn out!
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Wondering how to make this w/o dairy… I always use coconut oil in place of butter or shortening, but I’m at a loss for substituting yogurt.
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Laura Reply:
May 25th, 2011 at 3:12 pm
I *think* you could sub rice or coconut milk for the yogurt and be okay.
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Katie Reply:
September 19th, 2011 at 3:32 pm
They also make coconut milk yogurt. Cultures for health should have a
recipe for coconut milk yogurt!
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Made these for lunch today. Kids could not get enough of them. I am so glad they are so easy to make. I will be making a double batch next time so we have some in the freezer for another day. Husband loved them too!
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These are excellent! Thanks! We used 1/2 c. olive oil and 1/2 c. butter as one commenter suggested.
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Made these for the kids in my home daycare today. I love the healthy food ideas from your site. I also made the blueberry strussel muffins for them this morning and they all said they were “delicious.” Thanks for all the great ideas!
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I made these today for the freezer and heated one up. OMG it was delish. Some turned out to be somewhat messy but it is for me and hubs so I really do not care. :)) Do you know approximetly how many calories these would be?
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Laura Reply:
August 10th, 2011 at 10:06 am
Sorry, I have no idea! Glad you liked them!
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What is 1t. is that 1 tablespoon or 1 teaspoon?
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Laura Reply:
August 10th, 2011 at 1:48 pm
Sorry – 1 t. is teaspoon. I need to go edit that for clarity!
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Have you tried this crust in quiche?
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Laura Reply:
September 11th, 2011 at 3:58 pm
No, but what a great idea!
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Kika Reply:
September 11th, 2011 at 6:22 pm
I did try it and it works great.
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am i able to substitute in greek yogurt? thank ya.
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Laura Reply:
September 3rd, 2011 at 2:11 pm
Yes, I think this will work, although I can’t say for sure since I’ve not tried it.
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My family tried these last night and they were great! I was worried since I always have trouble with making things with homemade dough, but I just added a little extra dough like you suggested and it came out just right! We didn’t have any pepperoni, so I just used browned hamburger seasoned with garlic powder and salt and pepper then used store bought pizza sauce (organic) and cheese and it was yummy even that way! Can’t wait to try them with pepperoni! Even my picky husband liked them =)
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