My homemade hot pockets are a perfect lunch or snack on the go.
With school coming up I get busy again and need to have some freezer meals that I can make up quickly and that last a while. I like to make a huge batch of these babies and freeze them for busy afternoons and for my kids school lunches. They really are the perfect addition to my make ahead cold lunches. If you have no clue what I am talking about, please click the link. It’s one of my more popular posts here on happymoneysaver and I promise it will make your life easier.
We add ham & cheese to half of the hot pockets and pepperoni, cheese & pizza sauce to the other half. My kids absolutely love them! I make my own pizza dough so these are definitely healthier than that store bought junk.
Homemade Hot Pockets From Scratch
Make up a batch of pizza dough. My favorite go to recipe is done in my food processor. First add flour, salt and yeast to mixing bowl with blade attachment. Pulse until combined.
Next pulse in 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil.
Add in warm water with the machine turned to the on position and let run until the dough pulls away from the edges and starts to form a ball. Turn off machine.
Remove dough and add to a well greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled in size.
When dough is done rising, you are ready to go.
Shape dough into circles. I usually make mine about the size of my hand all spread out. They bake up pretty big and I get about 6-8 when I do it that way. For smaller eaters, make smaller circles.
Add toppings. Our favorite is ham with cheddar and mozzarella cheese. We also do pepperoni pizza ones because all my kids love them.
Fold half of the dough over to the other side making a half circle, and seal the edges. I roll the dough up and push down to seal.
Using a knife, cut 2 small slits on the top of the hot pockets. We usually do 3 slits on pepperoni and 2 on our ham ones. It helps us to remember what kind we are getting.
Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Let cool completely. Wrap individually in plastic wrap and place in gallon sized freezer safe bag. Freeze.
To reheat from frozen, unwrap plastic wrap, cover in a paper towel and heat for 1 1/2 minutes in the microwave. If you will be reheating these after they have been thawed, heat up in microwave for 30-60 seconds.
Look at that cheesy goodness! These homemade hot pockets healthy and delicious.
But is it worth the cost?
The big question is if it’s actually worth it to make your own vs. buying them from the store. And I will tell you I refuse to eat hot pockets from the store because you just don’t know what you are getting. They taste weird and I get stomach aches from eating them. So I am a bit biased there…but anyways. Cost breakdown.
Here is the cost breakdown for 1 batch of my homemade hot pockets from scratch:
To make 8 large homemade hot pockets is – $2.72
A box of 12 at Walmart is around $12 dollars. Making them about $1 per hot pocket.
Homemade= $2.72
Store Bought= $8.00
That is a savings of 66 %!! And that my friend is a lot.
Not only are my homemade hot pockets from scratch better tasting, they are made with real ingredients, are pretty simple to make and are way less expensive than the store bought ones. I think it’s a win all around. Definitely worth it. What are you waiting for? Go make up a batch for you and your family, freeze the leftovers and thank me later! 😉
Ingredients
- 4 cups flour
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tbsp yeast
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 2 1/2 cups of chopped meat ham or pepperoni
- 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese
- pizza sauce for pizza hot pockets
Instructions
- Add flour, salt and yeast to a food processor with the blade attachment. Pulse until well mixed.
- Pulse in olive oil.
- Turn machine to the on position and while running pour in warm water. Let machine run until dough pulls away from the edges and forms a ball.
- Put dough in a greased bowl and cover. Let rise until doubled in size.
- Take handfuls of the dough and roll out into a small circle about the size of your hand. Add some cheese and meat and fold the circle of dough over to make a half circle.
- Seal the edges and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes.
- To freeze: After baking, wrap in plastic wrap and place in a freezer safe ziploc bag. Freeze for later use.
- To reheat from frozen, unwrap plastic wrap, cover in a paper towel and heat for 1 1/2 minutes. After it has been thawed, heat up in microwave for 30-60 seconds.
Recipe Notes
This recipe makes about 8 large hot pockets. If you are using this dough to make pizza, it will make about 2 12 inch pizzas.
–> See all of my freezer meals recipes here.
How long does it take for the dough to rise properly?
Usually about an hour but it can change depending on how warm my kitchen is.
Could I substitute ham with game meat to make game pie hot pockets ? Such as rabbit, venison, turkey, grouse, pheasants, pigeon, fish, turtle, etc etc
Sure whatever you have on hand I would be interested to know where you get your turtle meat though! 🙂
In some parts of the south, snapping turtle is allowed as a game animal.
I tried a similar and the bread was not flaky when I microwaved. Fresh baked was delicious….microwaved dough was tough as shoe leather.
Do your hot pockets come out flaky when you microwave yours….or does the microwave reduce the flaky affect when reheating?
Maybe try a moist paper towel? Usually that helps to prevent the crust from drying out and getting tough.
I never thought (slap to the head) to MYO traditional flavor hot pockets; I do MYO Nutella, caramel and Granny Smith apple hot pockets though.
Love this! I took leftover taco seasoned meat added salsa and cheese. My son calls them taco pockets and request them for his school lunches all the time.
As usual your recipes are spot on. As I was gathering ingredients, I thought to make some breakfast ones too. I will probably use my breakfast burrito recipe.
can you make these whole wheat some how?
Sure! You could use a whole wheat pizza dough. I have never substituted whole wheat for this recipe of pizza dough but it might be worth a try!
Ok, I took some turkey out of a turkey sausage, browned it, browned a ton of veggies, wet down a glutton free wrap, added everything and cheese to the wrap, folded it, put olive oil on the outside of the wrap and cooked at 350 for 15 min. Yummy!! you can also cook a wrap until crisp and add ‘chips’ to your meal. Thanks so much for the idea. This will be my lunch from now on. Good job, mom!!! 🙂
Did you use bread flour or all purpose in your recipe?
All purpose flour!
I have a ton of bread flour that need to be used; do you think it would work?
Maybe? Give it a try and let me know, thanks!
Not sure if this is yet answered; are their any alternations to the due if you’re using whole wheat flour?
I’m glutton free, so I have to be careful with glutton. I’m going to try glutton free wraps and this recipe. We’ll see what happens.
Kim, in order to make these Gluten free, I would use a gluten free all purpose flour, such as Bob’s red Mill 1-to-1 or bobs red mill all purpose (but make sure you add the necessary xanthan gum).
Can’t wait to try these out. Any idea how long they will last in the freezer in regular freezer bags or vacuum sealed bags?
I would say up to 6 months but they have never lasted in my freezer that long! 🙂
How would you recommend warming them up in the oven or toaster oven? Should they be defrosted first?
A toaster oven would be great but I have found just the plain old microwave works well in a pinch. To reheat from frozen, unwrap plastic wrap, cover in a paper towel and heat for 1 1/2 minutes in the microwave. If you will be reheating these after they have been thawed, heat up in microwave for 30-60 seconds.
I don’t have a microwave. I have a really nice toaster/convection oven. So, how would you recommend re-heating, or have you not tried it in the oven? If you aren’t sure, I will figure it out and let you know my findings. Thanks.
No the oven works great too! The microwave can work for a quick meal and the oven will take longer. I would say 350 in the oven for 15 minutes if it is completely frozen. Check to make sure the cheese is hot and melty before taking it out. If it is thawed it won’t take as long in the oven. I have not used this recipe in a convection oven. Please let me know what you think!
Silly question – if I don’t have a food processor with a blade attachment, would it be easy to make the dough in a Kitchen Aid mixer? Would you need to do anything different?
I think that would be great in the Kitchen Aid too! Just follow the instructions and use the dough hook until it comes together in a ball. Let me know what you think after you try it!
I’m making my second batch today (did one last weekend and they are gone already! Supposed to be for after the baby comes next month for easy meals, whoops!) and mixed it with my Kitchen Aid and the dough attachment. Worked out great. I’m making them a little smaller this time as 8 seemed big but I may have rolled my dough too thin. Either way, this is a hit at my house!
Glad you liked them and congrats on the baby!
Can you freeze the pockets unbaked… as in the dough is still raw (with the fillings already inside)?
I am not sure about that one, it might work? I haven’t tried it myself though. If you do try it let me know how it goes. 🙂
Hi Jen and Karrie- have you guys tried this technique yet? Did you put them in the freezer without baking them first? Do you recommend it? Thanks!
Hello, love your site. Since this question seems to beg to be asked every year and hasn’t (and since I would REALLY like to know) :)-… has anyone tried freezing them not baked? Bueller… lol. Happy New Year!
I just wanted to let you know that I tried this recipe as written. It was fantastic! My entire family loves them!! Thank you! Thank you! THANK YOU!! 🙂
So happy you love them!
Can you use self rising flour with this recipe?
I haven’t ever used it but I think it would work! Try it out!
I just made these to go in my freezer and of course we had to sample one. They’re half gone already. These are so delicious. I love that I know every ingredient that’s going into them. I will be able to customize these to my kids and hubby’s taste. I’m thinking sausage and cheese or maybe ground beef with taco seasoning, cheese and olives. Yum! Thanks Karrie!
I am looking forward to making this! What type of ham do you use??
I used leftover ham from dinner the night before and just roughly chopped it into squares. You could also get ham from the deli and have them slice it pretty thick. 🙂
I would give this 6 stars if I could! Just finished my batch and a half for the freezer so my hubby and I can have easy lunches or dinners once our baby comes! Thanks again!!!
Yeah!
Hello, great recipe thank you! 🙂
How would you go about making the dough without a mixer or food processor. Thank you for your time! 🙂
Kelsey,
Great question! I was wondering the same thing. I have never owned a food processor and I only have a blender. Don’t think that will work. Did you happen to try this recipe without either one of these tools? I’d love to hear what your results were.
I haven’t done it in a blender and would hesitate to use it. You could make this dough by hand with some really good arm muscles! 🙂 Add the ingredients in the bowl and mix them together with a wooden spoon. When that is too hard start kneading the dough on an oiled or floured surface. Then follow the instructions as normal. The food processor just cuts out the manual labor so that’s my first choice!
can you make this with pizza curst the is in the package?
Crust*
I haven’t tried it before but I think it could work if you cook it right away. I am not sure how the packaged dough (unless it is homemade dough!) would freeze.
i made these so yummy! i thought my edges were sealed well and they looked sealed but they popped open a little once they baked up! any ideas what i did wrong or how to fix it next time? i think they will freeze up fine though!
Maybe try pushing them down into the dough as you roll them so they seal better or you could use a fork to seal the edges. It has a different look but it still tastes as good!
I just made these and they turned out great! I used 1 c. wheat flour and 3 c. white flour. I think I am going to try it with broccoli next time too. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Looking forward to making these! The thing I didn’t realize, was the type of yeast used isn’t specified. I have active dry on hand. Did you use active dry or rapid rise?
I used active dry!
What kind of yeast? I was at store today and there are 3 different kinds. I’m new at this so I’m not sure which yeast to get. There was a dry active, rapid rise, and I don’t remember the other one.
Never mind, just seen post saying active dry. Will definitely try this recipe tomorrow!
I used active dry yeast!
Great recipe. Made a few adjustments but your recipe was what I was looking for. Thank you.
found this on pinterest. made them, and they were awesome. super easy. a few of mine burst, but that was because of poor filling on my part. 10/10 would make again.
Glad you liked them!
How long does it keep when frozen? Thanks 🙂
Up to 6 months!
Thanks for this. I was looking for a easy way to bring my lunch to college. And this is awesome.
could I use puff pastry instead of dough would it work?
I haven’t tried puff pastry before but if you like a flaky pizza it might be really good. Let me know what you think if you try it out!
Hi!
Have you ever figured out the calories in your homemade hot pockets?
Thanks!
No, I haven’t! If you want to figure it out try using a calorie counter like my fitness pal or calorie counter.
Fantastic idea! I have made two rounds of these bad boys now. First time I realized the inside of the pizza ones microwaved better because of the sauce.so this time I added a little cheese sauce to the pockets. Much better! The possibilities are endless. Every one I have fed theses to approves highly. Toddler girl, husband, dad, father-in-law and one of my best friends! Weighed out the dough to about 4.5 oz and got 16 exactly out of a double recipe of dough.
Hi, can you explain a little more how you would do this without homemade dough? I was thinking of getting like Pilsbury pizza dough in the can and trying that, or even maybe using a tortilla shell or pitta pocket instead but I wasn’t sure how well they would freeze? And I was thinking of a teriyaki chicken with homemade salsa & provolone cheese stuffing that would be pre-cooked, so maybe in that case I don’t cook up the pocket ahead of time but just make it up and bake it in a toaster oven from frozen?
If I were to use any other dough I would use the homemade dough that is sold from pizza places or in grocery stores. Winco sells pizza dough that they make in-house that I know this recipe would work well with. But I am not sure about using Pillsbury dough. I don’t think it would freeze well but if you were making it and baking it right then it could work. The tortilla shell and pita pocket sound great but I am again not sure how they would freeze and bake up. 🙂
The pillsbury dough freezes well once cooked. I don’t normally buy it, but had an awesome coupon once so thats how I ended up trying it out…..I much prefer homemade dough. If there is a Trader Joes near you they have an awesome pizza dough in three flavors.
Thanks for sharing the break down of the cost. I love meat pockets, and enjoy making my own, but I had no idea I was saving that much! (I also love your photos.)
These are so good, it’s ridiculous! Going to triple the recipe next time!
Love this, need some recommendations for fillings without cheese?
my husbands favorite hot pocket was always steak and jalapeno but they don’t make it no more so I think I will try to make him some
Would you mind explaining how you calculated the cost? I can’t figure out how I would get all the ingredients that cheap.
When you use homemade products like flour or yeast, I only calculate how much I use. Try it out! 🙂
I am going to be trying these!
Now that is something the kids will love. I am totally gonna make this. Thanks
These look delicious, and perfect to make ahead and pop in the oven on a busy week night!
These would be great for my husband’s lunches!
love the detailed recipe
Looks delicious. Great for lunch
Wow, definitely one for the “Why Didn’t I Think Of This?” List. 🙂 I used to love the convenience and favors of Hotpockets…until I started paying attention to what I was eating! Thanks so much for this!
Yummy! My daughter loves hot pockets, so I am going to have to try this recipe out! Thanks for sharing it!
I am looking forward to giving these a try. I used to love Hot Pockets and gave them up years ago because of the unhealthiness, but I miss the ease!!!
I’ve made several types of these, but I’m going to try your recipe next time!
This is a wonderful idea to make packing lunches easier!
These would be great for my hubby’s lunch, or for home. My kids always want me to buy these, but i refuse to for the perservatives and sodium. Now i can surprise them with these – great recipe, and so versatile!!
Will have to try this recipe! These are similar to a recipe that I used to have for individual sized calzones. But the crust on these look much better! I love it when homemade means cheaper, tastier and healthier!
I can’t wait to try this recipe! My son loves hot pockets and now I can provide a healthier option!
I think my kids will really like these!
Yum, yum, I have got to make this over the weekend.
YUMMY!
These look yummy!
Although these look really good, the kids can’t take them to school because there is no way to warm them up. I can understand at home but not at school, am I wrong?
Some schools have microwaves available in their cafeteria that may work if they are already cooked but I personally love them in the oven.
Just made a batch of these tonight, part of my/my boyfriend’s first official foray into freezer meals. I’ve never used my food pro for dough with the regular blade before (instead of the dough blade), but it worked out just fine! 🙂 I think I’ll try what some of the other comments did, and add some wheat flour for next time, and a bunch of veggies. Yay! Thanks for the freezer-specific instructions, including the reheating instructions. 😀
Wonderful! So glad you liked the recipe!
Today I learned “home made hot pockets” are essentially empanadas.
I just made these with my 9 year old son. He loved the pizza flavor. Now, I have ideas to make curry chicken and potato. I think I will also try sour cream enchilada filling. Thanks for an easy and great recipe.
We also made them with Manwich Sloppy Joe filling instead of a bun!! Delicious.
So happy you like it!
hello! this was great recipe to make! i just wanted to say that i used whole wheat flour and chopped turkey sausage to make it even healthier! loved it, thanks for this recipe! snacks on the go just became better ^_^
I will have to try that next time!
hi… i used a store bought pizza dough mix as the batch of dough i made was useless:( Just turned out really sticky… added more flour and it seemed fine but after leaving it set for a while it became sticky again! not quite sure why
Made these with my daughter today. Super easy and the possibilities are endless. I made ham and cheese but I also made a cheese sauce to put in them too so they would not be dry. My daughter did the pizza ones and loves them. I will definitely add broccoli to the ham and cheese next time. Also we used half wheat & half white for the 1st batch and then just white for the 2nd batch. Both turned out wonderfully!!!
Thank you!
I am so glad you like this recipe. I love when I find food my kids love!
I made these over and over again, so great. so much better than the store bought ones. mm
I agree! I am so glad you like them!
I do this the lazy way. I buy Shoprite (storebrand) biscuit dough for 69cents, the kind that pops out of the cardboard tube.. roll them out flat place filling in middle and fold it over if i want small ones, or place another rolled out one ontop if i want big ones. Then egg wash the top and bake. Usually this is how I get rid of my leftovers is by shoving them in a hotpocket lol
I think that is a great way to get rid of leftovers!
The dough recipe is AMAZING! So simple, I love it. I have made these before, but with a totally different, no yeast pizza dough, just because I don’t normally have yeast and have always been apprehensive to use it. But, I finally bit the bullet and made the dough that you list in the recipe, so delicious. They’re fluffier, crisper, lighter, not as heavy. I’m halfway through making twenty of them and I cannot wait for my husband to get home from work to try them. Great recipes!
I am so glad you like them! They are my family’s favorite, too!
I just tried these today with turkey pepperoni and they came out so good!! I like the dough recipe. I will make regular pizza with this dough next very easy!! Thanks for sharing.God bless😀
What type of brand cheese do you use to make it so moist and soft. I tried so many and all that happens is that it dries up and doesnt looks cheesy or stretchy. Any tips?
Thanks for sharing! My classes start again soon so it will be great to have some portable breakfast on hand
It is not healthy if you put ham inside. Remember the WHO advise: all the processed meats produce cancer. The sodium nitrite.
As an Ameircan living in the UK I’m definitely missing a lot of American foods! Including hot pockets! I’m looking forward to making these sometime soon! :]
Can mix with my hands the dough since I don’t have food processor?
I mixed mine in a bowl, then kneaded it for a few minutes. They turned out just fine.
Hot pockets from the store make my stomach hurt. The idea and genius for this busy working woman. This recipe is amazing!! Thanks for sharing!!:)
I don’t have food processor but I have an off brand vitamix will that work? Also I got active dry yeast is that right?
Yep that will work! 🙂
How would bread flour work?
I just finished making these and love them! Super easy and will make a great lunch! I’m just about to wrap them up to freeze them! Thanks for the great recipe!
Great recipe idea!!! I make mine with whole wheat dough. I also always add some type veggie to both types( minced). I took it a step farther and make them now with all my vegartian and regular potpie ingredients. Plus found meat pie ideas. Thanks for sharing how to start them and freeze them!!!
Just made these for my adult ADHD child who will not stop to eat. Turned out great. I used taco meat this round. Maybe he’ll stop for the three minutes it takes to heat these up and he can eat them standing up and pacing around. Guess I’ll never stop being a mom!
I made these tonight and for once my kids didn’t fight me on eating the food in fact, they asked for seconds (and even thirds!)
I made them with hand and cheese because that was what was in my fridge at the time. I don’t think I will have a chance to try them frozen. I will have to make another batch to freeze.
Two changes I wil make for next time: (1) I will add more filling. What seemed like a lot uncooked turned out to be not very much once it cooked. (2) I will try and roll the dough a little thinner next time because mine turned out thick.
I made these with several times with different fillings, my sons favorite was crunchy peanut butter and homemade marshmallow fluff. I just wish I could make more at a time. I need a friend with a commercial stand mixer lol
I made these this afternoon with my own pizza dough recipie and they were amazing! I’m so happy I found this recipie because I probably wouldnt have thought to make hot pockets otherwise! Thank you!
I’ve been making my own for years, using a classical fatayir dough. As well as freezing them. But I was searching for freezable recipes to make for my sister who just gave birth and had a C section. I totally forgot about this option. Thanks for the reminder. I am going to try your pizza dough recipe. Most pizza recipes fail with me from some reason.
For this recipe do you use instant yeast or active yeast? It wasn’t explicitly stated.
wondering the same and also temp of the water-thank you!
Tried as written! Super tasty, although I didn’t roll out my dough quite thin enough so I ended up with some pretty bready rolls…not that that’s a bad thing 😉
Seriously, I am careful about what I put in these, but somehow crack has to be added, they are truly addictive. I have managed to ration them and make them last almost 2 weeks. The first 2 batches were GONE in 2 days, each time, and we are small family of an army man, who hates carbs (but obviously not these), a SAHM, and 2 toddlers. I make mine smaller and get about 16 out of each batch. I then divide them and typically do 2 breakfast versions with scrambled eggs & sausage, scrambled eggs & bacon and then two lunch ones. I did cubed chicken breast, ham and broccoli with a chilled velveta sauce that I made the night before and they were so good. It was like a fake, quick chicken Kiev. For anyone who is interested in the breakfast ones, I made sure to make the scrambled eggs on the fluffy and moist side. We typically are a scrambled hard family, but found in the first batch it made them a little dry when reheated. Anyway, thank you for such a great recipe!
I would like to use whole grain flour of some kind. Can you make a recommendation or have any tips?
Does the yeast work properly without sugar?
I baked these up today, but mine wound’t even brown up by 15 minutes! Had to add about 5 minutes additional to each batch, but the crust is hard as a rock now! Can they be brushed with egg white/water or butter to brown like bread?
hi i just wanted to know if i could part bake these then freeze and finish cooking in the oven when i wanted to eat them just to make them crisp again tia
lol these are calzones
these are fantastic. just wondering if the dough could be placed in the freezer (unstuffed)for a few days before making the pockets.
Made these for the first time today and the dough was extremely sticky. Had to use a lot of flour to get them off my fingers. Every time I stretched the dough, it would bounce back. The few I did make, baked up beautifully and had a good taste, so where did I go wrong with the dough? Thanks!
Thanks for the recipe! It was really yummy! I made a double batch so there would be plenty in the freezer and ended up with 26.
Only thing I did different was, I put the cheese, pepperoni, and sauce in the blender and “pulsed” it so everything would be even in the pocket 🙂
Definitely saving the recipe for another time!
What a great idea Alexis! I love it!