These homemade hot pockets are the perfect make ahead lunch option for the whole family! Just cook up a batch of ham and cheese or pizza hot pockets (or both) and freeze them for later!
What Makes This Hot Pockets Recipe So Fantastic?
- Taste. These delicious little pockets of heaven are so very tasty! Their taste is familiar to a store-bought hot pocket, but infinitely better in every way. The crust comes out perfectly doughy with a slight crisp on the outside, just the way it’s supposed to be. And whether you decide to go with ham and cheese, pizza or both, you’re sure to savor each and every bite of these make-ahead, homemade hot pockets.
- Convenience. These little pockets-of-goodness are easily one of the most convenient freezer-friendly meals I’ve every whipped up. They’re the perfect dish for those days you don’t feel like having to cook, and they’re super easy for your kids to reheat in the microwave! Just a couple of minutes and you’re ready to eat!
- Freezer-Friendly. If you know me, you know how much I love freezer-friendly food options (seriously, I have so many freezer meals here). This recipe was a huge hit with my kids, and I’m sure your family will obsess over them just as much. A freezer-friendly dish that the whole family will love? Sign me up!
- Healthy. Unlike the ingredient list on the side of a box of store-bought hot pockets, you can easily read and pronounce every ingredient that goes into this recipe. No preservatives. No artificial colors. No artificial flavors. Just basic and healthy ingredients you can feel good feeding to your family.
What Goes Into This Recipe?
This hot pockets recipe is as straightforward as they come. You’re just a simple 5 ingredient crust and 2-3 ingredients for the filling away from an easy, hearty and crave worthy lunch option.
You’ll only need:
- Flour
- Salt
- Yeast
- Olive oil
- Warm water
- Chopped ham or pepperoni
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Pizza sauce
How Do You Make Hot Pockets From Scratch?
You can make hot pockets from scratch by following this simple recipe. Simple ingredients. Simple recipe. Simply delicious. These homemade hot pockets are so easy to make you’ll be left wishing you’d stumbled upon this recipe sooner!
Add flour, salt and yeast to a food processor with the blade attachment. Pulse until well mixed. Add in olive oil.
Turn the machine to the on position and while running pour in warm water. Let the machine run until dough pulls away from the edges and forms a ball.
Put the 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 pizza sauce, cheese and meat and fold the circle of dough over to make a half circle.
For each calzone, roll the bottom edge up and over the top, crimping the dough to seal. You can also use wet hands to press the edges shut or use a fork to crimp the edges.
Cut 2″ slits into the top of the hot pockets to allow steam to escape while cooking.
Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes.
How Do You Freeze These Homemade Calzones For Later?
After baking, wrap in plastic wrap and place in a freezer safe ziploc bag.
To reheat from frozen, unwrap the plastic wrap, cover in a paper towel and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. After it has thawed, heat up in the microwave for 30-60 seconds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Homemade Hot Pockets Healthy?
Store bought hot pockets may not be, but these homemade hot pockets are healthy! This recipe uses nothing but basic, wholesome and healthy ingredients, so you can rest assured that your family will be eating something much healthier than that store bought stuff.
Are Calzone And Pizza Dough The Same?
Yes, calzone and pizza dough are generally the same recipe and can definitely be used for both dishes. This recipe is my favorite dough for homemade hot pockets and calzones but I use a different recipe for pizza dough that can be found in my new cookbook!
What Other Toppings Could You Put in Hot Pockets?
- Ground Beef
- Bacon
- Veggies
- Canadian Bacon
- Pineapple
- Shredded Chicken
- BBQ sauce
- Spinach
- Alfredo Sauce
- Jalapenos
How Long Do Pizza Pockets Last In The Freezer?
This pizza pocket recipe lasts about 3 months in the freezer, but they’re so very good I doubt they’ll last in your freezer that long, or at least they didn’t last that long in my house! My kids go through these things at an alarming rate, so it might not hurt to make a double batch just in case.
Tips And Tricks For Making This Hot Pocket Recipe
- Rise. You may not be able to tell when the dough has doubled in size, so here’s a simple trick for checking if the bread is done rising. Once you believe dough has doubled in size, simply use your fingers to make a half inch indentation into the top of the dough. If the indentation remains, the dough is ready for the next step. If the indentation goes away, the dough needs more time to rise.
- Seal. Making sure the dough is sealed is so important. If not properly sealed, all of the toppings inside will spill out. I like to pinch and roll the dough to seal it or you could use a fork to crimp and seal the edges, too.
- Wrap. Make sure that you’ve wrapped each individual hot pocket before freezing. If you don’t, they’ll end up freezing together into a single mass of hot pockets, and you definitely don’t want that!
- Reheat. When reheating these, make sure that you wrap them in a paper towel. The paper towel not only helps cook the food more evenly, but it also helps trap the moisture so your hot pocket doesn’t come out with a hard, dry crust.
Want More Freezer Friendly Lunch Recipes?
- Chicken Burritos – These chicken burritos are a quick and easy dinner option that you can freeze and enjoy later for lunch.
- Ham and Cheese Stromboli – This stromboli recipe is one of my go to dishes because of how delicious and convenient it is.
- 15-Minute Quinoa Burrito Bowls – Fast, easy and so satisfying, these make ahead bowls are the perfect lunch for kids and adults.
- Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches – Tender meat loaded with peppers, onions and melted cheese – it’s the ultimate sandwich!
- Homemade Chicken Taquitos with Cilantro & Pepper-Jack Cheese – Creamy and super satisfying, these are one of the fastest lunches.
If you make this Homemade Hot Pockets recipe, I would love to see it! Snap a picture of your skillet and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #happymoneysaver and tagging me @happymoneysaver!
Homemade Hot Pockets {Freezer Friendly}
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
- 1/2 cup 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 pizza sauce, 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 microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. After it has been thawed, heat up in microwave for 30-60 seconds.
Notes
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
HI there, what kind of yeast are you using??
Has anyone tried these with a gluten free flour blend like King Arthur Gluten free flour? Hot Pockets are a favorite and easy for on the go lunches. I’m gluten free and not much of a baker, but these look delicious!
Can i freeze these before baking them and then bake them in the oven from frozen?
Or alternatively, can I reheat them in the oven instead of the microwave?
I have a kid very sensitive to textures and typically they don’t like microwave reheated foods.
Thank you this looks like a great recipe!
I am sure you could bake them from frozen in the oven, so they only cook one time. I would also feel fine about reheating in the oven. I would probably heat at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes and keep checking after that for doneness.
What kind of yeast are you using?
Do your kids eat these cold at school or heat them up?
When they have access to a microwave, they warm them up!
Do you need to add salt to the dough
Yes, the recipe has 1 1/2 tsp salt in the dough. 🙂
I don’t have a food processor, can the first steps be done in a blender or stand mixer?
The dough gets thick so as long as it has a strong enough motor, it should work!
Hi! I was wondering if I should let the calzones come to room temperature before I freeze them, or if that would cause the crust to become too dry? Thank you in advance!
I would let them cool completely before wrapping and freezing, otherwise they may end up soggy.
Can you make the dough by hand if you dont have a food processor and what are the steps?
Yes, you can. I would add the warm water and yeast to a bowl and let it proof for a few minutes. Then I would add in the flour and salt and mix them together. Then add in the olive oil until it is together. Then I would knead it just until it comes together. Follow the directions from there! Hope that helps!
I am excited to try putting these together this weekend. I am always looking for pre-made, healthier options for lunches when my kids are showing their livestock. Something they can grab and eat on the go that I can feel good about and keeps them happy too. My question is do you have to bake them before freezing. Can I assemble and freeze. Ideally I would pull on them out frozen and bake in the morning, wrap in foil and place in warm crockpot to be snacked on though the day.
Thanks for the recipe I am excited to see what other great ideas you have shared.
You say to microwave for 1 1/2 minutes then when it has thawed to microwave for 30-60 seconds. How long does it take for it to thaw before you should microwave for that 30-60 seconds?
These just passed the freezer test, we will never buy processed Hot Pockets again!!!
Our cheese mix was mozzarella, cheddar, parmesan and Romano. My son eats nothing with a face so the cheese mix with our knock-off Pizza Hut sauce made the perfect cheese pizza hot pocket. And froze and reheated perfectly also. For Mom, a little turkey kielbasa, chopped onion, and sliced tomato with the cheese mix, and sauce on the side for dipping; smelled great and tasted even better!
With the pandemic Hot Pockets have been ridiculously hard to find in the store, and choosing your flavor, impossible! This recipe is a Godsend, for our wallets and our health!
THANK YOU !!
Please be nice because this may be a silly question but unfortunately it’s one I need to ask, but is it plain or self raising flour please?
plain – good old all purpose flour is what I usually use!
how long does it take for the dough to rise
What kind of yeast are you using – instant or active dry or fresh?
I am
Wondering the same thing. The measurements will be different depending on if it’s active dry or instant
Meat filling has to be cooked or raw when we put it in … also do we need to use a wet the paper towel ??
Cooked is best. You don’t have to, I just like to wet the paper towel.
To the person who keeps posting about how these are Calzones and not Hot Pockets. A calzone or hot pocket is a filling stuffed pizza dough; both are one and the same. An Empanada (savory or sweet) uses a pastry dough and is either baked or deep fried. You are confusing Empanadas for Hot Pockets/Calzones which are the same thing!
These were simple and delicious!! Bonus tips: add two tablespoons Italian spice to dough for fragrant bread. You can easily wrap this dough around a wheel of brie same time and temperature for molten brie and bread appetizer!!
Made these using whole wheat white flour, added some Italian seasoning to the dough, found an excellent sauce recipe and these turned out fantastic!! Next time I’ll definitely be adding more ingredients than just pepperoni but I was in a hurry and trying to make freezer meals for when my 3rd baby arrives. Thanks for the recipe!!!
I put a paper towel in with the ones I freeze. That sops up the moisture and the dough doesn’t get goopy. I am so glad I saved this recipe it’s a lifesaver for old folks who can’t always find the energy to cook every day.