Whether you’re looking for a healthy make-ahead dinner for the whole family or a new way to serve up veggies, these Homemade Pizza Pockets are a delish option. They are a super fun way to serve pizza AND are easier to make than you might think!
My kids, like most children, love all my pizza recipes for kids and they seem more inclined to eat their veggies when they’re packaged up inside pizza. These Homemade Pizza Pockets have the flavors of classic cheese pizza with an incredibly soft dough and an interior filled with a nice portion of broccoli.
I love to make them ahead of time for easy weeknight family dinners—because leftovers warm in about 30 seconds!—on nights when I otherwise don’t have time to cook. And when my kids go to school, it’s a great kids lunch or kindergarten lunch to pack in a kids thermos.
We often have a simple side of fruit or a veggie…or just a drink. They’re a fairly complete meal in themselves!
(You may also like Pizza Rolls, Pizza Pinwheels, Pizza Toast, and my Greek Yogurt Pizza Dough.)
Table of Contents
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Ingredients You Need
To make these simple pizza pockets, you’ll need to have these following ingredients on hand and ready to go.
- Broccoli: Frozen or fresh broccoli florets work here, or you can use any other pizza topping your kids like such as pepperoni, cooked sausage, black olives, or peppers.
- Pizza dough: I usually use my Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough in this recipe, but you can also use my Greek Yogurt Pizza Dough or a store-bought fresh ball of dough. Look near the cheese or in the freezer aisle to see if your store has pizza dough.
- Shredded mozzarella cheese: This is classic pizza cheese so it’s what I use here. You can also use Italian blend shredded cheese if you prefer.
- Pizza sauce: We add a little pizza sauce inside the pizza pockets recipe. You can also use a little Hidden Veggie Pasta Sauce if you prefer.
- Parmesan cheese, oregano, olive oil: These are optional to add more flavor.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s a look at the process of making these Homemade Pizza Pockets. Scroll down to the bottom of this post for the full information, including the amounts and the timing.
Step 1. Cut the dough into even sections. A serrated knife makes this easy. Spread each piece of dough into a flat round of dough.
Step 2. Add the fillings to one half of each round, leaving about 1/4-inch of dough empty along the edge.
Step 3. Fold over and press down with a fork to seal.
Step 4. Bake until the crust is lightly golden brown and firm to the touch.
Frequently Asked Questions
You could use some browned ground beef or turkey, lightly cooked cubes of zucchini or cauliflower, some fresh baby spinach (cut it into small pieces first) or even trade in pesto for the pizza sauce. It’s versatile! Ooh, you could also try adding some pepperoni or another favorite pizza topping!
Try to secure the seams really well and use a little water if needed to knead the seams together to secure tightly. And know that it’s not really that big of a deal if the cheese does seep out a little—the kids won’t mind eating it that way either! Poking the top of each pocket with a fork can help release some steam and reduce the likelihood of this happening.
A pizza pocket is pizza dough wrapped around fillings like melted cheese that is usually in a crescent shape. You can often buy them in the freezer aisle and you can also make them at home.
How to Store
Simply let the pizza pockets cool and store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. Or place in a zip-top freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Warm 30-60 seconds in the microwave.
Best Tips for Success
- Avoid the urge to add more filling than is called for. They may be too hard to securely close with more filling.
- Use a fork to poke holes in the top of each pocket to allow air to escape. This will help to prevent cheese from leaking out.
- Bake on parchment paper or foil make cleanup easy.
- Spreading and stretching the dough with your hands, rather than a rolling pin, is usually easier.
- Seal the seams securely, using a little water if needed to help the seam of the pizza crust stick together.
- Try using different fillings, such as pepperoni slices, dried oregano, garlic, diced ham, mushrooms, or other favorite options according to your kid’s favorite pizza toppings.
- Use homemade pizza dough or a ball of fresh dough from your supermarket to make the pizza pockets recipe.
- Serve with a Watermelon Popsicle, Easy Roasted Broccoli, or Sauteed Carrots.
Related Recipes
I’d love to hear what you think of this recipe so please comment below with your feedback.
Favorite Pizza Pockets
Ingredients
Homemade Pizza Dough (or use 16 ounces store-bought pizza dough)
- 2 teaspoons yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Pockets
- ¼ cup pizza sauce
- 1½ cups frozen broccoli florets, minced (or other pizza toppings)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
To make the dough:
- Stir the yeast and sugar into 1 cup warm water. Let sit for 5 minutes or until puffy.
- Add the flours, salt, olive oil, and the water-yeast mixture to a medium bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon to bring the dough together, then use clean hands to knead slightly to incorporate all of the flour. (Add a little extra water if needed if the dough is dry.) Cover with a clean towel and let rise for 1-2 hours or until about doubled in size. It should look puffy.
To make the pockets:
- Divide the dough into 8 even sections. (I use a paring knife to cut it in half, then in half again and again, etc to make a pinwheel shape with 8 even triangles.)
- Working with one piece of dough at a time, coating with flour as needed if sticky, flatten into a disc that’s about 6 inches wide. (It doesn’t need to be precise!)
- Place 1 teaspoon pizza sauce and 2 heaping tablespoons each minced broccoli and cheese into the center. Sprinkle with a little Parmesan.
- Fold in the dough to enclose the fillings. The seams should press and hold together with a little gentle pressing. Use a little water if needed to help secure the dough.
- Place pocket onto a lined baking sheet and use a fork to poke a few holes in the top of each to allow steam to escape. Optional: Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with oregano.
- Repeat to make all 8 pizza pockets. Set aside and cover with a towel while the oven preheats.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake the pizza pockets for 20-22 minutes or until firm to the touch. Let cool slightly and serve warm.
Video
Notes
- To store: Let cool fully and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat for about 30-45 seconds in the microwave or about 6 minutes in a 375 degree F oven. Freeze fully cooled pizza pockets in a zip top freezer bag for up to 3 months. Reheat in a 375 degree F oven for 8-10 minutes or until warmed through.
- Try to secure the seams really well and use a little water if needed to knead the seams together to secure tightly.
- Poke the top of each pocket with a fork to allow some steam to escape and reduce the chances that the cheese will leak out. (Though it’s really okay if that happens!)
- To use fresh broccoli, there is no need to precook it. Simply dice up the tops of the florets (avoiding the stem) and add to the pockets. It will cook in the oven.
Nutrition
This post was first published October 2020.
These were so easy and delicious!
We love these! Would they turn out ok if you assembled them a day or 2 in advance and then baked them? Or does the dough dry out or something? Thanks!!
Another dough option is to get empanada tapas from your local latin grocer! They’re like little dough tortillas you can peel apart, fill, fold, pinch closed. SO easy! We make a bunch and freeze them raw to bake later.
Really easy and fast. The first time i made it my lil one didnt like it too much because the broccoli taste was very strong. I made it again with chopped spinach and some with bbq sauce instead of marinara. These were so much better, the bbq sauce ones were soo delicious, also you could not taste the spinach.
Great!
This does not work with gluten free pizza dough for me!! I love this recipe and add turkey pepperoni and/or sausage. It’s a hit!! The kids help too which tests my patience but it makes them happy ? Thanks Amy!
I’m so glad!
I recognize that using frozen broccoli is easier, but it is my understanding of food safety rules that you then cannot freeze these for later use. If you’d like to freeze them, I was taught that you must start with fresh broccoli. Is this correct?
I have never heard that and am unsure why that would be true. Do you have a source from where you heard that?
Some bags of broccoli warn against thawing and refreezing due to possible bacteria growth and the breakdown in texture/quality as more water is introduced. If you thaw, COOK, and refreeze or never fully thaw (above refrigerator temps) then this is no longer an issue.