Although higher in calories, calzones are favorite snacks to thousands of food lovers. But how can we prepare this tasty snack more healthily? In this article, I will give you the recipe for air fryer calzone. When we cook calzones this way, the calory content is maintained at a minimum level because we are not frying these in drenching oil. I will show you the comparative nutrition content of air-fried and deep-fried calzones so that you can see the differences. I expect that you will be able to make your calzones by own after the read.
Nutrition content of air fried calzone (1 pc)
- Total Calories – 350
- Protein – 20 g
- Fat – 12 g
- Carbohydrate – 44 g
- Sugar – 3 g
- Sodium – 700 mg
- Calcium – 20% DV
- Potassium – 3% DV
These are the nutrition facts of 1 pc of medium size calzone cooked in the air fryer. High calories? 1 pc of deep-fried calzone contains more than 600 calories. The reason of high calory content in calzone is that we stuff it with cheese and meat. There are two ways to make healthy calzones – you prepare it with vegetables instead of meat or use leaner meat. You can also use low-fat cheese instead of regular cheese. Another way of making the calzone healthier is by using whole grain wheat when preparing the dough. If you follow these instructions, the resulting calzones will contain even fewer calories and rich with fiber.
Ingredients
- Chopped red onion – ½ cup
- Shredded grilled chicken – ½ cup
- Whole grain pizza dough – 6 ounces
- Olive oil – 1 tsp
- Mozzarella cheese – 1 ounce (shredded)
- Cooking spray – as per need
- Spinach leaves – 3 ounces
- Low sodium marinara sauce – as per taste
Process – How to cook air fryer calzone?
- Take your nonstick fry pan and heat the olive oil in medium flame. Add the onion and stir until it becomes tender. Now add spinach and stir until it becomes wilted. It may take around two minutes.
- Take the marinara sauce and shredded chicken in a bowl. Add the onion and spinach mixture in it. Stir unit you make a uniform mixture.
- You have to make four equal pieces of dough from the mother pizza dough. Put each of the doughs on floured surfaces. Make four separate flat circles with 6 inches diameter using these doughs. Put the spinach and chicken mixture on one-half of each of the circles. Now fold the circles and make half-moons. Before folding, do not forget to top the filling with cheese. Make the sealing with a crimping edge.
- Now it’s time to cook with the air fryer. First, preheat the air fryer along with the basket for about 3 minutes at 350F. Place the calzones into the cooking basket and cook for 12 minutes at the same temperature. Now remove the basket and flip the side of the calzones and cook for another 8 minutes. Check whether you have got the required color and texture. You can customize the cooking time as per your required texture and taste.
What are the best air fryers for air fryer calzone?
The required temperature for calzone preparation with the air fryer is around 350F. You can achieve this temperature with all the basic air fryers. However, the main challenge is to accommodate the maximum number of calzones in the basket. Therefore, you need the air fryer with a higher capacity. You get the idea about the basket size of an air fryer according to the family size in our article. In summary, I can suggest you get at least a 4-qt air fryer if you are in a small family with 2 members. If you have a larger family, get an air fryer with at least a 6-qt basket. Because calzones have a higher surface area, cooking this food requires a little more space than usual.
Bottom line
Can you cook calzones by yourself now? You may not be successful in the first few attempts. It may have a crust outside and tender inside. Have some trial and error and I hope you will learn how to cook it perfectly. Let me know your cooking experience through the comments. Have a good day!