Pepperoni pizza in your hand, literally! These pepperoni pizza pockets are like your own personal hot pocket, but homemade. Just imagine cheesy pepperoni pizza filling wrapped in a buttery garlic crust… now go make it!
Have you ever joined your kid at school for lunch? If you have you know why some days they come home hungry.
When my oldest was in kindergarten I would try to join her for lunch once a week, after the first month I came to realize that home lunch may be the best lunch for my little one. She did not like the taste of the school lunch, and it looked dry and bland. The only school meals she would consider eating were the sloppy joes and the pizza… no surprise there!
Tips for Making School Lunch
If you have followed me on Instagram, you have probably seen in my stories the of the lunches I pack for the kiddos. One mom wrote me and called me a supermom/woman, but the truth is I am far from that.
Here are my tricks for making sure my kids have home-cooked meals for lunch without spending all morning in the kitchen.
Make extra of what they love and freeze it.
Make double batches of sloppy-joe filling, mac and cheese, burritos, pizza pockets, and whatever your kid likes, and freeze them. The day before you pack it up for lunch, take it out of the freezer and place it in the fridge.
In the morning, it will be as simple as warming it up and packing it with a few snacks, and maybe encouraging notes to get them through the day.
Prep Ahead
I know this one seems basic, but setting 30 minutes aside on a Sunday makes all the difference.
The only things I prep ahead are sub sandwiches and sides, but even doing those few things saves me some sanity during the weekdays.
Use What You Got and Get Creative
This is how the pizza pockets came to be. I had all the ingredients, but wanted to make pizza more transportable.
If you have puff pastry, croissant dough, or refrigerated biscuits you have so many things you can create with what is leftover in your fridge. Ham and cheese pinwheels, beef and onion roll-ups, or just warm sandwich pockets.
Make some for the week ahead of time, and freeze what is left for the rest of the month.
The other favorite thing I like to do, especially on cold days, is to pack the kiddos a plate of Sunday dinner leftovers. For some reason, my kids will eat leftovers for lunch more than they do for weeknight dinners.
How to make Homemade Pepperoni Pizza Pockets
- Roll out pizza dough on a floured surface into a rectangular shape and 1/8 inch thick. If you are using pizza dough from a tube the recipe will only make 6 pizza pockets, not 8. I would buy 2 and make 12 pizza pockets (there will be plenty of sauce and cheese left).
- Cut the pizza dough into 8 squares. (if you are using tube pizza dough refer to the first bullet point for the count)
- Add about 1 Tablespoon of pizza sauce, some mozzarella cheese, and 4 pepperoni slices to the middle of each square.
- Fold over each square to make triangle pizza pockets seal with a fork OR match up opposite corners of each square and seal by pinching the dough together from the top to the bottom corner making star pizza pockets.
- Optional – Brush the top of each triangle with a small amount of butter. Sprinkle some garlic powder and dried parsley leaves on top then sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
- Bake and serve with remaining pizza sauce for dipping.
More Weeknight Meals
Yes, you can! Just know that the crust may not rise the same as homemade pizza dough.
Absolutely, if you decide to use mushrooms, peppers, or anything else that may release water when cooked pre sauté them so the pizza pocket doesn’t come out soggy.
How else do you think I send my kid to school every day with meals? These are perfect for making and freezing! Cook them up, freeze them in individual sandwich-size freezer bags. The day you want to pack them up for school take them out and microwave them for 2.5 minutes.
Recipe for Homemade Pepperoni Pizza Pockets
Homemade Pizza Pockets
Ingredients
- 1 batch pizza dough
- 16 oz pizza sauce
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 32 slices pepperoni
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F.
- Roll out pizza dough on a floured surface into a rectangular shape shape and 1/8 inch thick.
- Cut the pizza dough into 8 squares.
- Add about 1 Tablespoon of pizza sauce, some mozzarella cheese and 4 pepperoni slices to the middle of each square.
- Fold over each square to make triangle pizza pockets seal with a fork or match up opposite corners of each square and seal by pinching the dough together from the top to the bottom corner making star pizza pockets.
- Optional – Brush the top of each triangle with a small amount of butter. Sprinkle some garlic powder and dried parsley leaves on top then sprinkle with parmesean cheese.
- Bake at 425F for 10 to 13 minutes until they are golden. Serve with a little bowl of remaining pizza sauce for dipping.
Nutrition
Pin Homemade Pepperoni Pizza Pockets for Later
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