Make your own customizable pizza pockets using homemade or store-bought pizza dough and fill with your favorite pizza toppings. A kid-approved recipe that takes just 20 minutes to make! Fridge and meal prep friendly too!
If there’s any recipe I feel qualified to share, it’s this Homemade Pizza Pocket Recipe! I spent my childhood on pizza pockets…and Gatorade, but that’s another story.
I grew up as a competitive figure skater, so I spent a lot of time at the rink. Most meals after practice feature microwavable pizza bags (I prefer pepperoni). It may not be the healthiest, but it definitely sustains me when I’m on a calorie deficit after practice.
Now that I have kids, I definitely revisit a lot of my childhood favorites. We were in Toronto recently and I bought her some pizza pockets. It made me realize how easy they are to make! I personally like to use my homemade pizza dough, but store-bought works great too. Even better, you can customize the ingredients to make them a little healthier. I highly recommend trying these!
Why make this recipe?
- Suitable for children – Asked my kids who liked these.
- Customizable – Want an easy cheese pizza pocket? no problem. What about pepperoni? Add it in! You can even try something a little fancier, like homemade sun-dried tomato pesto or your favorite veggies.
- Suitable for freezer – Just like store-bought pocket pizza, this pocket pizza recipe is freezer friendly. Make a bunch ahead of time and store them in the refrigerator. Then just heat them in the microwave or oven, just like a regular pizza bag!
Required raw materials
- pizza dough – You can use homemade or store-bought.
- pizza sauce – Again, you can use homemade ketchup or store-bought ketchup.
- mozzarella cheese – You can also add different cheeses if you wish
- yolk – This is to “egg wash” and help your pockets turn golden.
- all purpose flour – For rolling out pizza dough
- salt+pepper – Add flavors.
My Favorite Pocket Pizza “Toppings”
I guess technically these are not ingredients since you are filling them in Your pizza pocket, but here are some of my favorite combinations:
- Meat lovers – 2-3 slices of pepperoni and/or a small piece of cooked sausage
- Vegetarian lovers – Sprinkle chopped onions, green peppers, red peppers and mushrooms over the tomato sauce
- Mediterranean – sun-dried tomato pesto (instead of pizza sauce), cooked spinach + olives
- Hawaiian – 1 slice of cooked ham and 1 tablespoon fresh pineapple
How to Make Homemade Pizza Pockets
Step 1: Roll out the dough
Place the pizza dough on a lightly floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a 1/4-inch thick rectangle.
Step 2: Cut the dough
Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut pizza dough into 8 evenly sized rectangles. Roll out into a rectangle again until about 8 inches long. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, with half of each rectangle hanging over the sides.
Step 3: Pocket the pizza
Spoon 1 tablespoon pizza sauce onto the inside end of the rectangle. Top with 2 tablespoons chopped mozzarella cheese and any desired toppings. Fold the empty half of the rectangle over the filled half and seal with a fork. Brush each pizza pocket with egg wash (just whisk egg yolk and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl).
Step 4: Bake
Place pizza pockets on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 425 degrees F for 12-17 minutes or until golden brown. Let rest for a few minutes as they will be hot right out of the oven.
Pocket Pizza FAQs
You absolutely can. These will keep in the refrigerator for up to three days, but I recommend baking them before eating as they taste best that way.
Yes! I’ve shared more details about freezer-friendly pizza pockets below, but yes, you can absolutely freeze this recipe and I highly encourage it.
No! Absolutely not. While I might prefer to use homemade pizza dough, you can just as easily use store-bought or pre-made dough. Just make sure it’s rollable and not pre-baked.
Yes! In fact I highly encourage it. I like to make 2 or 3 batches of homemade hot pockets at a time so I can freeze leftovers. My kids love stuffing things for me!
No, you have absolutely no idea. This gives the pizza pockets a shiny golden color, but if you omit them they still taste great!
Storage instructions
Store homemade pizza bags in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Warm in microwave or oven (350 degrees F, 5-10 minutes).
Fridge Tips
You can store leftover pizza bags in the refrigerator. Simply wrap each individually in foil and place in a Ziploc or freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months.
Remove the pocket from the foil and heat in the microwave for about 3 minutes. You can also heat it in the oven (350 degrees, about 20 minutes).
More pizza recipes:
Homemade Pizza Pockets
Make your own customizable pizza pockets using homemade or store-bought pizza dough and fill with your favorite pizza toppings. A kid-approved recipe that takes just 20 minutes to make! Fridge and meal prep friendly too!
- Preparation time: 10 minutes
- Cooking time: 20 minutes
- total time: 30 minutes
- yield: 8 pizza pocket 1X
- category: dinner
- method: bake
- gourmet food: American
- diet: vegetarian diet
- 16 ounces Balls of fresh pizza dough (homemade or store-bought)
- 1 cup Pizza sauce (homemade or store-bought)
- 2 cups Mozzarella cheese shreds
- 1 yolk, Beat in a small bowl with a fork
- salt + pepper, Go and try it
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place the pizza dough on a lightly floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a 1/4-inch thick rectangle.
- Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut pizza dough into 8 evenly sized rectangles.
- Roll out into a rectangle again until about 8 inches long. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, with half of each rectangle hanging over the sides.
- Spoon 1 tablespoon pizza sauce onto one end of the rectangle.
- Top with 2 tablespoons chopped mozzarella cheese and any desired toppings.
- Fold the empty half of the rectangle over the filled half and seal with a fork.
- Brush each pizza pocket with egg wash (just whisk the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl).
- Place the pizza bag on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 12-17 minutes or until golden brown.
- Let rest for a few minutes as they will be hot right out of the oven.
- See storage instructions above.
