Easy Homemade Pizza Pockets - Real Life Dinner

This summer I’ve been all about making dinner as simple as possible. I’ve also tried to have some dinners that the kids can make entirely on their own. This simple recipe for Easy Homemade Pizza Pockets is one of their new favorites. If you know your kids will love these pizza pockets, they will also love this Easy Pizza Casserole.

A few months ago, they saw a commercial for Hot Pockets and wanted to try them–don’t ask me how we got this far without them knowing what a Hot Pocket was, but we did. I personally hate Hot Pockets because of an unfortunate experience with one during the most nauseous stage of my first pregnancy. I can hardly look at the box without feeling sick. Anywho, I picked some up for them to try on a night my husband and I wouldn’t be home for dinner. They loved them and can’t believe I don’t like them. 🙂

I told them they could make them and that they would taste even better than the ones in the freezer section. So we made them and even did an experiment to see if we liked them better made with store-bought crescent roll dough or store-bought pizza dough. They liked them both, but the pizza dough won by a slim margin. In the pictures, you can tell them apart because the pizza dough didn’t brown as much. Try it both ways for yourself and see what you and your kids prefer. I hope you have as much fun making these as we do!

More Quick & Easy Kid-Friendly Dinners

Step-by-Step Photos for How to Make Easy Homemade Pizza Pockets

Tips for How to Make Easy Homemade Pizza Pockets

You can also make homemade dough, if you have the time. I just like the ease of using the store-bought for this recipe.
If you don’t have a jar of spaghetti sauce on hand, you can use my easy pizza sauce recipe as a substitution.
Make sure to leave enough space on the edges when adding the sauce, so you can close the pizza pockets without the sauce leaking out.
For easy cleanup, line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
Brush each pizza pocket with garlic butter when it comes out of the oven for an added layer of flavor.

Chef’s Tools:

Easy Homemade Pizza Pockets

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

20 mins

A throwback to your childhood, these simple Pizza Pockets will be a hit with the kids and a dinner they can make all on their own.

Author: Maria

Recipe type: Dinner/Appetizer

Serves: 12

Ingredients

2 pkgs refrigerated crescent rolls or pizza crust (We use Pillsbury.)
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Pepperoni or your favorite pizza toppings
Garlic Butter (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or cooking spray and set aside.
Sprinkle a little flour on a large cutting board or on your counter.
Remove the crescent rolls or pizza crust from the package and use a rolling pin to even out the dough. If using crescent rolls, roll the dough until the perforated pieces stick back together so it won't tear in the wrong spots while you are working with it.
Once you have the dough evenly rolled out, use a pizza cutter to cut it into 6 equal pieces.
Next, spread a spoonful or two of spaghetti sauce on half of each piece, being careful to leave enough space on the edges to close them.
Top the sauce with shredded cheese and pepperoni or other toppings if desired.
Fold each one over and use a fork to crimp the edges shut.
Repeat with the next package of rolls or crust. You will have 12 total pizza pockets.
Bake at 425 degrees for 9-12 minutes or until each pizza pocket is browning and fully cooked.
If desired, you can brush each one with garlic butter when it comes out of the oven.
Serve while still hot and Enjoy!