Homemade Pepperoni Pizza Pockets (Copycat Hot Pockets)

Homemade Pepperoni Pizza Pockets: A kid-friendly copycat Hot Pockets recipe for a chilly fall day (or any day, really…)!

Today’s recipe is aimed squarely at the hungry teenage boys in your life — trust me, I have two of them over here! But, you don’t strictly have to be a teenage boy to appreciate these Homemade Pepperoni Pizza Pockets; this one is a recipe the entire family can enjoy.

So, you know how ALDI refrigerated pie crust has been back in stores and on sale for the season? They’re just $.99 a box at my store right now (2022 update: Sadly, double that right now…). Middle School Guy has been bugging lately about how it’s been years since I bought him Hot Pockets (truth!), so that box of ALDI pie crust in my fridge inspired me to help the boy out this week. Pre-made pie crust makes it super easy to throw together a batch of homemade copycat pepperoni pizza pockets.

Now for me, I’d also add some sauteed mushrooms and black olives to take these up another notch — but he wanted the plain old pepperoni pizza experience this time. OK, I couldn’t resist adding the Parmesan topping to step these up a bit, but you can also take this basic recipe and make it your own by incorporating some of your own favorite pizza toppings into the filling. 

Homemade Pepperoni Pizza Pockets (Copycat Hot Pockets)

Ingredients

– for the sauce

8 oz can tomato sauce
6 oz can tomato paste
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
Sea salt, to taste

– for the pizza pockets

4 oz pepperoni slices, cut into quarters
4 oz shredded mozzarella (1 cup)
One box refrigerated pie crust (both crusts)
1 Tbsp butter, melted
2 Tbsp shredded Parmesan
1/2 tsp parsley

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and remove pie crust from the refrigerator to soften as directed on the box. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

Add all of the sauce ingredients to a medium sized mixing bowl. Stir to combine.

Cut the pepperoni into quarters, and shred the mozzarella if not using pre-shredded. Combine pepperoni, mozzarella, and 1/2 cup of the sauce in a large bowl.

Unroll the pie crusts and cut each crust into three equal wedges, so that you have six pieces total. Spoon equal amounts of the filling into one side of each of the pie crust wedges.

Fold each wedge in half over the filling, then crimp the edges together. Arrange pizza pockets in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.

Melt butter in the microwave. Brush each pizza pocket lightly with butter, then top each with Parmesan and parsley. 

Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, or until pizza pockets are golden brown. Serve with the remaining pizza sauce for dipping.

Note: Whether you choose to call these pizza creations calzone, hot pockets, or pizza pockets, they’re all good! You could speed their creation by using pre-made pizza sauce, if you like; I just didn’t have any on hand so made my own.

How could homemade Hot Pockets be bad, really?

All I can tell you is that these pepperoni pizza pockets disappeared very quickly over here! Copycat Hot Pockets are a fun & kid friendly dinner idea, which made for some very happy teenage boys during yesterday’s dinner-and-a-movie night.

I paired ours with broccoli, carrots, and fruit to bring some nutrition into an otherwise very comfort food dinner, and they were all good with that. 🙂 Chock-full of sauce, pepperoni, and cheese, homemade pizza pockets are sure to please the pickiest child — and, they’re so much tastier than the pre-made boxed variety.

Homemade Pepperoni Pizza Pockets (Copycat Hot Pockets), printable recipe

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