Panzerotti Recipe – Deep Fried Classic Italian Hot Pocket

This is a Classic Panzerotti recipe. Some will notice that it really is just a homemade Hot Pocket called by its Italian name. A Panzerotti is a handheld, snack-sized, deep-fried Italian turnover stuffed with traditional pizza ingredients and it tastes so wonderful.

Some might be tempted to call it a homemade pizza pocket, but it is much more. Our from-scratch dough and simple filling will make this Panzerotti recipe a hit in your house!

🥟 Ingredients

This has many of the same ingredients as a traditional pizza, but add in some extra oil for frying. Check out the recipe card for quantities and more detail, but here ingredients we use for this recipe. 

• Risen Dough ingredients
• Vegetable Oil
• Mozzarella cheese
• Crushed tomato
• Oregano 
• Pepperoni 
• Salt & Pepper

🍲 Instructions

This is similar to making a pizza or a calzone up until cook time. Make this homemade hot pocket dough recipe into small balls, as these are individual servings. 

Approach this Panzerotti dough much like you might approach making pizza dough, but maybe on a smaller scale. Much like our Classic Chicago Style pizza, we let our dough rise for a while. Portion them out into 6 small dough balls and allow them to rise individually.

Once the dough has risen, stretch out the pizza dough like little mini pizzas, as Panzerotti are much smaller than either a normal pizza or calzone. Then, lay some pepperoni down onto the dough and place filling on it, making sure not to overstuff these tasty treats.

Much like a turnover, we fold our little pizza pockets in half and crimp the edges. This is much like we did with our Apple Hand Pie recipe. The idea is to seal our Panzerotti and prepare it for cooking.

For the cooking, we deep fry these in about an inch of high-heat cooking oil, such as vegetable oil. These should only take about 3 or 4 minutes to cook and you know they are done when both sides are golden brown. 

Once you have hit that color, remove and allow to drain on a paper-towel-lined plate for a few minutes and then eat!

🤷 Substitutions and variations

There is a lot of room to substitute and vary this recipe. The main concern is overstuffing your ingredients. Don’t do that.

• Pepperoni – You can really use any other ingredients you might use in pizza. As long as the ingredients are chopped small enough, and you don’t go overboard with the filling. Be careful with raw meats, however, as you still need to make sure they are cooked to a safe temp.
• Dough Rising – I recommend allowing your dough to rise, but you could skip that step in a pinch.
• Vegetarian – Leave the pepperoni out or use vegetarian pepperoni. You could use pineapple tidbits or green pepper or any other topping appropriate for pizza. 

📦 Storage

Once you have these fully cooked, you can either keep them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and reheat or freeze. 

🎓 History tidbit

This dish came from the southern region of Apulia in Italy and was a tasty way to use the leftover dough. It made its way to America like many foods did through immigration and have propagated all over North America. Many may know this as a pizza pocket. However, comparing the Panzerotti to pizza pockets is not really fair, as what you might pick up in a grocery store frozen section isn’t fried like we will make today.

Rarely outside of the east coast, do you find a traditional fried Panzerotti like we are making today. If interested, this is a pretty detailed look into the American history of the Panzerotti.

❓ FAQ

📝 Tips and tricks

• Allow your dough to rise for the best results, but you can always roll these out immediately in a pinch
• Don’t overstuff your panzerotti
• Keep your oil temperature at 350° Farenheight when cooking. 
• Follow all deep-frying safety guidelines
• Cook two at a time, but use your best judgment. If one fits in your pan, cook one.

🛠 Products used in this recipe

• Point Thermometer or Fry Thermometer
• Tongs
• Cast Iron Skillet

😋 Did you make this recipe?

That is awesome, and thank you so much for giving this Panzerotti recipe a try. If you could leave a rating in the comment area below, it would be greatly appreciated. This lets me know how I am doing and also helps others decide if they want to make this homemade hot pocket recipe. Most of all, thanks for visiting Ramshackle Pantry.