Cheesesteak Pizzone

Half calzone stuffed with shaved ribeye, ricotta, and Cooper Sharp; half plain cheese pizza. One dough, both worlds.

Time: 10 min | Yield: 1 pizzone | Difficulty: Advanced | Serves: 3 | Published: 2026-07-24

A pizzone is half calzone, half pizza, folded from one stretched dough, and this one stuffs the calzone side with a full cheesesteak: shaved ribeye, sautéed onion, ricotta, and Cooper Sharp.

The ribeye trick is the freezer: 30-45 minutes firms the meat so you can shave it paper-thin with a knife or mandolin. Sear it mostly untouched to build crust, then chop and fold in the onions. The ricotta goes just off-center so the fold covers it cleanly, and tight seams keep the filling where it belongs.

The pizza half is a classic plain: sauce, pecorino, two mozzarellas. Oil and sesame seeds on the calzone dome, turn it at the 6-7 minute mark, and rest a full 3-4 minutes before slicing, the stuffed side needs it.

Ingredients

Ingredients

Calzone

Pizza

Directions

  1. Preheat your oven with a baking steel or stone as hot as it can go for one hour. On the convection setting if you have it.
  2. Cut your ribeye in 2-3 larger pieces, put in a plastic bag, and place into the freezer for 30-45 minutes. This allows it to harden a bit so it's easier to slice then. 6 - 8 oz shaved ribeye
    You'll know it's right: 30-45 minutes in the freezer firms the ribeye to sliceable, it should resist a fingertip but not be frozen solid.
  3. Chop your onion however you'd like. I prefer a medium chop with my cheesesteaks. ¼ cup chopped onion
  4. Sauté the onion in olive oil on low/medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add salt and optional smoked paprika.
  5. Stir occasionally then remove and set aside.
  6. Once the steak is hardened, Slice as thin as possible with a knife or with a mandolin.
    You'll know it's right: Shave as thin as you can manage, paper-thin ribeye is what makes a cheesesteak eat tender.
  7. In a low/medium skillet, lay down your steak and let sit for 3-5 minutes to form a bit of a crust. Salt and pepper the top in the meantime.
    You'll know it's right: Let the steak sit untouched 3-5 minutes to build a crust before the flip-and-chop.
  8. Flip the steak and start chopping. Then add the onions once the steak has browned.
  9. Dust your peel with semolina and stretch your dough a little larger than normal. This can be achieved by flattening down the crust since we are going to fold half of it over anyway. Make sure not to make it too thin because the calzone portion is heavy.
  10. Spoon your ricotta just off center to one side, and evenly spread about 2-3 inches wide. Focusing more just off-centered. Be sure to avoid the crust since we are folding over. (honestly, ricotta is optional. It's classic for a calzone but you can sub it for more Coopers).
    You'll know it's right: Ricotta lands just off-center in a 2-3 inch band, that placement is what lets the fold close clean.
  11. Add salt and pepper to taste
  12. Evenly spread your steak and onions on top of the ricotta.
  13. Evenly spread your shredded Cooper Sharp or white American cheese.
  14. Fold one side of the dough over toward the center, covering the mixture.
  15. Gently press the dough down making sure the seams are tight, but also the bottom isn't sticking to the peel. Give it a jiggle test. If it sticking, try to lift the dough gently and toss some more semolina underneath.
    You'll know it's right: Press the seams tight and confirm the bottom isn't stuck to the peel with a gentle shake before topping the pizza half.
  16. You can really make whatever you want, but in this video I went with my classic plain.
  17. Evenly spread your pizza sauce (recipe listed). ½ - 1 cup pizza Sauce (see recipe options)
  18. Sprinkle on grated Pecorino 1/8 cup grated Pecorino romano
  19. Evenly lay down your shredded and cubed mozzarella. 1 cup shredded whole milk mozzarella, ¼ cup cubed fresh mozzarella
  20. Add olive oil around the crust and brush on top of the calzone portion. olive oil
  21. Sprinkle sesame seeds on the calzone portion (or wherever you'd like). Sesame seeds
  22. Bake in the oven for about ten minutes or until desired done-ness. Turning after 6-7 minutes.
    You'll know it's right: Turn the pizzone at 6-7 minutes, the calzone dome shields the back half from the broiler side of the oven.
  23. Let rest on a rack for 3-4 minutes and shred your Reggiano. Parmigiano Reggiano
  24. Slice and enjoy!

Troubleshooting

The calzone side blew open

Loose seams or trapped air. Press the fold seam tight the whole way and work air out as you fold. A small vent slice on top is legal.

Ribeye was chewy

Sliced thick or overcooked before the bake. Freezer-firm, shave thin, sear fast with a crust. Thin is tender.

Soggy calzone interior

Wet ricotta or over-stuffed. A quarter cup of ricotta in a tidy band. If your ricotta is loose, drain it first.

The stuffed side was doughy

Cut too early. The 3-4 minute rest finishes the interior. The pizza half will wait.

Stuck to the peel at launch

Skipped the semolina + shake test. Semolina dust and a confirm-shake before toppings. A stuck pizzone is a calzone casualty.

Nutrition (1/3 of the pizzone): 520 calories, 28g protein, 45g carbs, 26g fat.