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Prep time
15 minutes
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Cook time
45 minutes
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Serves
8 pizza pockets
Author Notes
Here is my recipe for a favorite early 2000's school snack (or late night meal); ranchy pizza pockets with homemade marinara. I use store-bought pizza dough and ranch powder to make them as quick and easy as possible, and serve both ranch and marinara on the side for dipping. I roll out the pizza dough into eight rectangles, fill them with marinara, mozzarella cheese, peperoni, and brush a generous amount of ranch butter on top for extra flavor. The assembly process does require a little patience, but it’s well worth it.
Tips & Tricks:
• To up the ante on these, make homemade pizza dough and ranch seasoning.
• If the pizza dough springs back on itself too much while rolling it out, let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the gluten to relax.
—Nea Arentzen
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Ingredients
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FOR THE MARINARA SAUCE:
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1/4 cup
extra virgin olive oil
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1/2
white onion, chopped
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5
cloves garlic, chopped
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1/4 teaspoon
red pepper chili flakes
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1/2 teaspoon
dried oregano
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1
(28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, crushed
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1 tablespoon
parsley, finely chopped
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1
basil stem
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1 teaspoon
Diamond crystal kosher salt
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freshly ground black pepper
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FOR THE PIZZA POCKETS:
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1/2 cup
unsalted butter, melted
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3 tablespoons
ranch powder
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1 tablespoon
all-purpose flour for dusting
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1
(16 ounce) store-bought pizza dough
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1
(8 ounce) package Shredded mozzarella cheese
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34
slices of pepperoni
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1 tablespoon
basil, chopped
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1 tablespoon
parsley, chopped
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FOR THE RANCH DIP:
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1/2 cup
sour cream
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2 tablespoons
buttermilk (milk is fine too)
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2 tablespoons
ranch powder
Directions
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Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the onions until soft and mostly translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chili flakes and dried oregano. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt, and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper. Place the basil stem in the sauce and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have softened and the flavors have melded together, about 25 minutes. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper as needed.
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Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425ºF and lightly grease a rimmed baking sheet.
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In a heatproof bowl, combine the melted butter with the ranch powder and set aside.
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Roll out the pizza dough into a large 16x12-inch rectangle and cut it into 8 equal-sized rectangles. Add a few spoonfuls of the marinara sauce to one side of each, leaving a ½-inch border all around (save the remaining sauce for serving). Top with cheese and 3 to 4 slices of pepperoni. Fold the blank side over the filling, then tightly press the edges together and crimp with a fork to seal them shut. Baking in two batches, transfer four of the pizza pockets to the prepared baking sheet.
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Brush some of the ranch butter over each pizza pocket (you’ll brush with the remaining ranch butter after baking). Bake until the pizza pockets are golden brown and the cheese is melted, 12 to 15 minutes. Brush with the remaining ranch butter and sprinkle with chopped basil and parsley. Repeat with the remaining batch.
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Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the sour cream, buttermilk or milk, and ranch powder.
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Serve the ranchy pizza pockets with the remaining homemade marinara sauce and ranch sauce.
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