A delicious ham and cheese filling wrapped in a buttery almond flour crust. A low carb, gluten-free version of a classic! This post is sponsored by Smithfield.
I find ham kind of intimidating and I know I can’t be alone. Don’t get me wrong, it tastes great and it’s ridiculously easy to cook at home. But your typical ham is absolutely enormous and enough to feed an army. I do not have an army in my house, although I do have three children who like to battle with each other daily and sometimes I actually feel like I am in a war zone. But their little bellies can only hold so much, even if it’s something they really love to eat. And we are rarely entertaining enough people to consume the majority of a large ham in one evening. So it’s the vast amounts of leftovers that intimidate me. I am a creative person with my L.O.’s (my husband’s pet name for leftovers) but a ham can really stretch the limits of my creativity.
The folks at Smithfield have come up with a solution for us ham-loving small families. They call these small boneless hams “Anytime Favorites” and I’ve started to see them popping up in my local grocery stores. They are only a few pounds each, and are pre-sliced and ready to be warmed up and served. Even a small family could eat the majority of one in a single meal. It makes ham a much more accessible meal option than saving them exclusively for holidays and special occasions. And depending on the size of your family, you may still have a few, manageable L.O.’s to play with.
Because I do like ham leftovers and I do like to find ways to incorporate them into some fun recipes. This time I decided to get really creative and see if I could make low carb, gluten-free calzones. Because who doesn’t love a good crusty calzone? And ham and cheese just seemed like a delicious calzone filling. I thought the dough from my Bacon & Brie Tartlets might be just the right thing and hold together enough to be folded over the filling and crimped together. I increased it by 50% because I wanted BIG hearty calzones, stuffed with lots of cheese and ham. I made mine with a mix of cheddar and Swiss because that’s what I had on hand, but you can make yours with whatever cheese you love best.
And if you want a delicious marinara sauce to dip your calzones into, check out my 15 Minute Tomato Sauce on the Swerve website. It’s perfect for the cheesy, hammy goodness and the buttery crust of these low carb, gluten-free calzones.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Smithfield. All recipes, photography, thoughts, opinions, random tangents and incoherent ramblings are my own.
Ham & Cheese Calzones – Low Carb and Gluten-Free
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups Honeyville almond flour
- 6 tbsp coconut flour I used Bob's Red Mill
- 1/3 cup unflavoured whey protein powder
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 3 large eggs
- 6 tbsp butter melted
- 3 cups shredded cheese of choice Swiss, Cheddar, Mozzarella or a combination
- 1 & 1/2 cups chopped Smithfield ham
- 1 egg yolk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- In a large bowl, combine almond flour, whey protein, coconut flour, baking powder, garlic and xanthan gum.
- Add eggs and melted butter and mix until dough comes together.
- Divide dough in half. Turn out first half onto a large piece of parchment paper and pat into a rough circle. Top with another piece of parchment paper and roll out into a large circle, about 12 inches in diameter (roll it out quite thinly). Remove top piece of parchment.
- Sprinkle one half of the circle with about 1 & 1/2 cups of shredded cheese and 3/4 cup of chopped ham, leaving a 3/4 inch border for sealing the calzone.
- Use the parchment paper to lift and gently fold the other half of the dough over the cheese and ham filling. Pinch the edges to seal and crimp it with your fingers to create a nice edge.
- Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Transfer calzones, still on the parchment on to baking sheets (or one large one, if you have it).
- Mix egg yolk in a small bowl and brush over the calzones.
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.
