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Air-Fryer Sweet Potato and Kale Calzones

It’s hard to believe that these vegan calzones are free of animal products and oil. A cheesy sauce coats the tender veggie filling, and the air-fryer bakes them to crispy, flaky perfection for a hearty, healthy handheld meal.

You can use potato flakes or potato flour (ground-up flakes) in this recipe, though note the difference in volume. Both are widely available and will result in delightfully airy dough. 

Ingredients

  • ⅓ cup raw cashews
  • 2¼ cups potato flakes (or ½ cup + 3 tablespoons potato flour)
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 2½ cups finely chopped peeled white sweet potato
  • 1 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped red bell pepper
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (or 1½ teaspoons dried thyme, crushed)
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (or 1½ teaspoons dried oregano, crushed)
  • 2 cups chopped stemmed kale
  • 1¼ cups unsweetened, unflavored plant-based milk
  • 6 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
  • Crushed red pepper, to taste
  • 1½ cups oil-free marinara sauce, warmed

Instructions

  • For dough, soak cashews in 1½ cups hot water 20 minutes. Place cashews and soaking liquid in a blender and blend until smooth. In a bowl combine 1¾ cups of the potato flakes or the ½ cup potato flour, the whole wheat flour, and ¼ tsp. of the salt. Add cashew paste and stir until a dough forms.
  • For filling, in a saucepan combine the next six ingredients (through oregano) and ¾ cup water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook about 5 minutes or until sweet potato is halfway cooked, stirring occasionally. Stir in kale. Cover and cook about 5 minutes more or until sweet potato is tender, adding water, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, as needed to prevent sticking.
  • In a blender combine the remaining ½ cup potato flakes or the 3 tablespoons potato flour, the milk, nutritional yeast, and vinegar. Blend until smooth. Stir milk mixture, crushed red pepper, and remaining ¼ tsp. salt into the vegetables. Taste and adjust seasoning.
  • Preheat air fryer to 350°F for 15 minutes. Cut parchment paper into four 8×11-inch pieces. Sprinkle a clean surface with additional whole wheat flour. Divide dough into four portions; form portions into balls. On floured surface roll one ball into an 8-inch circle. Spoon ½ cup of the filling on half of the circle, leaving a 1-inch border. Fold unfilled half over filling to form a half-moon. Crimp edge with a fork to seal; brush top with additional milk.
  • Sprinkle flour over one piece of the parchment. Place calzone on parchment. Lift parchment by edges and place in air fryer. Air-fry about 8 minutes or until browned on top.
  • Repeat with remaining dough balls and filling. Serve calzones with marinara sauce.

Comments (8)

(5 from 2 votes)

Recipe Rating

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Tawney

This looks DELISH! What can be substituted for the cashews?

Jbphdelaney

You should be able to use hemp seeds or sunflower seeds instead of cashews. You may be able to substitute white beans, too, but it would take some trial and error on the conversion. Nuts to seeds is 1:1.

Nicole

Mine did not turn out that great. I'm not sure why you use 2 and 1/2 cups of potatoes then it is only 1/2 cup in each of the four calzones. The flavor is great but everything was too wet and I had excess. So instead of making the last two into calzones, I made pot pies out of them.

Anne

According to the directions, 1 3/4 cups potato flakes go in the dough.

Joanne

I think Nicole meant the veggie filling. I agree! Way too much! Pot pies is a great idea!! Had trouble browning my calzones. Needed longer than 8 min in my Breville.

Krista

Super yummy !!!

fanny m

gotta admit these were flakey goodness

Robyn J Cohen

Can you use something besides nuts for dough?

About the Author

Headshot of Darshana Thacker

About the Author

Darshana Thacker Wendel

Darshana Thacker Wendel is a whole-food, plant-based chef and former culinary projects manager for Forks Over Knives. A graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute, she is the author of Forks Over Knives: Flavor! She created the recipes for Forks Over Knives Family and was a lead recipe contributor to the New York Times bestseller The Forks Over Knives Plan. Her recipes have been published in The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook, Forks Over Knives—The Cookbook, Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health, and LA Yoga magazine online. Visit DarshanasKitchen.com and follow her on Instagram for more.
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