Collage of 3 homemade hot pockets (with logo overlay)

Homemade Hot Pockets 4 Ways

Trying to eat healthily isn’t easy when you need convenience. Make hot pockets at home for a quick meal on the go without processed foods.

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For the last few years now, we have been trying to eat healthier and be careful about how many processed foods we buy and consume. There are some foods, though, that are convenient to have around. We have started to try making some of them at home. This time, we decided to try to make some hot pockets at home.

I haven’t had any of the store-bought ones for a long time, but it just sounded good. I’ve always liked the ones that are filled with ham and cheese, so of course, that was one that I made. And the pizza ones always had pepperoni in them, which I don’t like. So I wanted to make my own cheese pizza hot pocket while we were at it.

Since we had enough dough to make 4 different hot pockets, Justin picked the other ones. He recently bought some salami to make sandwiches, so requested a salami and cheese one, and a breakfast one.

The first time, I tried to make them the traditional rectangular shape. They tasted good, but it didn’t work as well. When we made them again, I braided them in the same way as the Cheesy Chicken and Stromboli Ring. It took a bit more work, but they looked so much nicer. They also cooked better and tasted better because the dough was thicker.

Homemade Hot Pockets Step by Step

Ingredients

  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp active dry yeast
  • 1 3/8 cup water
  • 3 tbsp oil
  • 1 cup fillings

Preparation

For the homemade hot pockets, I started by making the dough that I use for making Homemade Pizza in the Bread Machine. I love making this dough because it’s really easy to make, and I always have the ingredients on hand. It takes an hour and a half for the dough. But you just have to add the ingredients, set the bread machine, and let it do its thing.

Ingredients for hot pocket dough in the pan of a bread machine
Hot pocket dough in the bread machine

When the dough is almost done cooking, prepare your ingredients. Depending on the flavor you want, this may mean cooking sausage or shredding cheese.

Once the dough is finished cooking, roll the dough out on a floured surface. Cut the dough into quarters. Preheat the oven to 350F.

Dough rolled out on a wooden background next to a wooden rolling pin

For each hot pocket, place about 1/4 of the fillings down the center of the dough.

Dough on a wooden background with fillings down the center next to a pizza cutter

Use a pizza cutter to slice diagonal cuts into the dough at regular intervals. I find about 1/2″ works best.

Dough with diagonal cuts on a wooden background with salami and cheese down the center

Cut the top and bottom off. Fold those over, then make the braid. Start by grabbing the end of the top piece and folding it over until it meets with the second on the other side. Repeat with the top piece on the opposite side.

Dough on a wooden surface with diagonal cuts being braided

Continue this pattern until you reach the bottom. Tuck the bottom two pieces around the bottom.

Dough braided over fillings on a wooden background next to a pizza cutter

Carefully move the hot pockets to a baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine the egg and water. Use a pastry brush to coat the dough. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until the dough is golden brown.


Breakfast Hot Pocket

For a breakfast hot pocket, you obviously want breakfast foods. We use breakfast sausage, scrambled eggs, and cheddar cheese. If you prefer ham for breakfast, you can use that instead of sausage.

CLICK HERE for the full recipe.

Breakfast hot pockets on a white and brown plate (vertical)

Ham and Cheese Hot Pocket

A classic for lunch, ham and cheese is a very straightforward sandwich. Turn that into a delicious hot pocket by using chopped ham and cheddar cheese. Or, if you don’t like cheddar, you can change the cheese to something else.

CLICK HERE for the full recipe.

Ham and Cheese Hot Pocket on a brown plate (vertical)

Pizza Hot Pocket

A pizza hot pocket is my personal favorite. I fill this with pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and sometimes add ricotta cheese. When Justin makes it, he adds pepperoni and other typical pizza toppings.

CLICK HERE for the full recipe.

Pizza hot pocket on a gray plate (vertical)

Salami and Cheese Hot Pocket

This is Justin’s favorite version of the hot pockets. He uses deli salami and Italian-blend cheese to make his hot pocket. It’s similar to getting an Italian sandwich. Of course, since these are customizable, you can add other meats to yours as well.

CLICK HERE for the full recipe.

Salami and cheese hot pocket on a white and grey marbled plate (vertical)

Recipe

Originally Published On: April 1, 2018

Last Updated On: July 24, 2023

Breakfast hot pocket on a white and brown plate

Homemade Hot Pockets 4 Ways

Trying to eat healthily isn’t easy when you need convenience. Make hot pockets at home for a quick meal on the go without processed foods.
Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 25 minutes
Course:
Main Dish
Cuisine:
American
Keyword:
cheese
|
dough
|
flour
|
ham
|
yeast
Servings: 4 servings
4.17 from 6 votes

Ingredients

  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp active dry yeast
  • 1 3/8 cup water
  • 3 tbsp oil
  • 1 cup fillings

Instructions

  • Add all dough ingredients to bread machine and set to dough (prep time includes 90 minutes for machine to make dough)
  • Prepare the fillings by cooking anything needed, shredding cheese, and tearing up deli meat
  • Preheat oven to 350F
  • Roll dough out on floured work surface to about 1/8-1/4 inch thickness
  • Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into quarters
  • Add the fillings to the center of the dough
  • Cut the dough in diagonals on either side and fold over to form a braid
  • Whisk the egg and water together to form an egg wash and brush the dough
  • Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until the dough is golden brown

Notes

Note: Nutrition information is calculated for the hot pocket without fillings since there are multiple ways to make them. 
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Nutrition Facts
Homemade Hot Pockets 4 Ways
Amount Per Serving (1 g)
Calories 554 Calories from Fat 108
% Daily Value*
Fat 12g18%
Saturated Fat 1g5%
Sodium 444mg19%
Potassium 153mg4%
Carbohydrates 96g32%
Fiber 4g16%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 14g28%
Calcium 21mg2%
Iron 6mg33%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.

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51 thoughts on “Homemade Hot Pockets 4 Ways”

  1. 5 stars
    I haven’t had a hot pocket in awhile. I hate making bread because yeast and I never get along but maybe I need to try again. These look good and hot pockets offer endless possibilities.

  2. theclutterboxblog

    5 stars
    My husband would love these! I hate buying hot pockets or things like it but making it myself so I could be aware of the ingredients would be fantastic!

  3. Yummmm! I havent had hot pockets in forever! When i was a kid i LOVED ham hot pockets. The salami one looks delicious too, btw!

    1. Oh my gosh, so much better! And I think they had more flavor as well. I never had the pizza frozen ones because they always have pepperoni and I don’t like pepperoni. Another reason I love making things like this for myself!

  4. I think I would love to try any of those ways when it comes to this dish. It does look so incredibly delicious. And I think it would be great to do something like this with my daughter because it would be so fun.

  5. These look so great and I love the idea of doing them four ways! So creative. Definitely saving to make on the weekend x

  6. Hot Pockets are one of our favorite go-tos for lunches. These look like they would be so amazing to make and have as a homemade version.

  7. 1 star
    No sugar in a yeast recipe should have been the clue that this recipe wouldn’t work! I made it exactly a recipe is written and yeap this recipe turned out horrible!

    1. I’m so sorry this didn’t work out for you! I wrote this out exactly as we made it, including no sugar, and they worked out well for us. I plan to make them again soon so I will take a close look at the recipe and see if it needs to be tweaked.

    2. I made this dough recipe again recently, and it still turned out fine for us. The dough won’t have a lot of flavor, but it shouldn’t taste bad, either. If you let me know why you found it horrible I can try to help troubleshoot.

  8. These look so good! This is a recipe that I can start and the kids can customize how they like. We might have to have a hot pocket making party!

  9. It’s very interesting how many homemade hot pockets we can prepare! I would love to make those 4 ways, they are not just delicious but easy to prepare.

  10. 5 stars
    I used to be so tempted of buying processed foods so much now i have learned to cut back on it. It was tempting because it was so convenient to just pop on the microwave and you already have something to eat especially after a long day when you dont want to cook anymore. But I realized in order to feed our body the right thing we have to really make an effort. I love love love this super easy homemade twist to the ready to eat Hot Pockets!

    1. You are so right, the food we put in our body makes such a difference in our overall health. You can make these on the weekend and have them ready for that quick dinner to reheat and eat.

  11. Oh my goshhhh!! I cannot. These look amazing and I’m 100% drooling right now. Sending this to my husband so he can make them. 😂😂

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