Homemade hot pockets! There’s nothing they can package up and sell at the grocery store that you can’t make better at home. My kids love store-bought hot pockets, so I came up with my own homemade version that I can feel good about.
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How to make Homemade Hot Pockets:
Start with the basic one-loaf Grandmother Bread recipe adjusted with add-ins of milk, egg, and oil.
1 1/2 cups warm milk
1 teaspoon yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
4 cups all-purpose flour
In a large bowl, combine warm milk with yeast and sugar. Let sit for five minutes. Add salt, vegetable oil, and egg. Stir in flour until the dough is stiff enough to knead. (Add flour a little at a time. Four cups flour is approximate; exact amount may vary.) Knead dough until smooth and elastic–a few minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl; cover. Let rise until doubled.
Now it’s time to make hot pockets! Make any kind of hot pockets you want. Use any kind of “wet” (condiment) ingredient you want–horseradish, salad dressing, herbed tomato sauce, etc, with any kind of sliced or shredded meat (this makes a really tasty use for leftover meat), plus any kind of shredded cheese.
Punch down dough and divide in two. Roll each half into an approximately 8 x 12 inch rectangle. Using a pizza cutter, slice each rectangle into six parts.
Place condiment, meat, and cheese on each part and pull dough around to seal. (I used horseradish, beef, and swiss here.)
It looks a little messy.
But that’s okay! Turn it over and it looks neat as a pin.
Bake at 350-degrees for about 25 minutes, or until browned. (Keep an eye on ’em.) Cool on wire racks.
Try anything! Ham and swiss! Bacon and cheddar! Roast beef and provolone! Chicken and ranch. Add sauteed vegetables, or use vegetables alone for a vegetarian hot pocket. The possibilities are endless for a perfect grab-and-go sandwich!
Devoir immediately, store in the fridge for a few days, or place in the freezer to grab whenever you need one. Reheat in the microwave for a minute.
They’re so good.
See all my Grandmother Bread recipes.
See a true West Virginia-style pepperoni roll: My traditional pepperoni roll recipe.
Bayou Woman says:
And then do reheat before eating? How would you reheat without the bread becoming too dried out? Looks great!
BW
On January 24, 2008 at 7:39 am
Suzanne McMinn says:
You can reheat them in the oven or the microwave. There’s sauce inside so they don’t dry out.
:purr:
On January 24, 2008 at 7:42 am
Kim A. says:
Yummy! They look wonderful.
But doesn’t anyone have weight issues? Heart disease? Clogged arteries? Gall stones? 😆
-Kim
On January 24, 2008 at 7:47 am
Suzanne McMinn says:
Kim, you could do veggie hot pockets! Low-fat cheese!
:sheepjump:
On January 24, 2008 at 7:52 am
Sue says:
Oh yes I have more than that but we are going to try it hubby and I
THANKS Suzanne!
On January 24, 2008 at 8:18 am
kacey says:
Want. These. Geez, you could do this with almost any leftovers in the house! Pot Roast ones! Yummy. Must try this…
On January 24, 2008 at 8:23 am
Mental Pause Mama says:
Dear me…I’m gonna need bigger sweatpants.
On January 24, 2008 at 8:32 am
Maria says:
Ya, Ya, hot pockets, they look great, but why I am really writing is because I saw no where else to post per your little banner that said “lunch worked out”!!!!!!!! I am so excited!!!
Iwant the next installment, I want the next installment!!!
52 Rules!
…phew….no really, the hot pockets look like a great lunch idea….*calming down* really
On January 24, 2008 at 9:15 am
Norma says:
Suzanne, have you tried the Oliverio’s canned peppers & tomatoes on the pepperoni rolls? yummmmmmm
On January 24, 2008 at 9:36 am
Gizmo says:
Hey Suzanne, give these a try with Provolone cheese!! They’ll quickly become a favorite too.
:sheepjump:
On January 24, 2008 at 10:12 am
Becky says:
My Dad makes something like that, except in a great big loaf, then you slice it into portions. It’s good hot or cold. He calls it Stromboli, but it’s not always authentic Italian stromboli. (He experiments.)
You would probably like Rogers & Mazza’s Pepperoni Rolls, from Clarksburg WV. You can sometimes find them in gas stations around here — they’re in plastic packages with blue and white lettering on them. My school sells them for a fundraiser every fall and I buy a ton and freeze them. They’re soooooo good!
BTW Ramps are all the rage in NYC. One of my friends harvests them in the spring when she comes home to visit and then sells them to a restaurant up there for some crazy amount. Hilarious!
On January 24, 2008 at 11:14 am
Laney says:
Now that is a recipe that I am going to HAVE to try. My 10 year old, pickiest of picky eaters will probably even like them 😉
On January 24, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Alice Audrey says:
What a great idea! With my bread machine it should be easy. Coolness!
On January 24, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Estella says:
They look yummy!
On January 24, 2008 at 5:10 pm
kellypea says:
Um…YUM? I think that about covers it! My guys would woof these down. We used to make fried baloney sandwiches when we were growing up. Good old stick to your ribs kinda food. 🙂
On January 24, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Michelle says:
These look fabulous! I’ve gotta make some this weekend!
:chicken:
On January 24, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Brandy says:
If I made these they wouldn’t last past one night. My hus and Daughter would devour them! You’re making ME hungry. Off to check and see if I have the ingredients……..
On January 24, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Fannie M Wiggins says:
I suck at bread making. :shocked: I am wondering if I could make them in a wrap on an as needed basis. I live alone so it would take me awhile to eat them. Oh well, I’ll just look and drool. 😆 They look delicious. Have a good evening and :hug: to all.
On January 24, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Brandy B says:
That looks so yummy!! I will have to try that out sometime!
On January 25, 2008 at 7:42 am
Angie says:
I made these last night for my hubby. I used some leftover thanksgiving turkey, broccli, gravy from my homemade turkey noodles (all the noodles were gone and I hated to throw out the gravy) and velvetta cheese (his fav) ….. big hit in our house! Thanks for the recipes. I love your site.
On December 5, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Dana says:
I can’t wait to try this. I am new to bread making- but have had some success so far and just love the looks of ALL your recipes.
But a question regarding this one: After the first rise, and the pockets are all made and put on the sheet- there does not have to be another rise for them? You just put them into the oven? I am wondering why not- maybe because they are much smaller than a loaf and they’ll rise during the baking?
Thanks!!! I hate processed foods, but my kids love hot pockets so this is going to be an awesome alternative. I will definately make them and freeze them so they are always available.
On December 25, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Suzanne McMinn says:
Hi, Dana! Yes, this recipe is based on my french bread, which I don’t generally give a second rise to. It will rise in the oven!
On December 26, 2008 at 5:25 am
Megan says:
I have been using whole wheat flour for a better for me pocket and they come out great as well. My daily breakfast is eggs in a whole wheat crust with a mixture of veggies. My favorite is broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, eggs, and salsa.
🙂 Just a tip for those trying to go a little healthier. 🙂
On June 20, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Mary says:
you can also use frozen bread dough. Just thaw out, roll it out, and put on your toppings. Sometimes I make them into hotpockets or cut the roll of dough in two and just roll out the dough and make personal pizzas.
On June 20, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Stephanie says:
:shimmy: We just got done making this with my 8 year old son. We put all kinds of different things inside. Boneless bbq ribs, chicken & veggies, ham & cheese, etc. They are baking right now…we are looking forward to trying them. 🙂
On August 18, 2009 at 10:31 pm
Cathy L says:
Just made another batch of these and decided to play with the dough..used the same dough recipe but added the cup of diced pepperoni and 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella that you add to the water and yeast mix for your pepperoni rollups, also added some oregano and garlic powder to the water. Then when adding the filling I used pizza sauce and a mix of mozzarella and cheddar cheeses on top of the pepperoni…YUM! Next time I’m going to try mushrooms and black olives with this too.
On February 13, 2010 at 4:21 pm
jenna says:
i think this looks wonderful and so much better for you then the ones you buy in the store anything homemade is better for you i believe i am going to make whole wheat bread though instead of white so its better *smile*
On April 17, 2010 at 12:30 pm
Traci says:
Do you think I could freeze these and then take them camping? I just don’t know how I’d reheat them.. might be too hot on a grill… hmmmm…
On June 28, 2010 at 4:53 pm
Suzanne McMinn says:
Traci, I freeze and reheat these in the oven or the microwave. I’m not sure about a campfire. I haven’t tried that. Maybe if you had them wrapped in foil and had some way to keep them a little above the fire so they weren’t receiving direct high heat.
On June 28, 2010 at 5:06 pm
LK says:
I found out not long ago that there is a Russian version of these out there. Mennonites did their own version (which is the first one that I experimented with). You can put any kind of filling in there…I use mashed potatoes with a little salt, & pepper, and add cooked ground meat lightly spiced with onion, salt and pepper. This is all mixed together. I use a cookie scoop to get a round mound of filling, and use a gadget that I got from Pampered Chef to press the sweet roll dough sides together. I cheat, I guess. I like to reduce the sugar in the dough and add corn to the filling, sometimes cheese too. We freeze these and when we need to go out somewhere, we just bring them along. They are great cold with or without ketchip/ mustard!
Mennonites also like to put a fruit filling or chunky jam as a filling. Oh, these make a mess while cooking, but MMMMMMM!!!!!! they are sooooo good!
I have also made them with a pizza filling, tried ham and cheese (not so great, but now I add cheese to the meat and potato version).
I have also had a version of these called cabbage buns. These are really moist and tasty.
One of my husband’s aunts used pastry dough for the dough, and made a meat filling using tomato soup. It was her own version, and so addictive.
The Philippinos have another version that is deep fried. These are to die for. I still need to get THAT recipe version.
On July 17, 2010 at 8:31 pm
LK says:
I forgot to add…I want to try making different versions with chicken too one day…
On July 17, 2010 at 8:36 pm
Denise says:
I make homemade hot pockets for my kids, as well as pepperoni rolls! They love them!!! And I know exactly what is in them, and can feel better about them eating them 🙂
On October 4, 2010 at 11:56 am
bearswife says:
I’ve got these in the oven right now! Can’t wait to try them, :snoopy: they are going to be perfect for our road trip.
On June 24, 2011 at 12:36 pm
morganw says:
Hi Suzanne! I just made the hot pockets yesterday and they taste delicious! Thank you so much for the recipe. I do have a question for next time though. A lot of my filling exploded out the sides of the pockets. I don’t think I filled them too full but I am not sure what I did wrong. Any ideas?
On January 16, 2012 at 8:37 pm
lauraclark says:
Hi! I a looking forward to making these for my daughter and getting her away from hot pockets! When you say, start with the Grandmother bread, do I just need to follow the hot pockets recipe or do something else? Thanks so much for the wonderful homemade recipes and thank you for your time!
Laura Clark :sheepjump:
On February 13, 2012 at 2:14 pm
Suzanne McMinn says:
Laura, you can use the dough from the Grandmother Bread recipe, or another dough, whatever you prefer!
On February 13, 2012 at 2:26 pm
razorbackmama says:
Is it possible to substitute rice milk for the milk in the dough recipe? All store-bought Hot Pockets have cheese except BBQ, so I’m looking for an alternative for my daughter with a dairy allergy. :-0
On May 26, 2012 at 8:37 pm
Suzanne McMinn says:
razorbackmama, I can’t think of any reason rice milk wouldn’t work in that recipe, but I haven’t tried it so I can’t say from experience.
On May 27, 2012 at 6:45 am