Who else has fond memories of their school cafeteria rectangular pizza slices? I do and decided to create a version at home with this recipe for Copycat Lunch Lady Pizza.
Do you ever think back on your school cafeteria? Is there a lunch food you crave from back in those days before we all became hyper-sensitive to terms like GMO, organic, free-range, gluten-free and keto? I guess because school is starting back again it got me reminiscing about such things. For me, pizza day was when I always bought lunch instead of packing in elementary and middle school. Do you know the pizza I’m talking about? It had the mystery meat topping that was maybe sausage or ground beef, plus that white, gooey cheese with a sheen of grease on the top. Oh man, it was the best! And so this is my version – Copycat Lunch Lady Pizza.
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In the past I have revisited such childhood foods like Spaghetti-O’s and Twinkies and have decided those are best left to my memories. But this version of what I am calling Copycat Lunch Lady Pizza (or school lunch pizza) is a stand-out update to a retro favorite. In searching for “copycat” recipes, I came across this recipe at here. I used her crust recipe (with a few changes) and then switched the topping to a freshly browned combination of Italian sausage and lean ground beef (to mimic whatever meat was on my school’s pizza). The crust kind of reminds me of the Chef Boyardee pizza in a box that my mom used to make.
Tips for making Copycat Lunch Lady Pizza:
- Use a half sheet pan with a rim for baking the crust
- Line the sheet pan with parchment paper to prevent the crust from sticking to the bottom of the pan
- Break up the meat as finely as you can while cooking – this kitchen gadget helps with that
- Purchase a block or ball of part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese and shred it yourself – it tastes and melts better than pre-shredded cheese
- Dump the crust onto the pan and then allow it to rest for about five minutes before spreading it to the edges of the pan – I find it best to use my finger tips for spreading the crust as it is a rather sticky dough
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Copycat Lunch Lady Pizza
Ingredients
- 2 2/3 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup non-fat dry milk powder
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 packet quick rise or pizza yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 2/3 cup warm water
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 lb Italian sausage
- 1/2 lb lean ground beef
- 1 jar (12 oz) pizza sauce
- 8 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
- Grease a metal (1/2-sized) sheet pan (18"x13") and line it with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, milk powder, sugar, yeast and salt. Microwave the water for about 1 minute and add the oil. Pour the oil and water mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a spatula until a batter is formed. If there are a few lumps remaining, it's OK.
- Spread the pizza dough into the prepared sheet pan, being sure the dough is spread evenly and to the edges of the pan. If you are having trouble with the dough spreading to the edges of the pan, allow the dough to rest for at least 5 minutes before spreading it with your fingertips.
- Meanwhile, brown the Italian sausage and ground beef together until cooked completely. Drain if necessary and set aside.
- Bake the un-topped crust for 6 - 8 minutes. Remove the crust and top with the pizza sauce, then the cooked sausage and beef mixture and then the shredded cheese.
- Return the pizza to the oven and bake for an additional 8 - 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and beginning to brown.
- Slice into rectangles and serve.
Nutrition
More pizza recipes:
Amy says
Love love love. I feel like I’m back in elementary :))
foodtasticmom says
Oh good! So glad you appreciate the recipe!
Norma says
Turned out like I remember. Will def be a favorite with the grands too.
foodtasticmom says
Awesome! I always like hearing when kids are fans of my recipes too. Thanks for taking the time to rate and review.
cathy.potter@comcast.net says
I was worried the crust would be biscuits but was pleasantly surprised that it had a good chew. We’ll tweak the recipe a bit for next time but it really passed the work to results ratio test! Will definitely try it again. Thank you.
foodtasticmom says
I’d love for you to share your tweaks. It’s helpful for others when they go to make the recipe. Thanks for your feedback. I’m happy you liked it!
Sam says
Pretty good, although the initial cooking time was off. At six minutes, the dough wasn’t brown at all., so I docked the pizza & put it back in for another 6 or 7 minutes. Another couple of minutes would have been even better. And so I do calibrate my oven.
GroovyDeus says
Fantastic. Not ‘high class’, artisanal or even great pizza. This is pure nostalgia. Brings me back to grade school, the close friends I had and Fridays in the lunch room. The memories tied to this make it great Thanks!
foodtasticmom says
Yep, definitely not meant to be high class at all. Just bringing back some fond memories. You’re welcome!
David says
Growing up in the south in the 60s and my mom didn’t buy food out I never saw pizza at school, except one time in high school made by a lunch lady that I doubt had seen one either that had a crust made from flower and lard with no sauce and sliced cheese and lettuce so I can’t speak with authority on how it should taste. My wife that is from ny and thinks she is an expert on pizza said it tasted like what they served in the lunch room so I guess it hit the mark.
foodtasticmom says
Thank you for letting me know. I appreciate the comment!
Michael Ingram says
Can I just use the chef boyardee crust or a pillsbury refrigerated crust?
foodtasticmom says
Yes, you can.
Lesley Foster says
So anxious to try this. What brand of pizza sauce would you recommend?
foodtasticmom says
I’m sorry for the late response. The less chunky the better. I like Chef Boyardee or Muir Glen – one’s a cheaper option, one’s not! 🙂
Christine says
I’m curious about the texture of this crust. My elementary school had a crust that was light and had a spongy looking texture but it was so good! I was in sixth grade in 1975 so I don’t think the school would give me the recipe, lol ! I also loved the Spoonburgers, sort of a blonde sloppy joe, we always got seconds on that!
foodtasticmom says
The texture of this crust is kind of light and spongy – more so than a regular pizza crust. We didn’t have Spoonburgers at my school that I remember. They sound good!
Kimberly Caceres says
I’m curious if this crust would work will 00 flour?
foodtasticmom says
I’ve not tried it. I looked up if you can replace all – purpose flour with 00 flour and it seems like you can. Let us know how it turns out!
MiMi Larza says
I tried this recipe tonight. It was fantastic!!! I made half the pizza exactly as instructed. I added some vegetable toppings to the half (the adult version). My husband & 13 yr-old twins loved it. So simple, yet so good! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
foodtasticmom says
Love to hear this. Thank you very much for taking the time to write!
Charlie says
00 zero flour is more for a very hot oven 8-9 hundred degrees but try it. Also why do people comment when they never tried the recipe. Just make it then review. Your comments are useless to us who want to try it but comments from others who made it what they did and ingredients help us. Thanks
foodtasticmom says
I’m not sure about people commenting if they haven’t tried it. If people comment, I approve it and respond, since they took the time to write something. As for the 00 flour, I was not aware that it is more for a very hot oven (obviously commercial, or wood-fired maybe?), so thank you for sharing that piece of useful information. I like to bake, but I am much more knowledgable when it comes to cooking rather than baking. Thanks.
Allison says
I will definitely be trying this. I will alter it a little. I remember the sauce being scant, the cheese being the cheaper low moisture stuff, and a strong flavor of marjoram (I’ll add this to the sausage and burger). I can’t wait to try it!
foodtasticmom says
I’m impressed with the marjoram – actually all of those details. Your memory is great. Let us know how it turns out 🙂
Kim says
How did it turn out
Mike says
BTW if you want the official recipe as directed to schools by the US dept. of Agriculture from the 1980’s for all schools that participated in the NSLP then here it is. The originals were intended for 100 + servings so I won’t bother with listing the amounts. Maybe someone can test amounts to match the original flavor.
Raw Beef (no more than 24% fat)
Dehydrated Onions
Garlic Powder
(Cook beef. Drain grease. Add the onions and garlic. Bake for 5 minutes.
Black Pepper
Tomato Paste
Water
Flaked Basil
Flaked Oregano
Flaked Marjoram
Flaked Thyme
(Add those together. Simmer for 15 minutes)
Crust:
Dry yeast
water (110 degrees F)
(dissolve dry yeast in water. Let stand 4-5 minutes)
All purpose bread flower
Salt
Sugar
Vegetable oil
(Kneed for 15 minutes at medium speed.)
Place dough on sheet pan. Add pizza sauce mixture. Add meat mixture. Add Mozzarella cheese shredded. Bake 475 F for 15-18 minutes. Convection oven is 450 F for 15 minutes. Cut each slice 4 inches by 5 inches. (for some reason I remember the sizes being a little longer than 5 inches but I digress)
Calories: 312 each slice.
Protein: 18 grams
Fat: 12 grams
Sodium: 226 mg
100 servings as listed (do your own conversion)
8 lbs of ground beef
Onions: 1.25 cups
Garlic: 1.5 Tsp
Black Pepper: 1 Tbsp
Tomato Paste: .5 (half) number 10 can…???
water: 3.5 qts
Basil and Oregano: 2 tbsp each
Marjoram and Thyme: 1 tbsp each
cheese: 2.25 quarts
Sheet pans are listed as 5 in total at 18″ X 26″ X 1″
Yeast: 2 oz
flower: 7 lbs
Oil: 2/3 cup
salt: 2.5 tsp
sugar: .25 cup
foodtasticmom says
Wow, thanks for this!
Keto Diet Line says
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