The Midwest, especially Iowa, has become known for its gas station breakfast pizza. You can thank Casey’s General Store for that —the chain began offering pies with breakfast-inspired toppings across all its stores throughout the Midwest in 2001. Before that, you could only find the greasy comfort food at its Corning, Iowa store, which started making it in 1984.
Today, breakfast pizza is considered a Midwest staple. Gas stations all across the region, as well as in other parts of the country, have added breakfast pizza on their menu. And while you can find it at a myriad of spots today — not just gas stations — Casey’s is particularly famous for putting it on the map. The sheer number of people who have tried and reviewed Casey’s breakfast pizza on platforms like TikTok and YouTube is proof of how iconic it is.
Casey’s breakfast pies are all topped with gooey scrambled eggs, two types of cheese (mozzarella and cheddar), and your choice of their cheese sauce or sausage gravy. Customers get to choose either a bacon, sausage, or veggie pie, with options to add ham and other toppings. Pizzas come in three sizes and three crust selections — original, thin, or gluten-free — but you can also just pick up a slice in-store. They also let shoppers customize their pie with as many toppings as they want. The veggies on offer include green peppers, onions, mushrooms, black olives and jalapeños. As an added plus, marinara, buttermilk ranch, and garlic Parmesan sauces are available on the side for dipping. Take note — with a little effort, you could make your own breakfast pizza for brunch.
How to recreate Casey’s breakfast pizza
If you can’t wait to hit the road and try Casey’s breakfast pizza, why not put your pizza-making skills to the test from the comfort of your kitchen? A number of people have shared their own homemade eggy pizzas on social media. Depending on how much elbow grease you want to use, you can either buy a premade dough or make from scratch. One tip for the best pizza crust is to let your dough sit at room temperature for a bit if it’s been stored in the fridge. This will soften it, making it easier to stretch and mold. When using frozen dough, it will likely need about three to four hours to defrost and be soft enough. It’s also recommended to “dock the dough,” which simply means poking holes in it to allow air to escape, preventing bubbles in the crust for an even bake (you can use a fork to do this).
Once you have your foundation, simply choose between a cheddar cheese sauce or sausage gravy. Again, you can find both of these at the store or create your own. After painting your dough with saucy goodness, it’s all about the toppings. Evenly spread scrambled eggs throughout the dough before covering with shredded cheese (remember Casey’s uses mozzarella and cheddar) and whatever breakfast ingredients you fancy. If you’re not confident in your cooking method, Anthony Bourdain’s technique for fluffy scrambled eggs is foolproof. You can cook your pizza on the stove via a cast iron skillet or in the oven.
