Check out this delicious and fun school lunch idea. We transformed this classic school lunchable through wholesome, homemade ingredients that kids and moms both love!
Oh man, my kids are OBSESSED with lunchables! It started innocently enough…
Adelaide saw her friends at school eating them and asked if she could try them. I grabbed a few the next time I was at the store, and let the girls make pizzas and cheese/ham/cracker sandwiches for lunch this summer. Well, now they won’t stop asking for them! It’s like no other lunch is even remotely acceptable. IT HAS TO BE A LUNCHABLE BECAUSE LUNCHABLES ARE THE BEEEESSSTTTT!
Ya…so…that’s been going on all summer.
With the school year quickly approaching I decided to try an make our own, homemade pizza lunchables.
It was a huge success! The girls LOVE them! And I love that they’re made with wholesome ingredients that I can control.
This is certainly a make-ahead recipe, but once the little pizza crusts are done, you’ll have a lunches ready-to-go in just minutes!
The girls love helping me in the kitchen, so they did a lot of the pizza crust prep.
This is my favorite, no-rise pizza crust recipe. There is parmesan IN the dough…need I say more?? YUM!
Don’t forget to poke holes all over the little crusts with a fork before you bake them, or you’ll end up with LOTS of big bubbles.
I was a little concerned about how the crusts would bake at such a small size, but they turned out great! They have a really wonderful texture.
Then it’s time to add the toppings. Muir Glen pizza sauce is the best in the world, in my humble opinion 😉
Then use your Easy Lunchboxes to create the lunchable!
We created one box with ham and pineapple, and one with pepperoni and basil. The girls were so sweet and shared their toppings to create pepperoni and pineapple pizzas. LOL!
Use this time leading up to the school year to prep for school lunches! You can find Easy Lunchboxes on Amazon, or check back next week to enter to win a set of your very own!!
- Crust
- 1 C Water, heated to 110 degrees
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 envelope (2 1/4 tsp) rapid rise yeast
- 1 3/4 C all-purpose flour
- 1 C whole wheat flour
- 1/4 c grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp salt
- OPTIONAL: extra parmesan for sprinkling on top
- Toppings
- Pizza sauce
- Pepperoni
- Cheese
- Basil
- Pineapple
- Ham
- Preheat oven to 450°.
- Whisk water, oil, sugar, and yeast in a bowl. Allow yeast to proof for 5 minutes.
- Pulse flours, parmesan and salt in a food processor.
- Slowly add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture, and mix until a ball is formed.
- On a floured surface, kneed the dough a few times until the texture is smooth.
- Roll the dough out until the thickness is under 1/4 inch.
- Cut out small circles with a cutter of your choice. I used 4″ circle.
- Use a fork to poke holes all over the little crusts, so that they bake up evenly, with no bubbles.
- Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top, if desired.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Allow to cool until the crusts reach room temperature.
- Top with sauce and toppings of your choice.
- Refrigerate extra crusts for up to one week.
- Freeze extra crusts for up to one month.
This post was originally published in July, 2015.
Easy, fast & fun
Will it work if only all purpose flour is used?
Definitely! You may need a little more flour so keep some extra on hand when you’re mixing everything together. If your dough is too sticky to handle, add more flour a few tablespoons at a time.
Can this recipe be made without the parmesan? My son has a dairy protein allergy. He would be able to use vegan cheese for the topping, but I don’t think it would cook well in the crust.
Yes, this recipe can be made without the parmesan. When I’m out of parm, I omit it from the recipe and two tablespoons of flour to help with the dough consistency 🙂 Happy baking!
Can the pizza crusts be baked and then frozen? I’d just like to be able to pull the crusts out of the freezer and pack them in the lunch box the night before. Mornings are always rushed around here.
Hi JD! Yes, you can absolutely bake and then freeze the crusts. They thaw out beautifully in a lunch box 😉
Fantastic idea!!!!! Love it! I want to try it for school this year BUT I don’t have a food processor. How do I make it by hand or in a mixer? Any ideas would be great. Thank you!
Hi Ellen! You can absolutely make this crust without a food processor (I think I only use mine half the time I make it!) Just whisk the flours, parmesan and salt together in a bowl, then make a well, and add your liquid. Then use a wood spoon or rubber spatula to stir everything together until a ball is formed. Then continue with the recipe! Hope that helps!
THANK YOU!!!!!!!
Made them with 2 c white whole wheat flour and the other 3/4 c white flour. They came out PERFECT!!!!! I’m very impressed and my son is delighted! Even my husband tried them. THANK YOU!!!
Yay! Ellen, that’s so exciting! Thank you for sharing 😀