Baked Pizza Sandwich

Think of this as deep-dish pizza meets weeknight casserole. A simple Bisquick batter goes top and bottom, sandwiching browned ground beef simmered with oregano-spiced tomato sauce, melted mozzarella, and sliced mushrooms. The result is a pan of square slices that taste like pizza but cut and serve like a sheet cake.

The trick is reserving three-quarters of a cup of batter for the top before you lay down the rest. That batter cap puffs as it bakes, sealing in the cheese and meat below while the bottom layer turns into a soft, pizza-style crust soaked in tomato. A scatter of Parmesan across the top gives the bake a salty, golden finish.

Let it rest five minutes after pulling from the oven so the cheese sets up before slicing. This is the kind of dish kids ask for again the next week, and it scales easily for a crowd if you double the recipe into a 9×13 pan.

Pro Tips

• Use lean ground beef (90% or higher) and drain thoroughly. Excess fat pools at the bottom and makes the lower crust soggy.
• Slice the mushrooms thin so they don’t release a flood of water onto the cheese layer.
• Don’t skip the rest before cutting. Hot from the oven, the cheese is too liquid and slices fall apart.
• Reheat leftover squares in a hot oven, not the microwave. The microwave turns the crust rubbery.

Variations

• Stir browned Italian sausage or sliced pepperoni into the meat layer for more pizza-shop character.
• Add chopped bell peppers, sliced black olives, or red onion under the cheese.
• Use a half pound of cooked, crumbled bacon in place of beef for a breakfast pizza spin.