Delving into the Calories of Casey’s Sausage Breakfast Pizza

Casey’s General Store is a popular gas station and convenience store chain found across the Midwestern United States. Casey’s is loved for its made-from-scratch pizza, donuts, sandwiches, and more. One of its most popular food items is the sausage breakfast pizza. This convenient morning meal combines fluffy biscuit dough, savory pork sausage, scrambled eggs, and melty cheese into one portable, tasty package. But just how many calories are in one slice of Casey’s medium sausage breakfast pizza? Let’s take a closer look.

Casey’s Pizza Options

Casey’s breakfast pizza comes in a few different sizes. There’s a small 6-slice pizza a medium 8-slice pizza, and a large 12-slice pizza. The nutrition information we’ll focus on is for one slice of a medium Casey’s sausage breakfast pizza.

In addition to size options, you can also choose between Casey’s original crust or thin crust. The nutrition details we’ll dive into are for the original crust, which is Casey’s traditional slightly thicker, fluffier crust

Casey’s has an expansive pizza menu with lots of choices beyond just breakfast pizzas. You can get specialty pizzas, customizable pizzas, gluten-free crust, and single topping pizzas too. But for this nutritional deep dive, we’ll be laser-focused on the medium sausage breakfast pizza specifically.

Calories per Slice

After analyzing Casey’s nutrition documentation, a slice of a medium original crust sausage breakfast pizza contains approximately 435 calories.

That’s about 22% of the recommended daily calorie intake for an average adult. Of course, your own calorie needs may vary depending on your age, gender, activity level, and other health factors.

Here is a calorie breakdown of the other Casey’s breakfast pizza sizes:

• Small breakfast pizza slice: 374 calories
• Large breakfast pizza slice: 363 calories

So the medium actually has the highest calorie count per slice. Good to know if you’re looking for ways to lighten up your breakfast pizza order!

Ingredients in Casey’s Sausage Breakfast Pizza

To understand where all those calories come from, we need to look at what ingredients are in a Casey’s sausage breakfast pizza.

The main components are:

• Dough: Casey’s doesn’t disclose their exact dough recipe, but it likely contains refined wheat flour, yeast, vegetable oil, sugar, and salt. The fluffy dough contributes carbohydrates, protein, and fat.

• Cheese: Several types of cheese like mozzarella, cheddar, and provolone give the pizza its deliciously gooey texture. Cheese packs a hefty calorie punch, providing protein and saturated fat.

• Pork sausage: Savory pork breakfast sausage crumbles add hearty protein and lots of flavorful fat to each bite.

• Eggs: Light, fluffy scrambled eggs provide protein, vitamins, and minerals.

• Oil or butter: Greasing the pan with some type of fat helps the pizza dough cook up crispy and golden brown.

As you can see, it’s the trio of dough, cheese, and sausage that really drive up the calorie count for this pizza. Let’s analyze each nutritional category more closely.

Calories from Fat

One slice of a Casey’s medium sausage breakfast pizza contains:

• Total fat: 21g
• Saturated fat: 9g
• Trans fat: 0.5g

So about half of the calories come from fat (21 * 9 calories per gram of fat = 189 calories). The biggest contributors are pork sausage, cheese, and the oil used for cooking.

Saturated fat and trans fat should be limited as part of a healthy diet. One slice provides 30% of the recommended daily value for saturated fat. So moderation is key when indulging in this breakfast treat.

Calories from Carbohydrates

Here are the carb stats:

• Total carbohydrate: 47.5g
• Dietary fiber: 1g
• Sugars: 4g

Carbs make up the other large chunk of calories, providing 47.5 * 4 = 190 calories per slice. Most of these carbs come from the enriched wheat flour in the pizza dough, providing a quick source of energy.

However, with less than 1 gram of fiber per slice, the carbs are predominantly refined and low in nutrients. The sugar content is low though, with only 4 grams coming from naturally occurring sugars in the dairy products.

Calories from Protein

And finally, here is the protein content:

• Protein: 21g

Protein provides 21 * 4 = 84 calories per slice. You get a satisfying hit of protein largely from the eggs, cheese, and pork sausage. This helps you feel full and energized.

Micronutrients

Beyond just calories, the Casey’s breakfast pizza provides a range of vitamins and minerals:

• 33% of the Daily Value for cholesterol
• 39% DV for sodium
• 16% DV for carbohydrates
• 4% DV for fiber

However, it is lacking in many other micronutrients like calcium, iron, and vitamins A, C, and D since it does not contain fruits, vegetables, or whole grains.

Ways to Lighten Up Your Breakfast Pizza

If you want to enjoy your Casey’s breakfast pizza while avoiding a calorie and fat overload, there are several tweaks you can make:

• Switch to thin crust to save around 60 calories per slice
• Choose a smaller pizza size
• Load up on veggie toppings like mushrooms, onions, peppers, and tomatoes
• Opt for just cheese or veggie breakfast pizzas
• Split one slice instead of eating a whole slice
• Balance it out with fresh fruit, yogurt, and whole grains on the side

The Verdict on Casey’s Sausage Breakfast Pizza Calories

At around 435 calories, a slice of Casey’s medium original crust sausage breakfast pizza makes for a hearty, indulgent breakfast or snack. With its refined carbs and high amounts of fat and sodium, nutritionists would not consider it the healthiest choice. But as an occasional treat in moderation, it can be part of an overall balanced diet. Pay attention to portion sizes, accompany it with fresh produce, and opt for thinner crusts or veggie toppings to keep calories and fat in check. Then you can feel good enjoying this convenient, delicious Casey’s specialty!