Slice of Heaven? Pizza MREs to roll out this year

They might look like the square dishes often slung by school lunch ladies, but U.S. troops will be able to munch down on a slice of ‘za with the rollout of new MRE options this year.

The military expects to start doling out the new Meals, Ready-to-Eat this year after a delay in production last year due to oxidation, according to MarineCorpsTimes.com .

But the problem was solved — thanks to rosemary extract — and now the pizzas are ready for a three-year shelf life. A spokesperson for the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center said it’s not preservatives that keep the piece fresh, it’s the processing and packaging.

Army Times reports the pizza MREs will head to the Defense Logistics Agency in March, and they’ll be distributed to installations by the end of the year.

But what are the toppings? The first batch will be topped with pepperoni, according to Natick, though other options may be available later. Natick said the team wanted the pizza to be a success and didn’t want to roll it out too early.

In other MRE news, Asian-style beef strips and beef brisket are out, and beef goulash is in for 2019. But we’re guessing they won’t be missed, seeing as they ranked the lowest in troop feedback during a field test at Fort Carson.

The lineup for 2020 includes Italian sausage in marinara sauce as the new meal.