Easy Pizza Casserole
This Easy Pizza Casserole has all the terrific flavors of pizza baked in a dish that both kids and grownups will love! Pasta, pizza and marinara sauces, pepperoni, and Italian sausage plus plenty of gooey mozzarella make for delicious comfort food.
When your kids are begging for pizza, serve them this tasty Pizza Bake instead! Shake up pizza night by skipping delivery and trying something new!
Why You’ll Love this Pizza Bake
- Everyone loves this from picky toddlers to teens to grown-ups. I sent some leftovers home with one of my sons who texted me the next day wishing he had more!
- It’s super easy to make and you can swap out ingredients to reflect your favorite pizza toppings.
- It makes enough to fill a 9 x 13 casserole, so perfect to feed a crowd.
How to Make
- Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
- Cook your pasta in salted water according to the directions on the package for al dente, drain and add to the bottom of the baking dish.
- Brown your sausage, breaking it into small pieces, then drain off excess grease. Wipe the pan to remove excess grease, then cook the pepperoni until slightly crisp.
- Top the pasta with the sausage, then both sauces.
- Top the sauce with half the pepperoni.
- Sprinkle with both kinds of cheese, then the rest of the pepperoni.
- Bake as directed.
Expert Tips
Most of the recipe is very straightforward, but here are some suggestions to help you make it for the first time.
- Cook your pasta al dente or “to the tooth” as it means in Italian. Check the package directions since the timing for al dente is often listed on the box. This ensures the pasta does not get mushy while continuing to cook in the oven. The noodles will absorb any excess liquid from the sauces.
- PRO-Tip: Cook your pasta in well-salted water. The water should taste like the sea. This allows the pasta absorbs some of the salt while it cooks, enhancing its flavor.
- I used a rotini or fusilli shaped pasta, but you can use penne, bow ties, even spaghetti instead.
- This version has pepperoni and mild Italian sausage as the “pizza” ingredients. Cooked and crumbled hamburger can be used instead of sausage, and sauteed mushrooms, black olives or any of your favorite pizza toppings can also be added.
- If using sausage or hamburger, cook first, breaking the meat apart, and drain any excess fat or liquid before adding it to the casserole. Season the hamburger with some seasoning salt while browning. The sausage has plenty of flavor as is.
- Make sure to use a good quality pizza sauce and marinara sauce for the best-tasting pizza bake.
- On the day you bake this casserole, you will not be able to cut it into squares like a lasagna. After chilling overnight, leftovers cut more neatly. But my family is happy to eat big spoonfuls scooped on their plates.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are typically five main ingredients or components making up a casserole including Protein, Starch, Vegetables, Sauce, and Cheese. In this casserole the protein is pepperoni and sausage, the starch is pasta, there are no vegetables, the sauces are marinara and pizza sauce and the cheese is mozzarella.
Yes, it can be made completely, wrapped in plastic, and stored in the refrigerator for 1-2 days before baking. You will have to extend the baking time by 10 minutes or longer to compensate for the dish and contents being cold.
Yes, many casseroles freeze well. Make sure that all the ingredients will freeze and thaw without compromising flavor or texture. You can either freeze a cooked casserole or an uncooked casserole (with any meat in the dish already cooked). Just make sure it’s wrapped well so it’s airtight. Write the date on the outside along with any baking instructions, and freeze for 2-3 months.
To use, defrost overnight in the refrigerator, and bake as directed extending the baking time as needed since all the ingredients will be cold.
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- Homemade Pizza Dough
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- More of the Best Main Dish Recipes
Easy Pizza Casserole Recipe
A family-friendly pizza casserole filled with all your favorite pizza toppings and flavors!
Ingredients
- 12 ounces uncooked totini or fusilli pasta
- 1 pound mild Italian sausage
- 30+ Pepperoni slices
- 24 ounce jar of Marinara or Pomodoro sauce
- 16 ounce jar of Pizza Sauce
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 8+ ounces of shredded Mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and set it aside. Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Cook the pasta in well-salted water according to the directions on the package for al dente, then drain and add to the bottom of the baking dish.
- Brown the sausage, breaking it into small pieces, then drain off excess grease. Top the pasta with the sausage.
- Wipe the pan to remove excess grease, then cook the pepperoni until slightly crisp.
- Pour the sauces over the sausage.
- Top the sauce with half the pepperoni.
- Sprinkle the top with both kinds of cheese, then the rest of the pepperoni.
- Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for 10 more minutes or until the cheese is melted and starts to brown.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Southern Living.
Swap out your favorite pizza toppings like hamburger, sauteed mushrooms, black olives, etc.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 538Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 53mgSodium: 1640mgCarbohydrates: 47gFiber: 6gSugar: 13gProtein: 25g
Thatskinnychickcanbake.com occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although thatskinnychickcanbake.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased can change the nutritional information in any given recipe. Also, many recipes on thatskinnychickcanbake.com recommend toppings, which may or may not be listed as optional and nutritional information for these added toppings is not listed. Other factors may change the nutritional information such as when the salt amount is listed “to taste,” it is not calculated into the recipe as the amount will vary. Also, different online calculators can provide different results. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information obtained is accurate.
5 Comments on “Easy Pizza Casserole”
I love this! My grandkids love pizza, and these ingredients, so I’m saving this recipe for when they visit!
I like to slightly undercook the pasta so it can finish cooking in the oven. You get those amazing crunchy bits if you butter the pan first. What a great dish to have in the freezer for nights you just don’t feel like cooking.
Sounds really good, and perfect for lunch the next day too:@)
I DO love all possible baked pasta recipes so I am super excited about this casserole. Loving the idea of a pizza (or even lasagna) arrangement of layers. And great flavours, too!
What a clever and unique idea! And it surely looks very comforting and tasty, Liz.