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Want an easy, crowd-pleasing dish that’s ready to serve in under an hour? Then add this Pizza Pasta Bake to your weeknight dinner rotation. Easy to customize with all of your favorite pizza topping ingredients, it’s a casserole both kids and adults will love (including the leftovers too!).
I first had this Pizza Pasta Bake made by my friend, Daidri. She brought this casserole to our family a while back when my mother-in-law passed away. It quickly became one of our family’s favorite casserole recipes and I’ve now developed my own version of her recipe since.
I love to make this meal whenever we are in the mood for pizza or an Italian-style dinner. My version has about 10 ingredients, but you can easily make this your own with other pizza toppings. I think the best part is that it makes for delicious leftovers the next day (or freezes beautifully for a later date)! I have no doubt your family will love this ooey gooey pizza pasta recipe.
If you love a noodle bake, my Stuffed Pizza Chicken Bake, Taco Spaghetti Bake, Chicken And Dumplings Casserole are all recipes you should try.
Reader Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Simply delicious! I used the mini pepperoni slices on top. Goes together easily and one I’ll continue to make — and to share with friends and family.”
— Barb
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- 30 Minute Dinner Recipe. It’s that quick and easy to have a delicious and filling meal made with simple ingredients.
- Customize to your Liking. We’ve made this all different ways in our family depending on everyone’s favorite pizza toppings. So grab your favorite toppings at the store and make it your own!
- Fun for Kids to Make. My daughter loves to help me make this baked pizza pasta recipe, it’s a delicious twist on our classic pizza night at home!
- Easy for Gifting or Transporting. Whether it’s a potluck or delivering to a friend for dinner, it’s simple to pack and carry.
Ingredients
- Pasta: I used rotini because the spirals hold the sauce so well! Any medium-size pasta or noodles will work.
- Salt and pepper: Kosher salt and black pepper season the meat and veggies.
- Meat: I like to make this pizza pasta dish with ground beef or bulk Italian sausage. You can also combine the two!
- Onion: For a hint of sweetness, add diced yellow onion or sweet onion.
- Bell pepper: Incorporate a yummy, peppery-sweet flavor with diced green pepper.
- Garlic: Mince a couple of fresh garlic cloves for a subtle spicy kick. Replace it with garlic powder if you’re in a pinch.
- Seasoning: Of course, you need a bit of Italian seasoning to bring all the flavors together and get that authentic Italian taste.
- Pasta sauce: Pour in a jar of pasta or marinara sauce, like my go-to Bertolli Vineyard.
- Pizza sauce: Also mix in a jar of pizza sauce. Yes– Pizza sauce and pasta sauce are different! I used DelGrosso pizza sauce.
- Broth: Add more flavor while thinning the sauce with beef broth, or keep it simple with water.
- Cheese: I like to mix melty and creamy mozzarella cheese with tangy provolone. But you can use just one or another blend of cheeses.
- Pepperoni: This wouldn’t be complete without the classic topping of pepperoni slices!
How to Make Pizza Pasta Bake
✱ Below shows step-by-step photos and instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.
Step 1 | Preheat and prep
First, preheat the oven to 350°F and cook the pasta al dente according to the package directions.
Step 2 | Cook ground beef and sausage
Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the sausage and beef, breaking up the crumbles with a spatula. Then add the onion and green bell peppers and cook for about 5 minutes until browned. Drain any fat and add the garlic, salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings. Then, cook the meat mixture for an additional 2 minutes.
Step 3 | Add sauce, broth, and pasta
Next, add the pasta sauce, pizza sauce, beef broth, or water to the cooked ground beef until well mixed.
Then, pour in cooked and drained pasta, stirring until combined.
Step 4 | Prep the casserole dish and assemble
Get ready to bake by lightly spraying a 9 x 13 dish with cooking spray. Pour in the pasta mixture and distribute evenly in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top, and line 36 tasty pepperoni on top of the cheese!
Step 5 | Bake and enjoy!
Lastly, lightly spray the foil with cooking spray, then cover and bake for 20 minutes. Then, remove the foil and bake for 10 -15 more minutes until the recipe is bubbly and the cheese is melted and golden brown. Serve and enjoy your delicious pizza casserole!
Pizza Casserole Variations
The beauty of this pizza casserole is you can customize it for your family with any pizza toppings you would usually order from your local pizzeria. Here are some of the ingredients we’ve used over the years:
If preferred, swap the Italian seasoning with a similar blend of fresh herbs– Yum!
- Favorite Pizza Toppings: Add in mushrooms, black olives, tomatoes, basil, spinach, anchovies, and sun-dried tomatoes. Pick your favorites!
- Swap the Protein: Make this fun pizza bake with your favorite pizza proteins, like chicken, bacon, or ham!
- Add More Italian Sausage: If you don’t want to use bulk sausage, you can cook the Italian sausage sauce in slices or larger crumbles. Omit the ground beef and use a whole pound of sausage for more Italian flavor.
- Pack it with Pepperoni: you can always mix in extra pepperoni slices into the pasta for even more pepperoni flavor.
- Other Delicious Cheeses: You can use any combination of your favorite cheeses, such as nutty parmesan cheese, sharp cheddar, fluffy ricotta, or melty fontina.
- Substitute the Pasta: Use whatever you have on hand or choose your favorite pasta, such as penne pasta, fusilli, Cavatappi, rigatoni, farfalle (bowtie pasta), egg noodles, or macaroni. I usually use a medium-cut past for this dish but certainly, you can use any noodle type like spaghetti, fettuccine, or linguine too. For a healthy twist, use whole wheat pasta.
Expert Tips
- Boil in salted water. Don’t forget to cook your noodles in salted water for the best flavor. Boil the noodles to al dente according to package instructions.
- Make the topping golden brown. If the pizza bake isn’t as brown as you would like, turn on the broiler and bake another minute or two for an extra toasted topping. Just keep an eye on it since it can burn quickly!
- Always brown the meats before adding into the casserole. No matter if you use ground beef, chicken, turkey or Italian sausage, always cook the meat in a skillet before stirring into the bake.
- Grate the cheeses yourself. For the ooey, gooiest texture, it’s best to grate the cheeses from scratch. Pre-shredded cheeses can be grainy thanks to the anti-caking agent they’re tossed in.
- Cover with foil the first half of baking. This will help the cheese to melt evenly and noodles to cook. Uncover to finish baking and to make the top beautifully golden brown.
What to Serve With Baked Pizza Pasta
Where do I begin?! There are too many options for how we have served this in our family. I have some favorites I’m sharing with you below:
Storage
Keep your pizza pasta casserole leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Then, reheat the recipe in a saucepan over medium heat or in the oven until heated through.
This pizza pasta casserole recipe is ideal for meal prepping. All you have to do is pre-cook the pasta and meat sauce and layer the dish—don’t pre-bake it. Here are a few of my tips for freezing.
To cook from frozen, remove the Saran Wrap, lightly spray the inside of the foil, and place it back on. Add an additional 10-15 minutes to the baking times and temperatures, and cook until the casserole is warmed through and bubbly.
Cover the bottom of your baking dish with tin foil so you can easily lift the casserole out of the pan once frozen and transfer it to a bag or different storage container if needed. You can also make it in a freezer-safe disposable pan that can be baked, like an aluminum pan.
If you want to freeze the cooked casserole, be sure the assembled casserole is completely cooled. Place Saran Wrap directly over the top of the casserole so it touches the top layer. Then cover that with aluminum foil and freeze for 1 to 2 months.
FAQs
If you ask a true Italian food fan, you may get a different answer, but sure! You can use pizza sauce for spaghetti sauce. Pizza sauce has a thicker consistency with more concentrated flavors, while marinara sauce is a simpler tomato sauce, usually lighter and smoother. This recipe uses a combination of sauces for the best flavor.
Use your favorite! Classic pepperoni, mini pepperonis, plant-based pepperoni, or turkey pepperoni all work great for this versatile recipe.
Sure. Store the delicious pizza pasta bake in an airtight container and freeze for a couple of months to thaw in the fridge overnight and serve the following day.
More Fun Pizza Recipes
- Strawberry Pizza Recipe
- Pizza Sloppy Joes
- No-Rise Pizza Dough Recipe
- Homemade Pizzas And A Movie Night
- Philly Cheese Steak Pizza
Delicious Pasta Recipes to Try
- Creamy Spicy Sausage Pasta Recipe (quick easy and not too spicy)
- Easy Baked Ziti
- Jambalaya Cajun Pasta
- Million Dollar Baked Spaghetti
- Taco Spaghetti Casserole
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Pizza Pasta Bake
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Ingredients
- 12 ounces uncooked medium pasta - rotini, cavatappi, penne, egg noodles (about 4 cups)
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt - divided [2 tsp for cooking pasta and 1 tsp (or to taste) for sauce]
- 1 lb. ground beef or bulk Italian sausage - or half of each
- ¼ cup diced yellow or sweet onion
- ¼ cup diced green pepper
- 2 – 3 cloves garlic - minced
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 24 ounce pasta or marinara sauce - (I used Bertolli Vineyard)
- 13.5 ounce jar of pizza sauce - (I used DelGrosso pizza sauce)
- ½ cup beef broth or water
- 2 – 3 cups mozzarella cheese or a mixture of mozzarella and provolone
- 36 pepperoni slices
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Cook pasta according to al dente package directions. Drain.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, over medium-high heat, brown sausage, and beef, breaking up the crumbles with a spatula. Then add in onion and bell pepper, and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Drain any fat. Add in garlic, salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings, and cook for an additional 2 minutes
- Add marinara (pasta) sauce, pizza sauce, beef broth, or water to the cooked ground beef until well-mixed.
- Pour in cooked pasta and stir until combined.
- Lightly spray a 9 X 13 dish with cooking spray. Pour in pasta mixture and distribute even in the dish.
- Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top and then line 36 pepperonis on top of the cheese.
- Lightly spray foil with cooking spray and cover; bake for 20 minutes covered. Remove foil and bake 10 -15 until bubbly and cheese is melted and golden brown.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
- Boil in Salted Water– Don’t forget to cook your noodles in salted water for the best flavor.
- Toasty Topping– If the pizza bake isn’t as brown as you would like, turn on the broiler and bake another minute or two for an extra toasted topping. Just keep an eye on it.
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Simply delicious! I used the mini pepperoni slices on top. Goes together easily and one I’ll continue to make — and to share with friends and family.
Thank you, Barb! Those mini pepperoni slices are a great topper! I appreciate you sharing this one with family and friends!
My family loves this recipe so much! We make it over and over again. Thank you again for these yummy dishes!
I modified the recipe by adding 6oz of small cauliflower florets for half the pasta 5 minutes before the pasta was done. Instead of ground meat, I sautéed 8 oz baby bellas and 10 oz thawed frozen chopped spinach with sauces. I kept the pepperoni. Sadly, it’s too hot to bake here, I froze individual ramekins. I prefer my cheese freshly grates, so I will add it when I bake. I ate some unbaked for lunch, it was delicious!
So yummy!😋
Really easy recipe & lots of flavor.
Thanks for sharing!😊
Thank you so much, Lisa! I am so happy you enjoyed them!
I doubled the recipe using the pizza toppings I like on a homemade pizza. I used 2 lb Jimmy Dean original sausage, onion, green pepper, layering pepperoni with cheese. EVERYONE loved it….BIG HIT!!!!.
Now that sounds delicious! I love how adaptable this one is. Throw in what you love and you have such an easy and delicious meal! So happy it was a big hit with your family! That is just what I love to hear! <3
Can this Pizza Noodle Casserole be frozen after cooking?
I have not tried it. But I have frozen my baked spaghetti and it turned out well. I think this should freeze well. I would remove from freezer to refrigerator 24 hours before reheating. Preheat oven and cook covered loosely with foil.
This sounds so yummy! I have to make this one night very soon! Wish I still had kids at home cause I know they would love this!