Easy Pizza Casserole Recipe - Satisfy that pizza craving with a fresh take on pizza night the entire family will love. This pizza pasta casserole is made with ground beef, Italian sausage, tangy pizza sauce, melted Mozzarella cheese, and all your favorite toppings. So yummy!
This is one of our favorite crowd-pleasing recipes and was inspired by the one my Mom used to make us when I was a kid. It's a delicious family-friendly recipe that your kids are sure to love. This pizza bake recipe is the perfect thing for busy weeknights, or to take to potlucks, game day tailgates, and team dinners before the game.
Looking for more cheesy, easy weeknight dinners? Don't miss our other great recipes like our Copycat Olive Garden Asiago Tortelloni Alfredo or our Fettuccine Alfredo.
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Here's What You Need
This cheesy pizza pasta casserole is easy to make. All you need are a few simple ingredients and to follow these step-by-step instructions.
- ground beef - May substitute ground turkey or ground bison.
- Italian seasonings - Use store-bought spices or make your own with our simple homemade Italian Seasoning Recipe. May substitute a pinch of red pepper flakes.
- pizza sauce - May use jarred or homemade sauce.
- tomato sauce - May substitute spaghetti sauce or marinara sauce.
- rotini noodles - May substitute any small pasta shape like elbow macaroni, penne, gemelli, or mostaccioli.
- pepperoni slices - May substitute turkey pepperoni.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Pizza Casserole
Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Sauté. In a large skillet or sauté pan, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat.
- Brown Meat. Add ground beef, Italian sausage, and seasonings. Cook over medium-high heat until browned, breaking the beef up with a wooden spoon as you go along.
Tasty Tip: Taste the cooked meat and adjust the seasoning. It should be tasty at this point. If it's bland, add another pinch or two of salt.
Optional: Drain the grease from the cooked beef on a plate lined with paper towel.
- Add Sauce and Simmer. Add pizza sauce and tomato sauce to the cooked meat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Boil the Pasta. In the meantime, Cook 1 lb of pasta, in a large pot of boiling water, until it is just al dente, according to the package instructions. Drain and put back into pasta pot.
- Add Milk to Pasta. Stir milk into cooked pasta.
- Layer. Put the casserole together by layering the pasta sauce, pasta, and mozzarella cheese in a casserole dish or baking dish that has been prepared with cooking spray.
Create layers of sauce first, then pasta, then mozzarella. The top layer should end with sauce and a layer of cheese. So that all the pasta is covered with sauce and keeps moist.
- Add Toppings. Now for the best part. It's time to add your favorite toppings like pepperoni slices, green bell pepper, red bell peppers, red pepper flakes, mushrooms, or black olives.
- Bake. Bake this yummy pizza pasta casserole uncovered at 350°F for 30 minutes until hot and bubbly.
Classic Pizza Toppings
Be sure to add your favorite toppings.
- extra grated cheese (Mozzerella)
- parmesan cheese
- pepperoni
- spicy Italian sausage
- ham
- mushrooms
- red pepper flakes
- black olives
- green or red bell peppers
- onions
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Recipe FAQs
Pizza casserole is a family-friendly recipe that you can have on the table fast for that easy weeknight dinner win. A cross between pizza and pasta, it is made with ground beef, Italian sausage, tangy pizza sauce, melted Mozzarella cheese, and all your favorite toppings.
This easy pizza bake is the perfect thing for meal prep. You can make this casserole ahead of time and reheat it. Reheat at 250°F until warmed through.
Pizza pasta stores well in the freezer and is easy to reheat. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat in a 250°F preheated oven until heated through.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this cheesy pizza casserole with a fresh salad, garlic breadsticks, or some homemade focaccia.
Make Ahead and Freeze
This Pizza Pasta Casserole Recipe can be made ahead of time and frozen until you're ready to eat it.
Make ahead in a freezer-safe casserole dish, or a disposable roasting pan that has been covered in aluminum foil and plastic wrap. Store it in the freezer.
Freeze leftover pizza casserole in an airtight container. Bring up to room temperature before reheating the next day.
How To Reheat A Casserole
Bring the casserole up to room temperature and reheat the oven at 350°F until it is warmed through.
See our post on how to reheat a casserole for more detailed instructions.
There you have it. Making our Easy Pizza Casserole Recipe is as easy as that! We hope you and your whole family enjoy this super simple, super tasty, easy weeknight dinner. Try it and let us know how you like it. We'd love to hear from you!
xo ~ Seanna
More Tasty Casserole Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Easy Pizza Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup yellow onion diced
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb Italian sausage ground
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasonings
- 1 teaspoon oregano dried
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 24 oz pizza sauce
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- 1 lb rotini pasta
- ½ cup milk
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
- 24 pepperoni slices
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Saute. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil.½ cup yellow onion, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 clove garlic
- Brown Meat. Add ground beef, Italian sausage, and seasonings. Cook over medium-high heat until browned, breaking the beef up with a wooden spoon as you go along.1 lb ground beef, 1 lb Italian sausage, 1 teaspoon Italian seasonings, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Add Sauce and Simmer. Add sauce to the cooked beef and simmer for 15 minutes.24 oz pizza sauce, 8 oz tomato sauce
- Boil the Pasta. In the meantime, cook 1 lb of pasta according to the package instructions until it is just al dente. Drain and put back into pasta pot.1 lb rotini pasta
- Add Milk to Pasta. Stir milk into cooked pasta and set aside.½ cup milk
- Layer. Put the casserole together by layering the sauce, pasta, and mozzarella cheese in a casserole dish. Create layers of sauce first, then pasta, then mozzarella. End with a topping of sauce and cheese.3 cups mozzarella cheese
- Add Toppings. Add favorite toppings like pepperoni slices, green bell pepper, red bell peppers, red pepper flakes, mushrooms, or black olives.24 pepperoni slices
- Bake. Bake pizza pasta uncovered at 350°F for 30 minutes.
Di
Going to fix this after getting ingredients. SOUND YUMMY 😋.
Seanna Borrows
Thanks Di! I hope you enjoy it!
Christine
Can I ask why the milk to the pasta?
Seanna Borrows
Hi Christine. Milk adds creaminess to pasta and helps it not stick together in this casserole. Hope you'll try this recipe. It's super yummy and was one of my favorites growing up!
Russ B
Great family meal!
Seanna Borrows
This recipe was inspired by the one my mom made me when I was a kid. It's so delish.