When you can take two of your favorite things and combine them, it’s a beautiful thing. And that’s just what Pizza Lasagna is — a beautiful thing AND two of my favorite things, combined. It really does taste like pizza night but with the comforting vibe that only pasta can provide. It might not ever replace classic lasagna but sometimes you just need to switch things up, and Pizza Lasagna is just the way to do it.
I suppose you could take the flavors of any pizza and make them into lasagna but I find the flavors of a combination pizza work wonderfully here. A little Italian sausage, some pepperoni, bell pepper, sliced olives… it’s a winning combo. You’ll need one box of lasagna noodles, some mozzarella and parm, and of course, the sauce. You can use marinara or pizza sauce.
But what’s the difference between marinara and pizza sauce? Honestly, not a lot. Pizza sauce is thicker, so it doesn’t bog down the crust, and it tends to be flavored more simply. Either one will work here and the end result will still remind you of pizza.
I am basically allergic to boiling lasagna noodles — I avoid it all costs. It’s tedious, they stick together… you know what I mean. My favored method is just to soak the lasagna noodles in hot water while I work on getting the rest of the ingredients ready. This gives them a head start so you can be sure that every nook and cranny will cook through in the oven.
There isn’t a ton of prep to do here, you’ll just need to brown the sausage and soften the onion and bell pepper in the same pan before you can get to layering. The layers consist of lasagna noodles, a ricotta/egg mixture, mozzarella, pepperoni, sausage, black olives, the bell pepper and onion mixture, and some sauce. Repeat and repeat until you reach the top of the pan.
I wouldn’t usually use parmesan in the shaker can for lasagna or a baked pasta dish, but this is one instance where it just feels right. It really gives you that pizza parlor feel!
Pizza Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 lb lasagna noodles
- 1 lb Italian sausage
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 2 (15 oz each) containers ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 4 cups pizza sauce or marinara
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese, grated
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 1/2 lb sliced pepperoni
- 1/2 cup sliced black olives
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 375°F and grease a deep 9x13-inch pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Set the lasagna noodles in a separate pan or dish and pour very hot or boiling water over the noodles, covering them completely. Let rest 30 minutes while you prepare the lasagna ingredients, then drain.
- First, brown the sausage and veggies:
- In a pan over medium-high heat, cook the Italian sausage, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon as it browns. Once cooked through, remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain.
- In the same pan, cook onion and bell pepper until soft, stirring often. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the ricotta, egg, salt, and Italian seasoning until well combined. Set aside.
- Then, assemble the lasagna:
- In the prepared pan, spread out about 1 cup of the pizza sauce or marinara.
- Line the bottom evenly with lasagna noodles. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the noodles, then top with 1/4 of the mozzarella. Top with 1/3 of the pepperoni slices, 1/3 of the sausage, 1/3 of the olives, and 1/3 of the peppers and onions. Top with another cup of sauce, followed by 1/4 cup of the parmesan.
- Repeat layers two more times so you have three total layers. Finish with one more layer of noodles, followed by sauce, mozzarella, Italian sausage, bell pepper and onion, pepperoni, olives, and parmesan.
- Bake until bubbly and noodles are al dente, about 50 minutes.
Recipe adapted from Pillsbury.