you're making mealtime meaningful.
Life comes with a lot of hard decisions, like whether you should choose pizza or pasta for dinner. But with our Weeknight Pizza Casserole, you don’t have to decide at all – you get to have them both! With spicy pepperoni, chewy pasta, a savory meat-studded sauce, and plenty of cheese, it’s a different way to do pizza night, but it’s every bit as crave-worthy.
This bake starts with Italian sausage, pepperoni, some Italian seasoning, and mozzarella…
… that are folded into some marinara…
…and tossed with plenty of al dente penne.
That mixture heads into a baking dish where it’s topped with a generous helping of cheese and some more pepperoni before it heads into the oven.
As it bakes, the pepperoni crisp up and the cheese gets nice and melty, just like you’d expect on any good slice. You’re swapping noodles for crust here, but it’s the same flavor profile of your favorite pie in one comforting casserole. (And it’s even quicker than delivery!)
Weeknight Pizza Casserole
Yield(s): Serves 6
35 minutes
you're making mealtime meaningful.
Ingredients
- 16 oz penne pasta
- 1 lb bulk Italian sausage
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (6 oz) bag pepperoni, divided
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese, grated and divided
- 2 (24 oz) jars marinara sauce
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- Kosher salt, to taste
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350°F and set aside a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta 2 minutes less than package directions call for. Drain and return to pot.
- Meanwhile, brown sausage in a large skillet until cooked through. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
- Set aside half of the pepperoni for the topping. Chop the remaining half into chunks.
- To the pasta, add the sausage, marinara, chopped pepperoni, Italian seasoning, and 1 cup of the Mozzarella cheese.
- Pour pasta into baking dish, top with remaining mozzarella, and then arrange pepperoni in rows across the top. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake until cheese is melted and pepperoni is crispy, 20-25 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Eating on a Dime.