This quick and easy pizza casserole recipe is a family favorite. It is a variation of a pasta bake and you can easily modify it to include your favorite toppings.
Last week I had Pasta Bake on my menu plan, but as I was pulling ingredients out of the fridge I saw the leftover ingredients from our pizza night. I decided to experiment with my Pasta Bake recipe and ended up creating a new family favorite: Pizza Casserole!
My son loved this dish so much he asked for the leftovers for breakfast and lunch the next day. The great thing about a pizza pasta bake is that you can add your favorite pizza topping to the casserole, customizing it to your family’s favorite flavors. We made a Pepperoni Pizza Casserole with bell peppers, onion, and mushrooms. However, you could add sausage, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, or Canadian bacon. The possibilities are endless!
How to Make a Pizza Pasta Bake
A Pasta bake starts with uncooked pasta. I like to use rotini pasta, but you can use your favorite pasta.
Since you don’t have to cook the pasta first, you will need to add extra liquid to the casserole dish. I add 3 1/2 cups of pizza sauce and 2 1/2 cups of water. The water will be absorbed by the noodles, so the flavor of the sauce will not be watered down.
The water will be absorbed by the noodles, so the flavor of the sauce will not be watered down.
Pizza Casserole Recipe
These instructions are a little general The printable recipe card for this my pizza casserole can be found below.
Ingredients:
- 16 ounces rotini or penne pasta noodles, uncooked (use gluten-free pasta to make this gluten-free)
- 3½ cups of pizza sauce (I used a triple batch of my Pizza Sauce Recipe)
- 2 ½ cups water
- 1 ½ cups of your favorite grated cheese (I used mozzarella and white cheddar)
- 24+pepperonis or other cooked meat (optional)
- ¼ cup onions (optional)
- ¼ diced bell peppers (optional)
- ½ cup sliced mushrooms (optional)
- other favorite pizza toppings such as sun-dried tomatoes and olives
Directions:
- Place uncooked pasta noodles in a 13×9 baking dish.
- In a large bowl combine the pizza sauce, water, and your favorite vegetable pizza toppings: onions, peppers, mushrooms, etc. Don’t add the cooked meat until the end.
- Pour the pizza sauce mixture over noodles. Mix enough to ensure the noodles are coated with the sauce.
- Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top of the noodles.
- Spread the pepperonis or other cooked meat on top of the cheese.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake at 425 for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the noodles are al dente and the cheese is melted and slightly browned.
Pizza Pasta Bake Video Tutorial
The printable recipe is below this video, but I wanted to show you how easy it is to make this pizza casserole in the following cooking video.
Subscribe to my Youtube Channel for more easy cooking tips!
Printable Recipe for Alea’s Pizza Casserole
Pizza Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 ounces rotini or penne pasta noodles uncooked (use gluten-free pasta to make this gluten-free)
- 3½ cups pizza sauce
- 2 ½ cups water
- 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup grated cheddar cheese
- 24 pepperonis
- ¼ cup onions
- ¼ diced bell peppers
- ½ cup sliced mushrooms
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 F degrees.
- Place uncooked pasta noodles in a 13×9 baking dish.
- In a large bowl combine the pizza sauce, water, onions, diced bell peppers, and mushrooms.
- Pour pizza sauce mixture over noodles, mix enough to ensure the noodles are coated.
- Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top of the noodles.
- Spread pepperonis on top of the cheese.
- Cover the casserole dish with foil. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake for 10 minutes or until the noodles are al dente and the cheese is melted and slightly browned.
More Pizza Recipes:
This was originally published on March 5, 2013, and was updated on October 17, 2019.
Cindy says
Can you use tomato sauce instead of pizza sauce
Alea Milham says
You can substitute a marinara sauce or spaghetti sauce for the pizza sauce. If you use tomato sauce, I recommend adding Italian Seasoning to it to make it more flavorful.