Easy Pizza Casserole - Real Life Dinner

Sometimes you just need an easy dinner you know the toddler will eat. This Easy Pizza Casserole is just that! Everyone else in the house thinks it’s pretty great, too! I love how versatile this easy casserole is. You can use leftover Spaghetti Sauce or a bottle of your favorite spaghetti sauce from the grocery store. And just like pizza, you can choose anything else you want to add.

I like to add ground beef or Italian sausage, if I am not using leftover pizza sauce that already has some in it. Adding a layer of pepperoni to the bottom and the top is really tasty and a must in my opinion. If you want to add things like onions and green peppers, I suggest sautéing them first. Sliced olives are an easy addition and diced ham or bacon crumbles would also taste amazing in this. Anything goes!

The best part is this recipe makes a nice big casserole. So if you are lucky, you can stretch it into two meals…or at least have leftovers for lunch the next day! Give it a try, and let me know if your toddler or picky kid likes it! Nothing makes me happier than when I hear back that a picky eater liked one of my recipes. 🙂

More Delicious Casserole Recipes

Step-By-step pictures for how to make easy pizza casserole

Tips for Making Easy Pizza Casserole

Make sure to salt your pasta water. Noodles taste so much better when cooked in salted water.
Cook your noodles to al dente. If the package says 9-11 minutes, only cook them for 9. This keeps the noodles from getting too soggy when the casserole is baked.
If desired, you can add an 8 ounce can of tomato sauce for additional saucy-ness. If you do this, be sure to add a few extra shakes of salt, pepper, basil, and garlic salt…and a pinch of sugar.
Use whatever cheese you have on hand. I like to use a combination of mozzarella and parmesan cheese. I also like to chop a few cheese sticks up and mix them into the pasta mixture before I add it to the pan.
To make clean up easier, just add everything to the pot you made the pasta in, mix it up, and pour it out into your prepared baking dish.
Cover with foil while it bakes until the last 10-15 minutes. Remove foil and generously sprinkle with cheese.
To get that nice brown bubbly look on the cheese, you can put it under the broiler for a minute or two or until cheese is to your liking.

chef’s tools:

Easy Pizza Casserole

Prep time

25 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

A super simple dinner that even picky eaters usually love! I mean, how can you go wrong with pizza toppings and flavors in every bite?

Author: Maria

Recipe type: Casserole

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

1 lb box of spiral pasta (or penne pasta), cooked al dente according to package directions
1 26 ounce can of spaghetti sauce or 3½ cups leftover homemade spaghetti sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp basil
¼ tsp salt
pinch red pepper flakes
1 lb cooked ground beef or cooked Italian Sausage (If using ground beef, be sure to salt and pepper while cooking.)
6-8 ounces pepperoni slices
1 15 ounce can black olives, sliced
Optional add-ins: Cooked bacon crumbles, diced ham, sliced cheese sticks, canned mushrooms
2 cups mozzarella cheese
½ cup parmesan cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray, line the bottom of it with pepperoni slices, and set aside.
In a large pot or the pot you cooked the pasta in (so you don't dirty another dish), combine the cooked pasta, the spaghetti sauce, the cooked beef or sausage, the olives, the garlic powder, dried basil, salt, and red pepper flakes. Mix well. Add sliced cheese sticks at this point and mix again.
Pour into the prepared pan, and then top with another layer of pepperoni (if you have enough), or you can chop up a few pieces and sprinkle them on with the cheese as I did in the pictures.
Cheese is the final layer. You can choose to wait to add the cheese until the last 10-15 minutes of cooking time, if desired. If not, make sure to spray the foil with cooking spray so it won't stick to the cheese as it melts.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake casserole at 350 degrees for 40-60 minutes or until casserole is heated through. If the prepared casserole has been refrigerated before cooking, it will need an additional 20 minutes of cooking time.
Enjoy!