Pizza Casserole
Make pizza night extra fun with this pizza casserole! It’s an easy pizza bake made with pasta, cheese, and your favorite pizza toppings.
This easy pizza casserole recipe is a simple pizza pasta bake made with penne pasta, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and all of our favorite pizza toppings.
The great thing about pizza is that there are so many different toppings. Personally, I’m a fan of supreme pizzas with green bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, Italian sausage, pepperoni, and black olives but my kids usually go for just plain pepperoni pizza.
Either way this easy casserole is delicious so go nuts and customize it with your family’s favorite toppings.
It’s a fun way to change up pizza night from the same old delivery pizza. We like to get creative with our pizza hotdish with French Bread Pizza Sticks, Lasagna French Bread Pizza, and even Pizza Wontons.
We even have a keto recipe for pizza casserole!
Note: This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Thank you!
Table of contents
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Penne Pasta – We find these to work the best in this dish, but you can sub these out for any pasta of your choice.
- Pizza Sauce – Your favorite brand of pizza, tomato, or marinara sauce.
- Diced Tomatoes – You can use canned (drain them) or fresh.
- Mozzarella Cheese – You can sub with with the cheese of your choice.
- Parmesan Cheese – Try adding some shredded into your mix, but get some grated to sprinkle on top as well!
- Your favorite pizza toppings – Depending on your taste, mix it up and have fun creating!
Other Variations
Pizza is possibly the most customizable dish on the planet! If you can name it, it can go in a pizza. We recommend trying some of these in your pizza pasta casserole recipe.
Meats – Pepperoni, turkey pepperoni, ham, bacon, ground beef, ground turkey, diced or shredded chicken, sausage, Italian sausage, diced or shredded steak, salami, hot soppressata, prosciutto, meatballs, or buffalo chicken. You can even try seafood like crab meat or shrimp!
Vegetables – Fresh garlic, basil, green peppers, black and green olives, fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, red onion, spinach, artichokes, jalapeños, pepperoncini, or arugula. We are not trying to start a fight, but you can even try pineapple!
Cheeses – Mozzarella, parmesan, feta, cheddar, Mexican blend, goat cheese, gouda, gruyere, ricotta, Romano, blue cheese, toma, parmigiano reggiano, provolone, Monterey jack, or pepper jack. Basically any cheese you desire!
Seasonings – Basil, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, oregano, pre-made pizza seasoning, rosemary, or even paprika! You can use seasonings to give your dish any flavor you desire.
How to Make Pizza Casserole
Step 1 – Preheat – Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Step 2 – Cook pasta – In a large pot of boiling water, cook penne pasta until al dente. About 10 minutes. When finished, drain pasta and pour into a large bowl.
Step 3 – Cook meat – While pasta boils, brown your Italian sausage, ground beef, or any other meat you have chosen which needs to be cooked in a skillet. Cook fully and drain grease.
Step 4 – Add other ingredients – To the bowl with your pasta, stir in 2 cups of mozzarella, pizza sauce, diced tomatoes, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, cooked Italian sausage, and any other ingredients you have chosen. Toss until fully combined.
Step 5 – Add to pan – Grease a 13×9-inch casserole dish and pour mixture into it.
Step 6 – Add toppings – Top with remaining cheese, pepperonis, black olives, Parmesan cheese, and any other toppings you have chosen.
Step 7 – Cover and bake – Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove foil and continue to bake for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is fully melted.
Make It Ahead of Time
Just like our sausage baked ziti or chicken alfredo lasagna roll ups this simple casserole is the perfect make ahead meal.
Unbaked – Assemble casserole and wrap it tightly with plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil. Store in refrigerator for up to 2 days. When ready to bake, unwrap and then cover with foil and bake according to the recipe instructions.
Baked – Bake the pizza casserole according to the instructions and let it cool completely before storing it in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. When you’re ready to serve, cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake according to the recipe instructions.
How to Freeze a Pizza Pasta Bake
This pasta casserole is perfect for making ahead and freezing for later. Follow the recipe as written and bake it. Once the casserole has finished baking, let it cool completely then remove it from the casserole dish. Place it on foil to wrap it up or place it in a freezer safe plastic container.
Before you use the casserole let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
When you are ready to bake the casserole, unwrap it and place it back in the casserole dish. Cover the dish with foil and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes – 45 minutes, or until the casserole is heated through.
To make this process easier I highly recommend baking the casserole in a disposable aluminum pan. That way you can wrap the whole thing up to store in the freezer and then reheat the casserole right in the pan when you are ready to eat.
Looking for More Easy Pizza Ideas?
- Air Fryer Pizza Rolls
- French Bread Pizza
- Meat Lovers’ Pizza Keto Stuffed Peppers
- Low Carb Pizza Casserole
- French Bread Pizza
- English Muffin Pizza
- Pizza Tots
- More Pizza Recipes…
Like this recipe?
Make sure to follow us on Instagram and Pinterest for more recipes like this.
Pizza Casserole
Ingredients
- 16 ounces Penne Pasta
- 4 cups Mozzarella Cheese, divided
- 28 ounces Pizza Sauce
- 8 ounces Diced Tomatoes
- 2 ounces Parmesan Cheese
- 1 cup Pepperonis
- 4 ounces Green Peppers, diced
- 2 ounces Onion, diced
- 4 ounces Mushrooms, chopped
- 1 pound Italian sausage, ground
- 1 ounce Black Olives
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large pot of boiling water cook penne pasta until al dente.
- While pasta cooks brown Italian sausage in a skillet. Cook fully and drain grease.
- Drain pasta and pour into a large bowl.
- Add 2 cups mozzarella, pizza sauce, diced tomatoes, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, and cooked Italian sausage. Toss until fully combined.
- Grease a 13×9 inch casserole dish and pour mixture into it.
- Top with remaining cheese, pepperonis, black olives and Parmesan cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove foil and continue to bake for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is fully melted.
- Enjoy!
Oh, yes! We love experimenting with all kinds of pizza recipes as well! Yours looks yummy. 🙂
This was so perfect for my family we really did enjoy it very much it was so good!
I’m so glad you liked it!!
I don’t eat sausage so thinking I could substitute with ground beef. Or another option – could I just leave out the sausage/beef completely so it is entirely meat-free?
You can put whatever your favorite pizza toppings are in this so feel free to go meat free. I like to add artichoke hearts and mushrooms when I’m not sharing with kids 🙂
Yes! Finally something about cheese subscriptions.
I made this tonight. I used ground turkey instead of the italian sausage. It was absolutely excellent! Will definitely make again.
So glad you liked it!
This was so delicious!!! Anyone who loves pizza would absolutely love this! I knew it was going to be good the second I pulled the foil!
Looks delicious! Can’t wait to make it!
Have you tried to make this in a crock pot?
I haven’t but it should work! I would try 4 hours on low.
Finally something EVERYONE loves! With 3 kids, finding recipes they all like is tough. This is a definite hit in my house
This was the perfect meal to make with my family they really enjoyed it
Great Pizza casserole! To avoid it being too greasy I microwaved the pepperoni slices between paper towels for 35 seconds and pressed the grease out. Perfect! Thanks for the recipe.
I had to use 3 cans of pizza sauce. I also used a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes. Mixed everything together~~ pepperonis, olives,too. Very good!