Cheesy Pizza Casserole has all the flavor of a supreme pizza in casserole form! With pasta, ground beef, sausage, pepperoni, and all the pizza fixings, everyone will clean their plates when this recipe is on the menu!
Top Tip: Make sure to choose toppings for this pizza that your family will eat. This is just a guide, choose YOUR favorites.
Aimee’s Recipe Notes
- Taste & Texture: Savory, cheesy, and loaded with classic pizza flavors, this casserole combines pasta with your choice of meat, and gooey melted cheese.
- Ease of Making: Simple and family-friendly! Just cook the pasta, brown the meat, mix everything together, and bake.
- Cooking Method: Baked in a 13×9-inch dish until the cheese is melted and golden.
- Top Tip: For extra flavor, let the sauce simmer with the meat and veggies for a few minutes before mixing it with the pasta. Customize with your favorite pizza toppings!
Like my Pizza Stuffed Pasta Shells and Bubble Up Pizza Casserole, this easy casserole incorporates pizza flavors into a non-pizza dish—in this case, a pasta bake.
You’ll appreciate that this pizza casserole can be made in advance. You can cook the components like the meat, veggies, and pasta and refrigerate them separately, or assemble the whole casserole so it’s ready to bake.
Customize How You Like It
The full ingredient list is in the recipe card at the bottom of the post, but here are some highlights.
- Penne pasta – Or another pasta shape like rotini or bowties.
- Ground Italian sausage – You can use hot sausage for a kick, or mild (also known as sweet Italian sausage) to keep your pizza casserole from being too spicy.
- Lean ground beef – Or ground turkey if you’d like; if you do use turkey sausage and ground turkey, add a generous drizzle of oil to the pan before browning it as it doesn’t have enough fat to keep from sticking.
- Vegetables – Green pepper, yellow onion, and sliced mushrooms—just like a supreme pizza!
- Canned diced tomatoes – These add some texture to the sauce.
- Marinara sauce – Be sure to use a quality brand that tastes good! I love using Rao’s brand, but my homemade spaghetti sauce is wonderful too.
- Shredded mozzarella cheese – Or a shredded Italian blend.
- Pepperoni slices – The kind that cups when baked is especially fun.
- Black olives – Olives are polarizing, so feel free to either omit them or add extra if you’re an olive lover!
Scroll down below the recipe card to get more tips and tricks for making today’s pizza casserole.
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It
Pizza Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 ounces penne pasta
- 1 pound ground Italian Sausage, hot or mild
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- ½ large green pepper, diced
- ½ medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 ounces sliced mushrooms
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 14.5 ounce canned, diced tomatoes, drained
- 24 ounce jarred marinara sauce, any variety
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2.5 ounce pepperoni slices
- 2 Tablespoons sliced black olives
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta and put it back in the large pot. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large skillet, brown the Italian sausage and ground beef, crumbling it as it cooks. Drain the grease and let the meat dry on a paper towel lined plate.
- Add olive oil to the skillet, and add the green pepper, onion, and mushrooms. Cook over medium high heat, stirring often. Cook for about 5 minutes, until vegetables have softened.
- To the large pot of cooked, drained pasta, add in the drained meat, and all the vegetables. Add salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, diced tomatoes and marinara sauce. Stir until everything is combined.
- Pour pasta mixture into a 13×9 baking dish. Top with shredded cheese. Add the pepperoni and black olives to the top. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until cheese is melted and lightly browned.
Notes
- Add or substitute your favorite pizza toppings. Canned or jarred mushrooms can be used instead of fresh!
- Serve with homemade garlic bread or Olive garden breadsticks.
- Store leftovers in refrigerator for up to 3 days.
How to Make Pizza Casserole
Cook the pasta: Follow the instructions on the box and drain it well.
Brown the meat: Brown the sausage and beef together in a large skillet, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Drain the grease and transfer the meat to a paper towel lined plate.
Cook the vegetables: Sauté the green pepper, onion, and mushrooms in the skillet with olive oil until they’ve softened.
Assemble: Add the meat and vegetables to the pasta, then stir in the salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, diced tomatoes, and marinara. Transfer to a baking dish and add the cheese, pepperoni, and olives.
Bake: Place the baking dish in a 350ºF oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the cheese melts and browns lightly.
Tips and Tricks
- Be sure to add salt to the pasta water. It really makes a difference, making your pasta much tastier!
- Another note about the pasta: make sure you drain it very well. If it’s still really wet, it will water down the sauce.
- Feel free to make this recipe your own by adding your own favorite pizza toppings. (Even pineapple!)
- For a shortcut, you can use canned or jarred mushrooms.
- Refrigerate leftovers up to 3 days in an airtight container. You can reheat the casserole in the oven at 350ºF, covering the baking dish to keep it from drying out, or warm it in the microwave.
- I love to serve this pizza casserole with my copycat Olive Garden Salad, Cheesy Garlic Bread or this Olive Garden Breadsticks Recipe.
More Crowd-Pleasing Casseroles
- Love a cheesy casserole? Me too! This Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole is a classic, or try my Meatball Parmesan Casserole if you want a dish that’s more meaty.
- Pull out the pressure cooker and make this hearty Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Casserole for an easy weeknight dinner.
- Got leftover ham from the holidays? This Ham Casserole is easy and delicious.
- I’m obsessed with this Instant Pot Tuna Casserole, although admittedly my tuna hating hubs is not a fan.
- Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole is the perfect Sunday supper recipe for a crowd.
