Pizza Pasta Casserole is pepperoni pizza baked as a pasta dinner: rotini, browned ground beef and chopped pepperoni stirred into marinara with mozzarella, then covered with more cheese and whole pepperoni slices. It comes out saucy and cheesy, with a melted, golden top. It is an easy weeknight dinner where everything bakes in one pan, and it serves 8.
How to make it: Cook the rotini, brown the beef with Italian seasoning and garlic powder, and stir it all together with the marinara and 2 cups of mozzarella. Bake at 375°F for 15 minutes, add the cheese and pepperoni on top, and bake 10 to 15 minutes more.
Why You’ll Love It
- Pizza flavors, pasta dinner: pepperoni, marinara and melted mozzarella with tender rotini and seasoned beef.
- Few dishes: one pot, one skillet, one mixing bowl and a single 9×13.
- Under an hour: 25 minutes of prep and 30 minutes in the oven.
- Feeds a crowd: a full box of pasta and a pound of beef fill the whole pan.
Ingredient Notes
Rotini: One 16-ounce box. Spiral pasta or cavatappi work the same way, and so do shells; almost any pasta shape works.
Ground beef: One pound, seasoned in the skillet with Italian seasoning, garlic powder and kosher salt, then drained.
Pepperoni: A 6-ounce package. Chop most of it for the pasta mixture and keep 20 whole slices to lay on top.
Pepper and onion: One green bell pepper and one small onion, both finely diced. If you prefer, cook the onion with the beef in the skillet instead of stirring it in raw.
Marinara: 36 ounces of your favorite jarred or homemade marinara. The sauce section below covers pizza sauce and other swaps.
Mozzarella: 3 cups shredded. Two cups go into the pasta and one cup goes on top.
Ingredients
- 16 ounces rotini pasta (1 box)
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 ounces pepperoni (1 package), all but 20 whole slices chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, finely diced
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 36 ounces marinara sauce
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided (2 cups in the mix, 1 cup on top)
How to Make Pizza Pasta Casserole
1. Heat the oven. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set it aside.
2. Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the rotini according to the package directions. Drain it in a colander, but do not rinse it.
3. Brown the beef. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook and crumble the ground beef with the Italian seasoning, garlic powder and kosher salt until it is no longer pink and reaches 160°F. Drain the excess grease from the pan.
4. Mix. In a large mixing bowl, combine the drained rotini, the beef mixture, the chopped pepperoni (save the 20 whole slices for the top), bell pepper, onion, marinara sauce and 2 cups of the mozzarella. Stir until everything is well combined.
5. Bake. Pour the pasta mixture into the prepared dish, spread it out evenly and bake for 15 minutes.
6. Top and finish. Take the dish out of the oven, sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella over the top and lay the 20 whole pepperoni slices on it. Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the center reaches 165°F.
Which Sauce to Use, and How Much
Marinara, spaghetti sauce and pizza sauce all work. Here is how much of each to use, and for which pan.
| Sauce | How much | For |
|---|---|---|
| Marinara, jarred or homemade | 36 ounces | 16 ounces rotini and 1 pound beef in a 9×13 |
| Marinara | 3 cups | 1 pound pasta, no beef (the skillet bake below) |
| Pizza sauce plus water | 14-ounce jar plus 3/4 cup water | 3 cups dry rotini and 1 pound beef in a 9×9 or 11×7 |
Marinara is the easy pick. Store-bought marinara or any jarred spaghetti sauce works, and so does homemade. Use all 36 ounces in the 9×13; the 3 cups are for a pound of pasta with no beef.
Pizza sauce works too. Stir 3/4 cup of water into a 14-ounce jar before it meets the pasta. That amount suits a smaller batch: 3 cups of rotini, measured before cooking, and a pound of beef in a 9×9 or 11×7 dish. Bake that pan covered at 350°F for 20 minutes, then uncovered 5 to 10 minutes until the cheese is fully melted, and check the center as in step 6.
Season a plain sauce. For the 3-cup skillet bake, cook 4 cloves of minced garlic in 3 tablespoons of olive oil until fragrant. Add 3 cups of marinara, 1 tablespoon of dried oregano, 2 teaspoons of chopped basil, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper, and let it simmer briefly.
Extra sauce at the table. Warm and season a second jar of marinara and spoon it over each plate with grated Parmesan.
Tips for Success
Why does it turn out greasy?
Pepperoni gives off fat, and too much can leave the dish swimming in it. Microwave the pepperoni you are chopping for a few minutes to render some of the fat out before it goes in, and keep the 20 top slices whole. Drain the beef well, too.
Variations
- Supreme: stir in canned mushrooms (drained, squeezed and blotted, then roughly chopped) and half a can of sliced black olives, and scatter chopped pickled jalapeños over the top with the last cup of cheese.
- Different cheese: use 2 cups of mozzarella and 1 cup of shredded Fontina, or use 2 cups of Italian cheese blend in place of the 2 cups of mozzarella in the mix, and keep the mozzarella for the top.
- Layered in a skillet, no beef: toss a pound of cooked cavatappi with 3 cups of marinara. Use 3 cups of cheese (2 cups mozzarella and 1 cup Fontina), half in each layer: spread half the pasta in a 10-inch cast iron pan, sprinkle with half the cheese, add the rest of the pasta and cheese, cover with 6 ounces of thinly sliced pepperoni and bake at 375°F for 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and golden, then check the center as in step 6.
Storage & Reheating
USDA FSIS says to refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in shallow, covered containers and eat them within 3 to 4 days, or freeze them for 3 to 4 months. Thaw frozen casserole in the refrigerator. Cover it to reheat in the oven or microwave until it reaches 165°F; straight from the freezer it takes about one and a half times as long. Don’t reheat it in a slow cooker.
What to Serve With It
Serve it with slices of buttered French bread, warmed in the oven until the butter melts and the crust is lightly crisp, and a salad. For the same pizza flavors in a crust, make pizza casserole pie, or go for the classic school pizza. More pasta bakes to try next: baked mostaccioli, slow cooker baked ziti, million dollar spaghetti casserole and a dump-and-bake meatball casserole that goes into the oven with uncooked pasta.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is pizza pasta casserole?
It is baked pasta with the flavors of pizza: pasta tossed with sauce, pizza toppings such as pepperoni, and melted cheese, all baked in one pan.
How do you make pizza pasta easy?
Use store-bought marinara and skip the mixing bowl. Put the drained pasta straight into the greased dish, pour the sauce, beef, chopped pepperoni, bell pepper and onion over it and stir to coat, then stir in the first 2 cups of mozzarella lightly before the first bake.
Can the pasta be cooked ahead?
Yes. Cook and drain it the day before and keep it in the refrigerator, then mix and bake the casserole when you are ready. Fridge-cold pasta can need longer in the oven, so bake until the center reaches the temperature in step 6.
Can Italian sausage replace the ground beef?
Yes. Use a pound of mild or hot Italian sausage in place of the beef, and brown, crumble and drain it the same way.
Final Notes
Finish each plate with chopped fresh basil and a little grated Parmesan. If you have a question or make this, tell me how it turned out in the comments.
Pizza Pasta Casserole
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Ingredients
- 16 ounces rotini pasta 1 box
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 ounces pepperoni 1 package; chop all but 20 whole slices, which go on top
- 1 green bell pepper finely diced
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 36 ounces marinara sauce
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese shredded, divided (2 cups in the mix, 1 cup on top)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set it aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the rotini according to the package directions. Drain it in a colander, but do not rinse it.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook and crumble the ground beef with the Italian seasoning, garlic powder and kosher salt until it is no longer pink and reaches 160°F. Drain the excess grease from the pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the drained rotini, the beef mixture, the chopped pepperoni (save the 20 whole slices for the top), bell pepper, onion, marinara sauce and 2 cups of the mozzarella. Stir until everything is well combined.
- Pour the pasta mixture into the prepared dish, spread it out evenly and bake for 15 minutes.
- Take the dish out of the oven, sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella over the top and lay the 20 whole pepperoni slices on it. Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the center reaches 165°F.
