Pepperoni Pizza Casserole
I have been a stalker fan of Kevin from Closet Cooking for ages… First of all, he’s a guy and he can cook. Not to go all Jerry Maguire on you Kevin, but you had me at hello… or in this case, you had me at Pizza Dip. The Pizza Dip was the first recipe I ever saw on Closet Cooking and I thought it was genius… it’s totally something my husband would make if he knew where our kitchen was or what it was used for.
In any event, I’m so excited because Kevin is letting me share one of his recipes here with you guys. It’s pizza themed… because I’m nothing if not sentimental.
And it’s something you’re kids will absolutely eat when you make it for them this weekend!
Is That Delivery??
Pepperoni Pizza Casserole – By Kevin Lynch
When I know that I am going to have a busy week coming up I like to try to make one or two big meals on the weekend that are guaranteed to leave enough leftovers for a second quick meal during the week and casseroles are a great way to accomplish this. One of my favourite casseroles is a pizza casserole, I mean you really cannot go wrong with an ooey gooey melted cheesy casserole with all of the flavours of a pizza! This pizza casserole is a pasta based casserole with pizza sauce or marinara sauce, a cheese mixture of mozzarella, ricotta and parmesan along with your favourite pizza toppings. I often like a nice simple pepperoni, sausage and olive topping in my pizza casserole but you could use any pizza topping combination that you can think of and don’t be afraid to change the pizza sauce up with a different kind of pizza sauce. No matter how you top it, this pizza casserole is going to be tasty! This casserole is as easy to make as cooking the pasta and sausage, mixing everything up and baking it until it is bubbling and golden brown!
Pizza Pasta
Pepperoni Pizza Casserole
A quick and easy pasta casserole with all of the flavours of a pepperoni pizza!
Servings: makes 4-6 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
- 12 ounces pasta
- 1/2 pound Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
- 3 cups (24 ounces) pizza sauce or marinara sauce
- 1/2 cup sliced black olives
- 4 ounces pepperoni
- 8 ounces ricotta
- 2 cups mozzarella, shredded
- 1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano (optional)
Directions
- Cook the pasta as directed on package but stop 3 minutes early, drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, cook the sausage in a large over medium heat, about 10 minutes.
- Mix in the sauce with the sausage and 3/4’s of the olives and pepperoni and set aside.
- Mix the ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan and set aside.
- Place half of the pasta in the bottom of a large baking dish, top with half of the sauce, followed by half of the cheese mixture and repeat with another layer of each, finally topping with the remaining olives, pepperoni and oregano.
- Bake in a preheated 350F oven covered in foil until bubbling at the sides, about 20-30 minutes, remove the foil and bake until the cheese has melted and started to turn golden brown, about 10 minutes.
Tip: Change things up by using your favorite pizza toppings.
Be sure and check out Kevin and more recipes from Closet Cooking on his Facebook and Twitter!!
Dinner is Served
