The Best Pizza Casserole Recipe – Oven and Crock Pot Versions
This pizza casserole recipe is a family favorite in our household. It’s not hard to learn how to make a pasta pizza – you can make this pizza casserole with rotini noodles, penne pasta, or bow tie pasta. It is easily customizable – from being a simple hamburger pizza bake to a supreme pizza with all the fixins‘, this is sure to become a family favorite for you, too! This post has instructions for both an oven pizza casserole and crock pot pizza casserole.
Pepperoni Pizza Casserole
I can’t believe that I’ve been sharing recipes for over a year, and I haven’t shared one of my all-time favorite casseroles — pizza casserole. It’s such a simple, yet delicious, meal, and I would have it every week if I could! It’s perfect for taking to parties, and easy to customize to your favorite flavors. It’s similar to my pizetti recipe, but I much prefer this one. I don’t know what it is, but I absolutely love it!
So today, I’m finally sharing this delicious, sausage and pepperoni pizza casserole recipe with all of you. And not only am I sharing the recipe for the oven version, but for a crock pot pizza casserole as well!
I’ll start with the oven version (because that’s my favorite!)
It’s very simple to throw together, and it has some great flavor. I always like using bow tie pasta or penne, but that’s up to you. I would recommend using a small pasta like one of those, rather than something like linguine or spaghetti noodles.
I always like using a spaghetti sauce that has lots of vegetables in it, such as Ragu.
I’ve seen some pizza casserole recipes that have ham in them…but I don’t like ham, so this one just has sausage and pepperoni (and some other yummy ingredients, like mushrooms, onions, and peppers…though those are optional).
This casserole can easily be frozen (I would just cover it when you freeze it, and then take it out about 12-24 hours before you want to cook it and put in the fridge) and is perfect for potlucks and parties!
Sausage and Pepperoni Pizza Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound Italian Sausage
- 1 Jar spaghetti sauce
- oregano
- basil
- garlic
- 20 pepperonis
- 1/4 cup onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup green or red pepper
- 1 1/2 cups penne
- 1 cup mozzarella
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta until done.
- Cook sausage in large pan, drain of excess grease, and put back in pan.
- Add spaghetti sauce, oregano, basil, garlic, onion, and peppers to the pan as well. Mix well and set to simmer.
- Sprinkle parmesan cheese on the bottom of a 9x13 pan.
- Place a layer of noodles, then layer sauce on top of that. Place about 1/2 cup of mozzarella on top of that. Repeat.
- On top of the final layer of cheese, place a layer of pepperonis.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes.
- baket at 350 for 20-25 minutes
Other Casseroles You May Enjoy:
Originally published in 2014; updated in 2019
And in case you’ve missed this recipe, these easy garlic knots go perfectly with this meal!
What size Ragu? How many ounces? My grocery store carries 3 sizes!!!
24 ounces 🙂
Hi Katie, do you cook it before freezing? Or freeze it and cook from frozen?
I freeze it uncooked 🙂
Ever tried garlic bread casserole? It’s really good
Why do the amounts and ingredients differ between the crockpot version and the oven version? (I.e. 1 1/2 cups pasta vs 2 cups pasta, 1/4 cup peppers vs 1/2 cup peppers, Italian seasoning vs oregano basil and garlic, etc.) Just wondering if that is intentional before I make it. Also, at what point do you add the seasonings to the oven version?
I’m not sure if I had an actual reason – those are just the amounts I used when I made them. I would add the seasonings to the sauce when doing the oven version.
This was a test recipe for Wednesday night church meal. I tripled the recipe and told everyone it was a test to see if they liked it. I would of known they did when the youth were back for seconds and thirds. Even the grown ups loved it. I am passing on your recipe to several woman in the church. A+ in my ?.
I’m so glad everyone loved it!
How many do you think this serves?
I would say one pan can serve probably six people, maybe more depending on the appetites and ages 🙂
Can you make this up ahead of time and bake a few days later?
I don’t see why not!
I plan to use both methods simultaneously. My crockpot casserole cooker needs more recipes an this looks like a winner. Maybe no-cook lasagna noodles on the bottom? Gotta think about that!
Sounds like a great idea!
I made this for three men, four children(under 10), and me! Everyone gave it high marks!! Could I have permission to share it in written form with my ladies’ group at church? I would also include your website address so that they can find more of your recipes. Thanks for considering it.
Hi Carol! I’m so glad everyone loved it. You are more than welcome to share it in printed form at church – I’m always happy when people want to share my recipes. Thank you for asking!
Hi Katie, Just saw the recipe for the Pizza Casserole and it looks delicious. I do have a question it may be a dumb one for some, but I just want to be sure I get the right stuff. What kind of Italian Sausage do you use? It looks like the “ground” but just want to be sure so I can go it the stuff and make it. We love pizza in our home and eat it quite often. 🙂 Thanks so much.
Hi! This is one of our favorite meals. I just buy the roll of Jimmy Dean (or similiar) sausage for the store – cook and crumble. Let me know if you like it!
What are the measurements for the spices in the oven version?
You know, I really just do a few shakes of each until it tastes right, but I would say probably 1 teaspoon of each should do it
Homemade Pizza is one of my favorite dishes. I like this Pizza casserole and it looks easy to make. Thanks for sharing! I think I will make the Crockpot version.
Let me know how you like it!