Meat Lovers Pizza Casserole is essentially a deconstructed pizza baked in a casserole dish, providing a hearty and comforting meal. Cooked pasta, marinara sauce, Italian sausage, pepperoni, a little garlic, and some mozzarella cheese are all baked together until heated through and the cheese is melted. This weeknight meal has minimal ingredients, is simple to make, and is definitely a dinner that all will enjoy!
Meat lovers pizza casserole will become your new weekly weeknight meal for several reasons. Not only does it taste just like a hearty meaty pizza, but it comes together in just 30 minutes. The ingredients are minimal and cheap making this meal easy and budget friendly. It can also be made ahead of time and then baked right before dinner making meal planning incredibly easy. This dinner is also kid friendly given that most kiddos enjoy pasta dishes. I purchase mild Italian sausage so it’s not too spicy, but ground beef can be a great substitute if needed!
As mentioned above, the ingredients are minimal for this recipe!
- Box of pasta – any short cut pasta will do.
- Italian sausage – Italian sausage has so much flavor already packed into it which is why I love to cook with it. It adds salt and tons of other spice flavors like oregano and fennel to the recipe. It’s also cheap!
- Bag of pepperoni – This recipe has to have pepperoni because it’s a meat lovers recipe, right? The salty slightly spicy bite is the perfect addition. I love how the pepperoni looks on top of the casserole as well!
- 2 jars of marinara sauce – Any flavor will do. I typically use a traditional one to keep things simple, but feel free to use your favorite jarred pasta sauce.
- Shredded mozzarella cheese – Mozzarella melts beautiful and is mild enough allowing all the other flavors to shine.
- Minced garlic (not pictured) – I like to add garlic just for that extra touch of flavor. However, most jarred marina sauces already have garlic in them so it definitely can be left out if needed.
- sauté sausage and garlic
- add marinara sauce
- boil pasta and add meat sauce, cheese and pepperoni
- pour into baking dish
- top with cheese and pepperoni then bake
As you can see this recipe is incredibly easy to make! All that’s required is to cook the sausage with a bit of garlic, boil some noodles and then dump everything together and bake! My family truly enjoys this recipe and I’ve been making it for years. Weeknight meals can sometimes be difficult and time consuming to make, but this recipe is the opposite of that. You will have dinner ready in just 30 minutes and again, it can be made ahead of time and baked right before dinner!
- Do not over boil the noodles otherwise they will become mushy. I boil mine for about 8 minutes and then they will continue to cook in the oven.
- Prepare all of the ingredients and utencils ahead of time so you don’t miss anything. I like to go through the recipe first and then get everything I need out before I start cooking. This prevents mistakes and makes the cooking process run smoothly.
- If your family doesn’t like Italian sausage, you can use ground beef instead. I suggest seasoning it with a tablespoon of Italian seasoning and a teaspoon of salt. You could also use ground turkey or chicken as well. You can also do a combination of Italian sausage and ground beef.
- Provolone cheese and parmesan cheese would be nice cheesses to incorporate if you want a sharper cheese flavor.
And there you have it. Everything you need to know about Meat Lovers Pizza Casserole! If you have any questions, please leave me a comment! I’d be happy to help you in any way I can! Enjoy!
Yield: 6
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Ingredients
- 2, 24 ounce jars traditional pasta sauce
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1, 16 ounce box rigatoni pasta
- 1, 12 ounce bag shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 bag pepperoni
- 2 tablespoons Olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Drizzle olive oil in a large saute pan and place over medium heat. Add sausage and cook until browned. Next add minced garlic and sauté for an additional minute; set aside until pasta is done.
- While sausage is browning, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta for 8 minutes - the pasta should be well under-cooked. Drain pasta and put back into the large pot.
- Count out 18 pepperoni and place to the side. Take the leftover pepperoni and cut it into chunks.
- To the pot of drained pasta add the browned sausage and garlic, two jars pasta Sauce, sliced pepperoni, and a handful of mozzarella cheese and stir.
- Put pasta into a 9x13 dish, top with remaining mozzarella cheese and pepperoni slices. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and pepperoni is crispy.
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Reader Interactions
Comments
R LHave you ever cooked this in a crockpot instead of the oven?
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- Jessica Erin
I have not, but I don’t see why you couldn’t!
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- Krystal
Hi!
My sister recommended this recipe to me. I was wondering if you could make a printer friendly version??Reply
- Jessica Erin
Is there not an icon near the recipe you can click on?
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- Rose
I was just wondering why aren’t your images popping up all I see is says meat lover pizza casserole #
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- Jessica Erin
Hi Rose – thank you for notifying me. I’ll have to look into that.
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- Krystal
No there is no print icon
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- Jane
I made this casserole with my two grandsons tonight. It was fun having them help me and the casserole was nummy delicious! Thank you for this recipe. I will be making it again.
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- Jessica Erin
you’re welcome!
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- Linda
In the oven now. Added onions, green pepper, jalapeños and mushrooms while cooking the meat. I also seasoned with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
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- Jessica Erin
yum!
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- Leo Perez
Hi Jessica, how many people does this serve?
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- Jessica Erin
Hi Leo – I would say 4-6. If you serve with a salad and some bread then 6 if you’re just serving this, then 4.
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- Lynn
I just had this at a luncheon for a church service. This is outstanding! I couldn’t stop eating it. Delish!
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- Jessica Erin
wonderful!
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- Krissy
Can this be frozen and cooked later?
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- Jessica ErinSee Also"Beefy" Vegan Lentil Loaf
yes!
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I just made this and everyone loved it! This recipe is easy to follow and the results are amazing!
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- Jessica Erin
Glad you liked it!
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- Cindy Hartley
It would be really helpful if you would put the size/ounces of the ingredients.
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- Jessica Erin
Hi Cindy – I added size/ounce!
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- Jen Mitchell
I just made this and it’s a hit! I’d do some minor tweeking when I make it again. Add some spices like Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. I did use generic pasta sauce and regular sausage so that could have been the difference. I would boil pasta a few minutes longer, came out too Al dente for me. And add more cheese!! It was pretty awesome as is though. Don’t be scared, try it!
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- Jessica Erin
Yum!! Glad you liked it!
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- Cindy Hermes
Are you using an 8 oz bag of mozzarella or 16 oz?
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- Jessica Erin
Hi Cindy! It doesn’t really matter, the more cheese the better in my eyes. It’s really as much as you want it. If you were trying to lighten it up, I would use an 8 ounce bag. Enjoy!
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- Ann
What size jar of Prego?
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- Jessica Erin
1.8 pounds. It may also say 24 ounces.
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- Ann
Thank you.
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- Jayne
This looks delish! I can’t wait to give it a try. I do have a question for you. What size size bag of pepperoni do you use?
Thanks for posting this recipe. Looks like a keeper.Reply
- Jessica Erin
Hi Jayne! It’s very good and very easy to make! Just purchase a small bag of pepperoni – you can use as little or as much as you like in the recipe. Enjoy!
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- Joann
Hi Jessica Erin, this looks delicious and I cannot wait to try it. I do have a couple of questions 1) How many will this serve? and 2) Can this be frozen? If so would you freeze before or after cooking? Thanks so much for a delicious recipe. 🙂
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- Jessica Erin
Thanks Joann! I would freeze before cooking. It makes a 9×13 pan so depending on who you’re cooking for, it will serve about 6. For example, my husband could eat half of it probably so if you’re cooking for adults I would say 6. If you’re cooking for little kiddos, between 6-8. Enjoy!
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- Tom
Awesome stuff. I added fresh baby portabella shrooms and black olives. Nice touch
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- Jessica Erin
thanks tom! glad you liked it – mushrooms and olives are a great addition!
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Oh, and don't forget to save room for dessert... more about me
I'm Jessica Erin and I am the recipe developer, photographer, and writer behind stuckonsweet.com! You will find a little of everything including healthy meals, comfort food, and my favorite - sweets. So stay awhile...I hope you're hungry!
