Why I love this recipe:

Meat lovers pizza casserole will become a regular in your weeknight dinner rotation. It has all the bold, hearty flavors you love in pizza, but in an easy, comforting casserole form that’s ready in just 30 minutes. If your family enjoys cozy, crowd-pleasing meals like creamy Italian sausage pasta, spaghetti casserole, or a warm bowl of Italian sausage soup, this recipe fits right in. It even works for slower mornings or make-ahead meals, much like my egg and sausage breakfast casserole. The ingredients are simple and can be prepped ahead and baked right before dinner. It’s also completely kid-approved – no need to make a second meal. Thank goodness!

The ingredients:

Here is a list of all the ingredients you’ll need to make this pizza casserole with a few notes about each one.

• 1 pound short cut pasta – any kind will do! I typically use Penne or Rigatoni.
• Italian sausage – I like to use Italian sausage in this pizza casserole. It offers a ton of flavor. It’s also cheap! If you don’t want to use sausage, ground beef is a great substitute.
• 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’s not absolutely necessary.

Recommended Product

Deep Casserole Dish

This 9×13 inch casserole dish is perfect for hearty casseroles. it makes layering and serving simple and stress-free!

Tips for Success:

• Do not over boil the noodles otherwise they will become mushy. I boil mine for about 8 minutes. Thy will continue to cook in the oven. 
• Prepare all of the ingredients and utensils ahead of time. 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. 

Substitutions:

• 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.
• Provolone cheese and parmesan cheese would be nice cheesses to incorporate if you want a sharper cheese flavor.