This pepperoni pizza pasta bake is an easy meal that takes minimal prep and ingredients. Combining your favorite pizza flavors into a cheesy pizza pasta bake is a fun and delicious way to switch up the weekly dinner rotations.
We love pizza and pasta so combining the two into an easy weeknight meal was a no-brainer. We love how versatile and easy this pizza pasta casserole is to make, and we always customize it to our tastebuds.
Adding in cooked sausage, onions, bell peppers, or other pizza toppings helps to make the dish unique every time. Not to mention that it helps to use up random odds and ends in our fridge, haha.
Customize your pizza pasta to your tastes, and let me know what you added using the comments below because I love hearing new ideas! Also, make sure to let me know if you try some of our other pizza recipes too!
Why This Recipe Works
- It's easy. Cook your noodles, mix them with some stuff and bake until the cheese is bubbly. This dish can even be prepared in advance for an easier dinner!
- It's frugal. If you're looking for a filling dinner recipe that doesn't cost much, this could be it. I personally buy many of the ingredients from our local Dollar Tree or Walmart because I can grab everything pretty cheaply.
- The kids love it! What child doesn't love pizza or spaghetti? This recipe is a delicious mash-up of two great favorites, so you can bet that they're going to clean their plates and ask for more.
🥘 Ingredients
Mozzarella cheese- For that added cheesy goodness you'd expect from a pizza. Note that any cheese you shred yourself will melt nicer than pre-shredded cheeses.
Penne noodles- Any noodle shape will work fine, but we always like the penne pasta when we cook this recipe.
Sliced olives- If you like black olives, make sure to grab a can of sliced black olives to add to your pizza pasta.
Pizza sauce- Use your favorite pizza sauce or marinara in this recipe. Homemade pizza sauce works fine too.
Mini pepperoni- Regular pepperoni works well too, but they're too large, so that means that they won't be as evenly spread throughout the pasta. If I'm using bigger pepperoni, I usually quarter them with a knife before using it.
For the exact amounts needed, please see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
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🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make pepperoni pizza pasta bake with these simple step-by-step instructions:
Cook your noodles according to package directions and drain the liquid. Return your noodles to the pot.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9x13 baking dish. Set the dish aside.
Toss your cooked pasta with pizza sauce until well mixed.
Add in 1 cup of cheese, some pepperoni, and your sliced olives. Stir to combine.
Spread the noodles into the prepared baking dish.
Top the noodles with the remaining cheese and toppings.
Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
🍴 Recipe Tips
You can make this pizza pasta bake using any noodle shape desired. We prefer penne, rigatoni, or rotini but even elbow noodles or broken-up spaghetti noodles could work well.
Just make sure to cook them to "al dente" according to their specific package instructions as you won't want them mushy before mixing and cooking. Keeping the noodles al dente before cooking will allow them to soften as they absorb the sauce and bake in the oven.
You can use large pepperoni if desired, I recommend quartering them before mixing them into the pasta so that they aren't too large when chewing through your food.
💭 FAQs
Yes, this pizza pasta can be made in advance. Simply prep it in the baking dish as directed and then cover the top with foil or plastic wrap. Place in the fridge and chill for up to 2 days before removing and baking as directed. Allow the pan to warm up for about 30 minutes on the counter before baking to avoid going from cold to hot too fast and possibly damaging your baking dish. You may need to extened the baking time a little bit depending on how cold the pasta was when baked. The cheese should be melted throughout.
After being cooked, you can store your leftover pizza pasta in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. For best results, eat within 3 and reheat before eating.
More great pasta recipes to try
- Grilled Spaghetti Squash with Bolognese Sauce
- Lemon Garlic Butter Pasta
- Pineapple Teriyaki Yakisoba Noodles
- Instant Pot Chicken Spaghetti
- Southern Baked Spaghetti
- Cream Cheese Alfredo Sauce
📖 Recipe
Pizza Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup Mozzarella cheese ($1.30)
- 16 oz Penne noodles ($0.78)
- 1 can (2.25oz) Sliced olives ($1.47)
- 1 jar (14oz) Pizza sauce ($1.14)
- ¼ cup Mini pepperoni ($0.28)
optional pizza toppings
- Green bell pepper
- Onion
- Italian sausage cooked and crumbled
Instructions
- In a large pot of water cook your noodles according to package directions. Drain liquid and return noodles to pot.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Toss with the pizza sauce until well mixed.
- Add in 1 cup of cheese, some pepperoni and olives. Stir to combine.
- Spread the noodle mixture into your prepared baking dish.
- Top with the remaining cheese, pepperoni, and olives.
- Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.
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