Pizza Casserole is the best of both worlds: pizza + casserole. It's perfect to get your family to eat more veggies. It's also really tasty!
This pizza casserole & I go way back...
It was one of the first dinner recipes I ever cooked for my family back in high school. It's from an old Weight Watchers 5 Ingredient, 15 Minute cookbook from 2002.
I remember driving to the grocery store and trying to find all the ingredients and feeling a little overwhelmed & confused
I could not, for the life of me, find tomato sauce in a 16 oz. jar that was chunky. Back then I was pretty determined to follow the recipe exactly. My how things have changed...
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But I think I just ended up using an entire 24 oz. jar, and it was a little too saucy with a soggy-ish crust. Eh...
What I should have done {which I ended up doing the next time} is just measure out 2 cups and save the rest for another day when I wanted to make some pasta.
This pizza casserole is also a recipe I used in college for cooking demonstrations to local schools {along with this pumpkin soup - which was a huge hit!}
One problem was that when I sent the grocery list to the lady at the school, she apparently did not read my list very carefully because she accidentally bought pizza crust not pizza dough.
Talk about awkward when you're trying to demonstrate how to prepare a casserole with a baked pizza crust. {You'll see what I mean when you're making this - because you will be making this, right?}
I am cringing with second-hand embarrassment for my 20-year-old self.
Either way, everyone still loved the pizza casserole, and how could you not?! A casserole that tastes like pizza... You can't really go wrong with something like that.
Unlike the original recipe, this does have more than 5 ingredients, but the ingredients I added only add more flavor & nutritional value {I added veggies, obviously!}
I used onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms because that's what I typically put on my pizza, but use whatever you want. If you don't like mushrooms, leave them out and use two bell peppers. Or vice versa. Whateva works
This is also a great way to get your kids to eat veggies.
If they're picky, dice them really small. Or if they are super picky, then just leave them out. At least the tomato sauce counts as a veggie, so you're getting something nutritious in them!
This casserole does serve 6, and I've never tried cutting the recipe in half because I am not sure how that would really work. Just freeze the leftovers in an airtight container.
You can make your own dough or look for prepared dough in your grocery store's deli or freezer section. Just don't buy the already baked crusts - like I mentioned earlier... it just doesn't work
Pizza Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 medium green bell pepper diced
- 8 oz mushrooms sliced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon salt-free Italian seasoning or dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 cups pasta sauce or pizza sauce
- 12 oz whole grain pizza dough not baked crust - you want unbaked dough
- 5 ounces mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spray a 13x9 baking dish with non-stick spray.
- In a large, deep skillet or a Dutch oven, brown the beef with the onion and bell pepper over medium/medium-high heat. Once the beef is cooked, drain any grease.
- Add the mushrooms & garlic, and saute for about 5 minutes.
- Stir in salt, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and pasta sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Take the pizza dough and press it into the prepared baking dish, making sure to push the dough about halfway up the sides of the baking dish.
- Spoon the ground beef mixture onto the pizza dough. Bake uncovered for 12 minutes.
- Sprinkle with cheese, then baked another 5-8 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and crust is lightly browned. Let side about 5-10 minutes before cutting & serving. Enjoy!
Notes
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This post was originally published March 6th, 2013. Recipe & photos have been updated
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