An easy pizza inspired pasta casserole featuring a delicious garlic breadstick lattice topping!
With my mother being Korean, I grew up eating mostly rice and Kimchi. My favorite meals are various noodles, soups and BBQ meats.
If you would have asked me what a casserole was prior to high school, I probably would have replied that it was some sort of tool?
I’ve actually never baked or eaten a casserole in my life. It’s true! So I was sort of winging it with this recipe (it happens often), but that’s part of the beauty of a casserole or pasta bake.
Turns out they are very forgiving in how they come together and it’s pretty hard to screw one up.
So if you’re that person that always says “I don’t cook” – I promise you, you CAN cook this dish and it will be a fast family favorite.
So after a few swipes through Pinterest for inspiration, and keeping in mind my husband Ben’s love for pizza, I came up with this easy pizza pasta bake recipe.
It may not be what grandma would consider a traditional casserole, but it’s quick and easy and great for back to school.
What can I use if I don’t have a casserole dish?
Baking dishes tend to be that one item that somehow ends up in our kitchen but we aren’t really sure how they got there.
I have this one amazing glass casserole dish with a snap on lid (OMG don’t buy one without this!!) that I use, but can’t for the life of me tell where it came from.
If you don’t already have a set of glass baking dishes, don’t fret. You can substitute a baking pan, Dutch oven or even a stove-top frying pan could be used.
Just be sure to check (it will usually say on the bottom) that it can be used in the oven and up to what temperature is recommended.
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Can I substitute ingredients?
Another really great thing about casseroles or pasta bakes is that they can easily be tailored to your preferences without really compromising on how it turns out.
So YES, you can substitute pretty much any ingredient. Here are some substitution ideas:
Pasta
Just grab whatever you have in your cupboard. Elbow, bowtie or penne will all work. This is also a great opportunity to switch in a healthier alternative like wheat or vegetable based pasta because there is so much flavor with the large variety of other ingredients.
Meat
Feel free to substitute in ground beef, turkey, cubed (browned) chicken, kielbasa, shrimp, or even just go meatless!
Pizza Sauce
Your favorite pasta sauce is fine. If you’re out of red sauce but have some crushed tomatoes or tomato paste, you can use this too. Just be sure to season it with your favorite herbs and salt/pepper to taste first (basically make your own pasta sauce from scratch).
If you aren’t a fan of marinara or red sauce, you could turn this into creamy Alfredo bake too!
If you want something really simple, you could also just use olive oil and garlic.
Veggies
Feel free to leave any of these out and put in your favorites instead. Just think of your favorite pizza and try to mimic the toppings!
My son went crazy over this when I made it like a Hawaiian Pizza with ham and pineapple.
Cheese
If you don’t have the traditional blend of pizza cheeses, you can get by with just shredded mozzarella here.
Need a gluten-free pizza recipe? Our Guilt Free Chicken Crust Pizza Recipe is a Game Changer!
Ingredients
- 16 ounce package of rigatoni pasta
- 1/2 pound Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
- 1 jar (14 oz) pizza sauce
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 brown mushrooms, sliced
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 4 ounces pepperoni
- 1 package (2 cups) Italian 4 cheese blend, shredded
- 9 basil leaves, fresh
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 can refrigerated breadstick dough
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
Instructions
- Cook pasta as directed on package, minus 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Saute 1 tbsp butter, onion, 2 cloves garlic and brown mushrooms about 3 minutes. Add tomato and saute for another 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and mix in pizza sauce and 3 ounces of pepperoni. Set aside.
- Place about half of the pasta in the bottom of a large baking dish. Spoon about half of your sauce mixture evenly over pasta. Cover evenly with about half of your cheese.
- Layer the rest of the pasta and then the rest of the sauce. Add layer of basil leaves before topping with rest of the cheese. Add the last 1 ounce of pepperoni to top and sprinkle with Italian seasoning.
- Cover in foil and bake in a preheated 350F for 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven and remove foil. Create criss cross lattice with breadstick dough and then brush generously with melted butter plus garlic mixture.
- Bake at 375F until the cheese has melted and the breadsticks start to turn golden brown (about 18 minutes).
TIP: If you’d like to make this without the breadsticks, simply bake in foil for 25 mins and then remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes, til cheese is golden brown.
Pepperoni Pizza Casserole with Garlic Breadstick Lattice Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 ounce package of rigatoni pasta
- ½ pound Italian turkey sausage casings removed
- 1 jar pizza or pasta sauce 14 oz
- 1 tbsp butter
- ½ onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 brown mushrooms sliced
- 2 tomatoes chopped
- 4 ounces pepperoni
- 2 cups Italian 4 cheese blend shredded
- 9 basil leaves fresh
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 can refrigerated breadstick dough
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp butter melted
Instructions
- Cook pasta as directed on package, minus 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Saute 1 tbsp butter, onion, 2 cloves garlic and brown mushrooms about 3 minutes. Add tomato and saute for another 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and mix in pizza sauce and 3 ounces of pepperoni. Set aside.
- Place about half of the pasta in the bottom of a large baking dish. Spoon about half of your sauce mixture evenly over pasta. Cover evenly with about half of your cheese.
- Layer the rest of the pasta and then the rest of the sauce. Add layer of basil leaves before topping with rest of the cheese. Add the last 1 ounce of pepperoni to top and sprinkle with Italian seasoning.
- Cover in foil and bake in a preheated 350F for 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven and remove foil. Create criss cross lattice with breadstick dough and then brush generously with melted butter plus garlic mixture.
- Bake at 375F until the cheese has melted and the breadsticks start to turn golden brown (about 18 minutes).
This recipe looks very tasty. Thanks for sharing!
This looks so good! I can’t wait to try it! Thank you!
YUMM! Looks delicious, Jeana!
I agree, I’m currently trying to talk her into making it for me – recipes taste better when you don’t have to make them yourself. ;)