Finding Joy in My Kitchen: Pizza Casserole

We took our favorite calzone filling and used that as the sauce for this creamy, cheesy pizza casserole.

Whip up the sauce in a skillet in 10 minutes, then pour over pre-cooked pasta, top with cheese and stick it in the oven until it’s browned and bubbly.

A dinner that’s ready in 30 minutes to feed your hungry family.

Pizza Casserole – Finding Joy in My Kitchen

Ingredients

1 (16oz) can tomato sauce
1/4 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. oregano
dash of salt & pepper
4 garlic cloves, mined
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
10 oz. spinach {fresh or frozen}
1 medium bell pepper {green or red; we did both}
7 oz. whole wheat pasta {any shape is fine, we used rotini}
10-12 pepperonis, quartered
1/2 – 3/4 C shredded Mozzarella cheese

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add in the 7 oz (or roughly half a box) of pasta and cook about 10-12 minutes is done to your liking. Then, drain.

Meanwhile, chop up the bell pepper and mushrooms. Feel free to substitute these veggies for ones your family likes better, if that’s the case.

Then, in a large pot, sauté the mushrooms and bell pepper until all the liquid from the mushrooms is evaporated.

Add in the spinach, 4 cloves minced garlic, generous 1/4 tsp. (each) basil & oregano, along with salt & pepper. Stir in the 16 oz. can of tomato sauce.

Toss in the pepperoni.

Bring sauce to a simmer and stir occasionally, simmering until the pasta is done.

Dump the prepared pasta into the skillet with the pizza sauce. Stir until well combined.

If your skillet is oven safe, you’re good to go! If not, transfer the pasta mix into an oven-safe casserole dish. You may do this anyway if you want to have greater surface area for the cheese topping!

Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top, until the top is well covered.

Place the dish into an oven heated to 425. Bake for 5-6 minutes until the cheese is all melty. If you wish to brown it, turn on the broiler for the last minute or so.

{as a side note – my husband got me this new casserole dish for Christmas… love it!}

Use caution with the broiler because the cheese may brown quickly. {Also, if you are using your skillet, make sure it’s safe to use at broiler temperatures!}

Serve warm.

Leftovers reheat nicely, and this is a dish that can be frozen too. Prepare everything up until adding cheese and baking. Instead, freeze. Then, thaw in the fridge, add the cheese and bake at 325-350 degrees for about 1 hour (cover it for the first 30ish minutes to prevent the pasta from drying out) or until the center is warm and cheese is melted.