Deep Dish Pizza Casserole
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This deep dish pizza casserole recipe takes your favorite pizza toppings like ground beef and pizza sauce and transforms them into casserole form, with a delicious deep-dish crust and lots of melted cheese, of course.
Fill your kitchen with mouthwatering irresistible aromas from this deep dish pizza casserole recipe. This is another one of my favorite super easy, quick to throw together, family pleasing, and incredibly delicious meals, originally from my mother’s recipe collection. All we need to do is brown the meat and onion, add the sauce and seasonings, and pour it into a casserole dish along with the crust ingredients and all the cheese. 30 minutes in the oven and it’s ready to serve to your hungry family.
One of the best things about this pizza casserole is how incredibly adaptable it is to whatever ingredients you have on hand! For example, I’ve made it with absolutely no cheese before and it was still delicious. I’ve included lots of suggestions below, but feel free to swap ground beef for ground turkey or sausage, make the pizza sauce from scratch, and throw in your favorite veggie pizza toppings like olives and mushrooms. Let this casserole work for you.
For all of my readers with hungry mouths and teenage boys to feed, get ready for a home run with deep dish pizza casserole!
Recipe Ingredients
- Ground beef
- Pizza sauce
- Italian seasoning
- Onion
- Shredded parmesan cheese
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Flour
- Eggs
- Oil
- Milk
- Salt
How to Make Deep Dish Pizza Casserole
In a large skillet brown your beef and chopped onion.
After that, drain any grease and add any other pizza ingredients you typically enjoy, or just keep it as is, as I do.
Had my entire family (except for me) not been dropped on their heads as children (thereby ruining their ability to tell what is good in food), I would be adding bell pepper and mushrooms now. YUM!
Pour in your pizza sauce and stir.
Spray a 9×13 inch pan with baking spray. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the bottom of the pan. Spread the meat mixture over the mozzarella.
Then it’s time to mix up the pizza crust.
In a medium bowl, place milk, flour, eggs, oil, and salt. Stir until well combined and no lumps remain.
Pour over the meat in the casserole dish and sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. It may not look done but it is.
By now, your kitchen is filled with the most delicious smell of this deep dish pizza casserole. Your kids and spouse have been driving you crazy by asking if it’s done yet, and your stomach has set into a continual growl.
Or maybe that’s just me.
Enjoy your quick and easy casserole!
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Simply reheat in the microwave.
Recipe Notes
- A different way to make this pizza casserole is to add a layer of canned crescent rolls or refrigerated pizza crust dough to the bottom of the casserole dish and then top it with the mozzarella cheese and the meat mixture instead of making your own crust. It should take less time to cook, about 15 minutes.
- Another option is to substitute the pizza crust for cooked pasta, like rotini pasta or penne pasta. This will take about 20 minutes until the cheese melts.
- For added heat, add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes.
Recipe FAQs
What pizza toppings can I add to this deep dish pizza casserole?
You can really add in whatever pizza toppings you like. I tend to keep mine pretty basic because my precious family has no imagination, despite a collective twenty years of effort on my part to change that. However, I will tell you that even basic, this recipe is absolutely delicious and deeply satisfying. Anyway, here are some suggestions:
- Chopped green bell pepper or red bell pepper
- Sliced mushrooms
- Chopped black olives
- A layer of pepperoni on top of the parmesan cheese.
- A combination of ground beef and sausage (spicy Italian sausage would be delicious).
- Ground turkey instead of ground beef
- Homemade pizza sauce
- Different types of cheese, like provolone cheese or sharp cheddar cheese.
- Add 2 minced garlic cloves when you saute the onion and ground beef.
What do you serve with pizza casserole?
I love to just serve my casserole with a simple side salad.
You may also like these pizza recipes:
Barbecue Chicken Pizza, Southern-Style
Air Fryer Pizza Rolls Made From Scratch
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 1 15-ounce jar pizza sauce
- 1-2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Brown ground beef, onion, and bell pepper. Drain well. Add pizza sauce and Italian seasoning. Stir well.2 pounds ground beef, 1 medium onion, chopped, 1 bell pepper, chopped, 1-2 tablespoons Italian seasoning, 1 15-ounce jar pizza sauce
- Grease a 9x13 inch casserole dish with cooking spray. Sprinkle mozzarella over the bottom and spread the meat mixture over the cheese.2 cups mozzarella cheese
- In a mixing bowl, add flour, milk, eggs, oil, and salt. Stir until well mixed and no lumps remain. Pour over the meat in the baking dish.1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup milk, 2 eggs, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 tsp salt
- Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the batter and bake for 30 minutes.1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Nutrition
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
~Abraham Lincoln
Hey that deep dish pizza bake is great, thanks!
I am so glad you liked it Jay!!!!
I added some bacon instead of sausage and used nacho taco cheese mix and some home made sofrito and sazon. I also added dome baking powder to the crust mix. OMG so dang yummy. I used to baking pans 9 X 9 and it it came out perfect …Thank you so much. It is awesomely delicious.
I am so glad you liked it Mindy!!
Christy I have made this so many times in the past 6 months that I finally had to write.
The first time I cooked it I thought no way will I like it…. ha!!!! it now gets made a couple times a month!
I divide the recipe between two small square pans so we all get the toppings we like.
I make it with hamburger, sausage, pepperoni and onion, I split that in half and put in one pan and add mushrooms, tomatoes and green peppers to the other half, the crust gets poured over both and in 30 short minutes we have delicious deep dish pizza.
p.s.
leftovers reheated in microwave the next day taste great and I have also frozen leftovers and they reheat and taste great also.
thanks for sharing your recipes and your family stories
Karen in Kentucky
LOL, I am so glad you and your family like it!!
Heey guys! So I’m 17 and tonight’s my night to make dinner!
WHat did you end up making Jerrica?
Hi, this was a fun recipe to try, thank you. However, I had a hard time reading the recipe as the list of ingredients seems to be in random order. I like ingredients to be listed in the order they are used. It was a lot of work for me to “search and find” the ingredient as I was reading the directions. Also, I was in a hurry, so it made me frustrated. This is the first recipe I’ve tried from your very upbeat food blog. Go Southern gals!
Can this be cooked and then reheated the next day – if possible, oven or microwave for reheating?
I have never tried it that way Linnaea, but the kids like it reheated as a left-over!
I know it’s a long shot that you’ll get this comment and reply in time, but this recipe looks great and I wanted to try it TONIGHT..like in about 30 minutes, but I have a question! I only have 1lb of ground beef at home. If I did it with less meat, would it affect the rest of the recipe ingredient quantities? Would I have to cut the whole recipe in half?? Thanks so much!
Nope. That’ll be fine!
Leave the other quantities as they are 😉
Thank you!!!