Deep Dish Pizza Casserole
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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
Another hit!!! You are gonna have to come and cook for some of theese Military people here at Andrews.. All of your recipes are a hit so far.Thank you for your website.Blessing’s .Ann
Absolutely friggin delicious!!!!!!!!!!! Cooked one up and am doing everything I can not to to consume the whole pizza! Thank you, easy, fast, delicious….. Nom Nom Nom……
Ben
This looks great!
I have to ask, why is the cheese on the bottom instead of on top of the meat?
Have you ever switched it?
Thanks!
The cheese melts together and forms a layer on the bottom that holds the meat in and the piece together when you cut it and remove it from the pan. You can put the cheese on top, but then you’d have a lot of loose meat and you’d have to scoop it all out, it wouldn’t hold its shape like it does normally.
Hope this helps!
Christy:)
I was wondering about this, too. I had all the ingredients for this and I made it for supper tonight. I almost put the cheese on top of the meat but I thought I’d better just follow the recipe. You SURELY knew what you were doing. And you DID! I took the pizza out of the oven and let it set for about 10 minutes on the counter and then I cut it and it cut beautifully. Barely any meat fell out. It was awesome! My family loved it, by the way. I will have to make it again soon! Thanks again, Christy!
Yes this does help.
thank you!
OK so I made this and the kids were crazy about it!
Thank you!!!
Can you tell me why there is no leaving agent in the batter? What if I were to add 1 tsp of soda? What would happen? Or what would happen if I double the crust ingredients?
thanks!!!
ok that is leavening agent-cant spell either-lol
i can’t wait for my husband to get back in town, so i can make this.
Have everything I need. Was wondering what for dinner and I have just found it. Found your site by accident a couple weeks ago and love it. Keep up the great work and the great recipes.
That looks really good Christy. I saw something similar on foodnetwork the other day. She had sausage and mushrooms in it and the crust is a bit different. I think my family would prefer your version better. Got it down on my menu for next month.
This looks like one of those “impossible” pies that you used to see on that unnameable box of mix. But this looks much better. By the way, your pork chop recipe was a hit. I like the spice and my other half gobbled it up and I got a “please make this again” request. This will be next on the list once I get to feelin better.