Pizza Casserole Recipe by Jen
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I want to tell you a little story about how I came across this Pizza Casserole Recipe.
I was asking myself “what am I going to fix for supper?” That is a question we all ask on a regular basis and I’m certainly not immune to it. I found myself out running errands last week and planned on stopping off at the grocery store on my way home once I had figured out what I was in the mood to cook.
Not a Menu Planner? I Can Relate
You see, I’m not a menu planner. I’ve done that before and it was all good and well, I used to even do the cook one day have food for a month thing, but I’ve found that I just prefer to see what I’m in the mood to cook. This usually works out really well for me because I always have plenty of fixin’s for a variety of meals in my pantry and freezer.
A Southern Plate Family Member
On this particular day, though, I needed to go to my P.O. Box and lo and behold, there was a card from Jen, one of my favorite Southern Plate family members. I opened up the card to find birthday wishes and this recipe handwritten on the left side. Dinner solved.
I gotta give you a little background and Jen now, because she is just too much fun. Jen started reading Southern Plate a pretty good while back. I know she was reading it while I was working on my book because I used to take breaks and respond to her messages when I was getting a little too overloaded from chipping away at my manuscript. Well, Jen mentioned in passing that her birthday was coming up and that she would love a phone call from me. I didn’t actually call her on her birthday but I did manage to get her phone number and one day slipped away to my little office (when I’m writing a book I actually have a little office area when I have to do the serious focus work, other times I sit in the living room) and placed the call.
She answered and I said “May I speak to Jen please?”
She told me it was her and I said “Hey Jen, this is Christy Jordan.”
I wish I had of recorded the next five minutes of that call. It was pretty much “OH MY GOSH! IT’S CHRISTY JORDAN! IT’S CHRISTY JORDAN! CHRISTY JORDAN IS ON THE PHONE!” The way she was screaming and carrying on, you would’ve thought I was somebody. Shoot, after a few minutes of listening to her go on, I found myself getting excited and it was all I could do not to yell back “Hand me the phone!! I wanna talk to her too!!!!”
We had such a fun phone call and I have to tell you, Jen is one of the most memorable people I’ve ever met. She’s also a sweet and dedicated mother, too. My family sure did enjoy this recipe and I know you will as well so here we go.
This Pizza Casserole Recipe is wildly customizable
See printable card at the bottom of the post: but for the basic recipe the ingredients you’ll need are:
- Penne Pasta
- Mozzarella
- Pepperoni
- Ground Beef
- Two jars of pizza sauce
Double Meat For A Hearty Meal
Right off the bat you’ll notice that Jen’s recipe Pizza Casserole includes double meat with an added bonus of being from multiple critters. Anytime there is double meat in a recipe, I’m all over it.
How to Make A Pizza Casserole Recipe Step by Step
Cook your pasta according to package directions.
When it is done, drain off the water and just leave it in the pot. We can mix it all up in there without dirtying up another dish.
Add in your pepperoni and pizza sauce.
You’ll notice that I used not one but two different generic brands of pizza sauce.
If you can save a quarter or even ten cents, it really adds up when feeding a family.
In this step you can also add in the seasonings Jen uses at this point (see recipe below) but I was pressed for time and left them out. But it was still wonderful.
Add in your ground beef.
Now give that a big old stir until its all good and mixed up.
Spray a 9×13 inch pan with cooking spray.
If you’re like me, at this point you are thinking “There is no way all of this is going to fit into a 9×13 pan….“
But it does.
That’ll teach us to have faith in Sister Jen!
Top that with your cheese and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.
Dig in!
Thanks again, Jen!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef browned and drained
- 1 box of Penne pasta
- 2 jars of pizza sauce
- 1/2 an onion or more if you like onion
- 1 tsp. garlic powder*
- 2 tsp. season salt more or less to taste*
- 2 c. mozzarella cheese or more if you love cheese
- 1 pack of sliced pepperoni
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prepare pasta according to directions, drain water and set aside. Mix pasta, sauces, hamburger and 1 cup of the pepperoni together and put into a lightly greased 9 x 13 baking pan.
- Put more pepperoni on top if you want to do it like Jen does or overlook this step like I did and just stir it all up in there.
- Cover with cheese (as much as you like) and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling.
Nutrition
Jen says: The beauty of this recipe is that you can customize it to what your family likes on their pizza. You can add more of the ingredients that are posted or add your own. It’s very versatile.
*I totally forgot to add these things in and it still turned out delicious. I plan on doing the pepperoni on top like Jen does next time I make this.
You may also like these pizza recipes:
Taco Pizza Fast, Fresh, Delicious!
Pizza Rolls! Who wants the weekend off from cooking??
“I don’t like food that’s too carefully arranged;
it makes me think that the chef is spending too much
time arranging and not enough time cooking.
If I wanted a picture I’d buy a painting.”
~Andy Rooney
I found your site by searching for Jens Southern Living. I used to be a Southern Living at Home consultant, and I purchased JensSouthernLiving.com about 2 years ago, I am no longer a consultant. If you are interested in the URL, I am selling it on godaddy.com, come and check it out. It could be very profitable for you to have a domain name that everyone wants.
Thanks
Jennifer
Is there only one size pizza sauce jar and what size package of Penne?
What kind of side would you serve with this? My husband has a hefty appetite and loves sides with dishes like this. What would you suggest that would be quick and cheap?
Can’t wait to make this…think I will add mushrooms to since that is what we like on our pizza.
Made this twice now! EVERYONE loves it! Anyone know if it freezes well though??
My Italian mother used to make this with one addition-she would add a mixture of chopped spinach, ricotta cheese, 1 egg, dash fresh nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste between the pasta mixture and the pepperoni layer. It would make it like a quick version of her ravioli. Makes a bunch and feeds my hungry football playing twin boys!
Made this and it was great. My family doesn’t really like casseroles, but I talked them in to trying this. They loved it!! They had plenty of suggestions of things to add next time I make it (i.e. hot Italian sausage), which is a good sign that they want it again.