Pizza Pasta Bake
I don’t know about you, but I have 2 major loves (other than Chinese food), Pizza and Pasta. So today I’m sharing my perfect mash-up, a pizza-inspired pasta bake, perfect for meal planning and great for those of you that need to make things ahead of time and then shove it into the oven while homework is being done, and boots are being cleaned off! I actually made this recipe back in 2016 when my blog was a side thought and I had recently had my third child, MJ as a way to sneak veggies into my son’s diet. Back in 2016, he was PICKY. Thankfully, that is no longer the case.
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This Pizza bake pasta recipe blog post may contain affiliate links. That means I may make a small commission on items purchased through links in this post at no extra cost to you! Affiliate Disclaimer
I don’t know about you, but I have 2 major loves (other than Chinese food), Pizza and Pasta. So today I’m sharing my Pizza Pasta Bake! A super easy cheesy casserole, if you will, with layers of pasta & tons of gooey cheese! This is one dish the whole family will easily agree on. Perfect for meal planning and great for those of you who need to make things ahead of time and then shove it into the oven while homework is being done, and boots are being cleaned off!
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I made this recipe back in 2016 when my blog was a side thought and I had recently had my third child, MJ. This recipe came about as a way to sneak veggies into my son’s diet. Back in 2016, he was PICKY. Thankfully, that is no longer the case.
Quick Overview
This recipe is not only really easy, it’s very versatile! Add in your own favorite pizza toppings or sneak in a bunch of extra veggies from your fridge and watch the kids gobble them up!
Mora Ceramic 2XL(15.9in) & 3XL(14.6in) Serving Dishes in Neutrals (Sesame Milk and Chai)
Buy Now →Just like Pizza it’s all about versatility
One thing I love about this pizza pasta bake recipe is that everything is completely up for interpretation. If you like sausage, toss in some sausage. Want to use gluten-free pasta? Go for it!
Another great thing is to change up the toppings much like pizza, with all the extra tomatoes I had in September I made a Margarita version of this pizza pasta bake with the last of my tomatoes and basil from the outside garden!
Jenn’s Notes:
Blend in some cooked veg into the marinara sauce (even if you choose to use jarred). It’s great when you have super picky kids, and let me tell you, I offer a lot of options for food and I STILL have picky eaters. So don’t feel bad or like you’re a “failure” in the kitchen because your kids are specific about what they want. I’ve learned that it is what it is and it’s not a personal attack on you, it’s just them trying to make some of their own decisions.
Need more pasta recipes? Try These:
- Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad
- One-Pot Ground Beef Stroganoff
- One Pot Asparagus and Bacon Rigatoni
- Easy One-Pot Rigatoni Ragu
Did you try it, have questions?
Your feedback is highly appreciated. Kindly share your thoughts in the comments section and don’t forget to rate the recipe, it’s tremendously helpful.
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Pizza Pasta Bake
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 people 1x
Description
This Pizza Pasta recipe is a family favorite. Flavorful pizza sauce tossed with rotini noodles, pizza toppings, and tons of melty cheese. It’s delicious and easy!
Ingredients
- 16 oz Pasta (Rotini, Penne, or Rigatoni are my favs Cooked)
- 14 oz Marinara Sauce
- 2 cups Vegetable juice²
- Pizza Toppings of your choice (examples: mushrooms, green bell peppers, pepperoni, sausage, tomato chunks, pineapple, olives, slices of tomato…)
- 16 oz Mozzarella Cheese
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese (grated)
- 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese (grated – for the top)
Instructions
- Pre-Heat oven to 350ºF
- Grease your baking dish³ and set this aside for now.
- Cook the pasta until about two minutes under al dente (it cooks more in the oven, so you want it a little on the harder side).
- pour 3/4 of the Vegetable Juice at the bottom of the dish, top with the pasta, and add the rest of the Vegetable Juice and about 1/3 of the shredded cheese (mix together in the pan)
- Top with the pizza sauce and any pizza toppings of your choice and the remaining cheese (basically… make it look like a pizza).
- bake for 30 minutes, let sit for about 3-5 min and serve.
Notes
¹A fun trick to do is to puree the veggies into the pizza sauce. I do it all the time for spaghetti. It adds a lot of great flavors and your kids are eating veggies, they don’t normally eat.
² I use V-8, but any tomato/veg juice is good.
³I used the 2XL Mora Ceramics Serving Platter in Chai to bake it in, but whatever you have that will fit all of the contents is fine. You could also toss it into a 9X13 Casserole Pan.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Calories: 588
- Sugar: 8
- Sodium: 1186
- Fat: 20
- Saturated Fat: 11
- Carbohydrates: 67
- Fiber: 4
- Protein: 34
- Cholesterol: 58
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©Photo, Prop Styling, and Food Styling by Jenn Smith
