This pizza pasta is a one pot meal made with pepperoni, sausage and plenty of cheese, all mixed with pasta in tomato sauce. An easy dinner that’s family friendly and quick to make!
We love all things pizza in my house, including pizza stuffed chicken, pizza dip and pizza muffins. This pizza pasta is our new favorite dinner recipe, the kids request it every week and I’m happy to oblige because it’s so simple to make.
My kids would eat pizza every day if I let them. But there’s only so many times you can have pizza before you get tired of it, am I right? This pizza pasta is a fun twist on a classic with hearty pasta cooked in a savory sauce, plenty of cheese, and our favorite pizza toppings.
Table of Contents
Pizza Pasta Ingredients
To make this pizza pasta bake, you will need olive oil, Italian sausage, onion, mini pepperoni, garlic, marinara sauce, water, salt, black pepper, pasta, mozzarella cheese and parsley.
How Do You Make Pizza Pasta?
Heat the oil in a large pan, then add the sausage and break it up with a spatula as it cooks. Next add the onion to the pan and cook until it is soft. Stir in some of the pepperoni and garlic and cook for one more minute. Pour the marinara sauce into the pot along with water, salt, pepper and the pasta. Cover the pot and let the mixture simmer until the pasta is tender – no need to drain! Sprinkle the cheese and remaining pepperoni on top of the pasta. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted. Add a sprinkle of parsley, then serve and enjoy.
Tips For Pizza Pasta
- You can use turkey or pork Italian sausage. I use mild sausage, but feel free to use hot if you like spice.
- While the pizza pasta primarily cooks on the stove top, you will need to turn on the oven to melt the cheese at the end. Be sure to use an oven safe pan so that you can easily transfer your pan from stove to oven.
- Make sure you use a large pan for this recipe, as the pasta will expand considerably as it cooks and you want to make sure you have enough room for it all!
- Choose your favorite brand of marinara sauce for this recipe. I typically use Rao’s or Newman’s Own.
Quick Tip
Can’t find mini pepperoni at your store? You can use chopped regular sized pepperoni instead.
Recipe FAQs
You can use pizza sauce for this dish instead of marinara. Pizza sauce tends to be a bit sweeter than marinara, and also contains less seasonings, but it will still taste great.
You can cook dry pasta in sauce, you’ll just want to make sure you also add some water so that the pasta will properly soften.
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Flavor Variations
While this dish is delicious as written, you can absolutely customize the ingredients to suit your tastes.
- Protein: Swap out the sausage and pepperoni for other protein options such as ham, ground beef, salami, chicken, bacon or linguica.
- Pasta: I typically use rotini noodles, but other types of short pasta will work including penne, fusilli, gemelli, cavatappi or farfalle.
- Vegetables: Feel free to add some extra cooked veggies to the mix. My favorites include bell peppers, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, olives, spinach or zucchini.
- Cheese: Swap out the mozzarella for another type of cheese. Some great choices are provolone or fontina. You can also add some freshly grated parmesan cheese.
This pizza pasta makes for great leftovers, my kids always ask to take it for lunch the next day. This dish is hearty enough to serve on its own, but if you’re looking for side dish ideas, I’d recommend my garlic knots, parmesan roasted broccoli or candied carrots.
Pizza pasta has it all. It’s quick, doesn’t dirty up a ton of dishes, and has flavors that both kids and adults adore. Make it for dinner tonight and watch the rave reviews come in!
More Delicious Pasta Recipes
Pizza Stuffed Shells
45 mins
Philly Cheesesteak Pasta
30 mins
Cajun Chicken Pasta
40 mins
Sausage and Pepper Pasta
30 mins
Chicken Parmesan Pasta
40 mins
Pizza Pasta Video
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Pizza Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 lb mild Italian sausage casings removed
- 1/2 cup onion finely diced
- 3/4 cup mini pepperoni divided use
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 24 ounce jar marinara sauce
- 2 1/2 cups water
- salt and pepper to taste
- 12 ounces short pasta such as rotini or penne
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large, deep pan over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook for 4-5 minutes, breaking up the meat with a spatula, until browned.
- Add the onion to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes or until translucent.
- Add 1/2 cup of the pepperoni and the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the marinara sauce, water, salt, pepper and pasta to the pot and bring to a simmer.
- Cover the pot and cook over low heat for 12-14 minutes or until pasta is tender.
- While the pasta is simmering, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- After the pasta is finished cooking, sprinkle the cheese over the top and arrange the remaining 1/4 cup of pepperoni on the cheese.
- Bake for 4-5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Notes
- You can use turkey or pork Italian sausage. I use mild sausage, but feel free to use hot if you like spice.
- Can’t find mini pepperoni at your store? You can use chopped regular sized pepperoni instead.
As pasta and pizza lover, I’m excited to try this recipe! This is a great idea and I’m sure that my family would love this too! 🙂
Absolutely delicious! This Pizza Pasta is a game-changer. The perfect fusion of pizza flavors with pasta, it’s a hearty, cheesy delight that’s unbelievably easy to whip up. A family favorite in my house too; the kids can’t get enough!
This pizza pasta was such a huge hit for dinner! SO easy to make and has all the yummy flavors of pizza. Genius idea!
This might be my new favorite way to eat pasta!! This was cheesy and super flavorful, really family friendly too. Great for dinner and leftovers were delicious!
I love that this is a one pot meal filled with marvelous flavors. It’s a hearty, fun dinner that the whole family will love.
This was really good! I made as directed EXCEPT I did not bake it at the end. I just put the cheese on and covered it with the lid. The cheese melted. It’s summer; it’s hot as you know what. I don’t turn on my oven. In fact, I don’t turn it on in the winter if it is only going to be used for a few minutes. It seems to me to be a waste of energy. Even though I didn’t bake it in the end, it was still really, really good. Next time when granddaughter isn’t with us, I’ll add mushroom, green pepers, and maybe spinach. Thank you.
I rarely write reviews, but this was amaaazing! Big hit with the family. We used turkey sausage and pepperoni, and basil instead of parsley. Excited try it again with veggies. Love the versatility!
This recipe is a must have this is so good easy for kids to eat
Cheesy delicious! We loved it!
Incredible dish!! Since I have taken over the cooking for my elderly mother, I have been looking for recipes that will incorporate what she already had on hand and are easy to cook. Since she doesn’t do spicy so well, I skipped the pepperoni and used more ( mild ) sausage. I also used a Mexican cheese blend. It was amazing!! Can’t wait to start trying other toppings with this dish. #keeper
My husband doesn’t like meat on pizza so I topped it with mushrooms, olives, peppers and spinach and it was amazing!
So good and cheesy! I vary the toppings to keep it different
Love love this recipe, I did use Turkey meat instead and added bell peppers. Tastes amazing.