This fantastic Pizza Pasta Bake recipe is for anybody who’s trying to cook more for their family but is dealing with picky eaters. I know the situation all too well. I live with two of them myself. So one of the things that I have noticed, is that children will always eat pasta or pizza. And I find that that’s usually a success with most children.
So while this dish called a “Pizza Pasta Bake.” I mean, who could resist that, right? But then thanks to all that kind of vegetables and proteins that has been layered in this piece of art, their little bodies will stay strong and grow when they need it most.
Okay. Let me show you how to make this family classic that everybody will love. Now, when it comes to this recipe, I do like to use the fusilli pasta. That’s the pasta that looks like a little corkscrew. Because later we’re going to be adding some vegetables to this dish and the nice thing about this pasta is all the vegetables actually cling to all the nooks and crannies of the pasta, So when your children are taking a big bite of their cheesy pasta, they don’t even know that they’re getting the vegetables because they’re just hidden in there. Sounds cool, right?
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 lb ground beef, (or sausage)
- ½ onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 1 (14 oz) jar pizza sauce
- ¾ cup water
- 3 cups rotini pasta, measure before cooking
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese, divided use
- 36 slices pepperoni, divided use
INSTRUCTIONS:
1 ) Start by cooking your pasta according to package directions, and drain it well. Now, brown ground beef with onion, garlic, and Italian seasoning. Start preheating the oven to 350F degrees Drain excess grease from ground beef.
2 ) In a large bowl, mix together pizza sauce and water. Add in cooked pasta, 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese, cooked ground beef, and 20 slices of pepperoni (that have been sliced in half). Stir well. Spray 8 x 8 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
3 ) Pour in pasta mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup of mozzarella cheese. Place remaining pepperoni slices on top. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
4 ) Remove aluminum foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes (until cheese is melted).
Note: I like to spray the inside of the aluminum foil with nonstick spray so the cheese doesn’t stick to it while baking or use nonstick aluminum foil. You can substitute the jar of pizza sauce & water for one jar of spaghetti sauce. Have fun with this dish and add more of your favorite pizza toppings like mushrooms & green peppers!