Pizza Pasta Bake

Do you see that up there?

That cheesy, stuffed, gooey casserole dish packed with so much flavor?!

Our Pizza Pasta Bake has recently become a family favorite for two reasons;

1. It’s a combination of two amazing dishes, pasta and pizza!
2. It’s the perfect casserole that’s both satisfying and easy to make!

Pizza is always a favorite food for kids and if your dancers are anything like mine they all love pasta! So why not combine the two and create a complete meal, veggies and all, into one dish that bakes quick, travels well and reheats to perfection!

The best part of the Pizza Pasta Bake is dance families have the option to make it their own! Add your favorite pizza toppings, use your favorite pizza sauce or add multiple cheeses, because who doesn’t love more cheese?!

I am from Wisconsin though… so that could just be me 🙂

I stuffed this dish with rotini noodles, mini pepperoni, black olives, green pepper, shredded mozzarella, diced tomatoes and topped it off with Prego Pizza sauce. Then finished it in the oven at 375 degrees for 10 minutes and voila dinner is served. Quick to assemble and done in under and hour!

We always encourage dancers helping in the kitchen because we believe it creates good eating habits and choices! Whether it be adding ingredients to the bowl, stirring to combine or sprinkling the mozzarella over the entire dish before baking. When kiddos help prepare the meal they are more likely to eat the meal 🙂

Recipe Below:

Ingredients:

1 box favorite Rotini pasta (I use Barilla)

1 tablespoon dried Italian or pasta seasoning

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 small Green Pepper, diced

1/2 cup Mini Pepperoni

1/4- 1/2 cup black olives

1 14.2 oz Prego Pizza Sauce

1 14.5 oz can Diced Tomatoes

1 6 oz bag Shredded Mozzarella

1 teaspoon each Salt & Pepper

Instructions:

• For the pasta, fill a large pot with 8-10 cups of water and then add the tablespoon of Italian or pasta seasoning to the water. Boil pasta according to package instructions, drain and set aside.
• While the pasta cooks prep the green peppers. Dice into 1 inch bite size pieces and add to a pan drizzled with a teaspoon of your favorite olive oil.
• Cook peppers over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, until tender BUT not soft. They will also cook down when the you bake the pasta and you don’t mushy peppers. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Open the diced tomatoes and pizza sauce and add both to the pot of pasta. Combine so pasta is completely coated with the pizza sauce and the tomatoes are evenly distributed.
• Then add the sauteed green peppers, black olives, mini pepperoni (or any other ingredients you are choosing to add) and combine with the pasta. Add a teaspoon each of salt and pepper and stir one final time.
• Next, drizzle a teaspoon of olive oil over the bottom of your baking dish. Add enough of the pasta pizza mixture to cover the bottom of the dish, then top with shredded mozzarella. Repeat the process until the dish is full and be sure to top with the last of the mozzarella before baking.
• Place on the top rack in the back of the oven and bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow 5 minutes to cool before serving. If packing in a thermal lunchbox, transfer immediately to keep temperature while traveling.

Hope you Enjoy!