One Pot Pizza Pasta Bake
An easy crowd-pleasing one pot meal that the whole family will love! Everyone will be begging for seconds!
My name is Chung-Ah and I am a mini pepperoni hoarder.
As weird as that sounds, I really am.
After going to 5 different grocery stores to find mini pepperonis, how do you NOT hoard them?
The minute I hit the grocery jackpot, I loaded up the cart with 10 packages of mini pepperonis. I have no idea what I’m going to do with them but who knows when I am going to find mini pepperonis again?
At least I was able to use some of it in this one pot dish. Yes, I have yet another one pot recipe for you guys today. I just can’t get enough of these one pot meals!
Plus, I’ll do anything for less dishes. Jason is the occasional dishwasher but he always lets them sit for 2-3 hrs before cleaning them. I, on the hand hand, need to get them done the minute they hit the sink.
But with this – you’ll only find one dirty pot in the sink. And it’s the easiest pizza I have ever made. Plus, the mini pepperonis are so much fun to eat!
One Pot Pizza Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 ounces spicy Italian sausage, casing removed
- ½ cup mini pepperoni, divided
- 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 8 ounces rotini pasta
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to broil.
- Heat olive oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. Add Italian sausage and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks; drain excess fat. Stir in 1/4 cup pepperoni until heated through, about 1 minute.
- Stir in tomato sauce, oregano, basil garlic powder, pasta and 1 1/2 cups water; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until pasta is cooked through, about 12-14 minutes.
- Remove from heat; top with mozzarella and remaining 1/4 cup pepperoni. Place into oven and cook until melted and golden brown, about 2 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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What is the nutritional information?
Love these one pot dishes. Thank you. Having pasta bake tonight
I love this recipe, i have made it many times. Tonight i made it with the mini pepperoni. Awesome! Didn’t change a thing.
this was damn delicious. Used Turkey pepperoni was still damn delicious. Thank you
Absolutely lovely
This was a hit! My husband, two picky kids and I all loved it! Made it exactly as written but doubled it bc all I could find was 16 oz of sausage and didn’t want to wasted the rest. I used mild sausage bc again, all I could find. I’m guessing my crew would have liked it even better with spicy!
I made a pan of this for my boyfriend and his roommates, and it received at glowing endorsement. They are 20 somethings, so anything with cheese, pasta, and sausage tends to be a hit, but they could not stop talking about it!
Delicious! I used GF pasta in my dish, but wow! What a great recipe! 🙂 I ended up having to move everything into an 8×8 dish and baked it at 400 for about 15 minutes or so to melt the cheese and crisp up the pepperoni on top, but it still came out great. Those mini pepperonis look so cute. I need to find some! This is a great dish to share with dinner guests. Great job!
I want to cook this tonight but I only have a tomato basil tomato sauce can you use a sauce instead of the canned tomato sauce first time cooker sorry if it is a stupid question
Yes, of course!
Well that explains why I cannot locate any. LOL
Recipe sounds good.
The recipe looks delicious and I am anxious to try it.
Is it possible to somehow use the oven (WITHOUT the broiler) or the stove top to prepare this recipe? If so, can someone please advise how long to cook, at what temperature, etc.
I made this today. It was great. I used turkey pepperoni, both for lower fat, and because the store didn’t have minis. I added chicken bullion to the water for another flavor boost, and I used minced garlic instead of powder. I also added a reduced fat 4 cheese blend and mixed it into the pasta before putting it in a pyrex dish and topping with mozz. My first attempts don’t always come out this great. I’ll definitely make this again.
Thank you for sharing!
I made this last night…. flavor was good, mini pepperoni was fun, but we both felt it was waaaayyy too “tomatoey”. Next time I would use fresh tomatoes or canned diced tomatoes instead of the tomato sauce.
This is so delicious! Have made it several times. I let it sit for a bit so the pasta soaks up some of the juices.
Who much is a serving? One cup?
About 1-2 cups.
Can you add spinach mushrooms etc like a real pizza
Yes, of course!
this was really good! and so many options for variation. Since we like an “everything” pizza, i put lots of toppings on it. I make a really good bolognese sauce which has all Italian Sausage – no beef – so i used that for the sauce base. I started by sauteeing some onion & red & green peppers, then mushrooms. Then i added the sauce and everything else. i LOVED that i only used one pan. and it was delicious! This will definitely be added to our regular dinner rotation, Also great leftover and no dealing with how to crisp up that leftover pizza crust!
You can always get mini pepperonis at Walmart. Every time I go there they have mini pepperonis.
I made this last night and my entire family loved it (even the kids!)! The only thing I ommited was the parsley because kids. But I can always count on your recipes to be big hits! Thanks for inspiring me to cook more.
Is the pasta cooked or uncooked when it goes in with the rest of the ingredients?
Uncooked – that’s the beauty of this recipe! 🙂
Do you need to put this in the oven or can you just add the cheese and cover with the skillet lid for 2 minutes or until the cheese melts?
You can do either/or.
I made this for my family of 16 last night.. tripled everything and excluded the sausage. I added a can of pizza sauce too 🙂 it was great and everyone was asking for the recipe!
Thank you for sharing!! Super easy dish and everyone loved it!
Can I use ground beef instead of sausage (as that’s usually what I have in my freezer)? Do you think the taste will change that much?
Ground beef would be a great substitute!
Your recipes are amazing! I’m not sure how you deal with all of the unnecessarily rude comments but you seem to take it all in stride. I wanted to let your fans/readers know that not liking pepperoni shouldn’t stop them from trying this recipe, as written. I don’t care for pepperoni either but the mini version has a different taste. Not only cute but so delicious! Keep pumping out those recipes. Don’t go changing!!
looks amazing! im definitely going to try this out.
This is defintely one different and delicious recipe. I’m sure kids and the whole family will enjoy these.
If I am unable to get some Italian sausages, can I substitute the meat with ground beef/pork?
Yes, absolutely, but I recommend adding in some seasonings (ex. oregano, basil, red pepper flakes), to taste.
You refer to mini pepperonis, are these the already sliced, packaged variety, or something else?
Mini pepperonis come in a package already sliced.
i made this today. Yummy! I cut the recipe in half, sautéed minced onion and garlic after sausage browned. Before broiling I added dollops of ricotta, then mozzarella and topped with grated Parmesan. The ricotta added creaminess. I had cavatappi so I used that instead of rotini. It took longer to cook, but still worked well. I will be making this again.
i made this for my family tonight! we doubled up the recipe and it was delicious! Definitely making this again!
We tried this recipe tonight…delish!! Thank you for a tasty meal recipe and easy clean up!
Do you think this would freeze well if the cheese was added upon thawing?
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
the second photo is minced meat?
The second photo is crumbled sausage as indicated in the recipe.
I made this tonight for dinner. It was very awesome and delicious. Everyone loved it! I will definitely be making this again. I’m so glad I found your site and thank you for posting this.
Delicious!!!!
The whole family loved it…including my fussy eating teenage son!
Thanks for sharing!
Does anyone know if this will taste good to people who don’t like pepperoni? what’s the flavor like? I really like pepperoni’s but the girlfriend does not 🙁
Anthony, you can try other types of pizza toppings, to taste.
Do you boil the pasta first? It wouldn’t make sense since it’s a one pot meal! Lol. But I’ve never made pasta without boiling it first.
No, there is no need to cook the pasta first – that’s the beauty of a one pot meal!
After a VERY long week and day… I thought this looks so good. Want to the store got every thing needed and come home… The long day and week got to me…. I cooked my pasta ahead of time and not I’m sitting here HOPING it comes out right… I was like…. yea I was cook the pasta with the REST of the food, not a head of time ;/
I made this today to bring to mother in laws. I added peppers, mushrooms and onions to one, I made a second batch for my sis in law with no additions. I can’t wait to try it, it smells amazing and looks amazing to.
You’re my hero. It started with garlic parm spaghetti now I’m all over any one pot easy peasy recipe for busy weeknights with two little ones in the house.
Walmart sells s Hormel Pepperoni Minis, 5 oz
http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=mini+pepperoni&adid=22222222220213964166&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=b&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=51103301145&wl4=&veh=sem
This was awesome! Thanks for sharing! I added some crushed red peppers to add some spice and did a whole pound of italian sausage! My family loved it 🙂
I got the pickiest and crankiest of eaters to say this was good. I’ve been adding onion and I want to try adding some green pepper at some point. Maybe even mushrooms to make it even more pizza-like. Thanks so much for sharing!
This was delicious, however didn’t even come close to feeding my family of 5! Will def make it again only double the recipe next time — and maybe add in some pizza topping veggies 🙂 thanks for sharing!!
Made this for dinner last week- used ground beef since that is what I had on hand- Could not have been easier! So yummy and only 1 pot!
The whole fan-damn-ily loved it! I added a can of unseasoned chopped tomatoes and rounded up the sausage to the full 15oz from the package. This is going to the front of our recipe book!
Can this recipe be doubled?
I have never tried doubling it myself but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work!
i just made this tonight and it was loved by everyone, including my 17 month old. I doubled the recipe and instead of adding a second can of tomato sauce, I substituted with a can of diced tomatoes. It turned out great! Thanks!
I doubled this recipe tonight….and it’s amazing! I just stirred the rest of the pepperonis and the cheese into the post and skipped the oven! I also did one can of tomato sauce and one can of rotel tomatoes
Adding the water and pasta into the dish is throwing me off – Does the water just absorb into everything? It won’t need drained?? Looks delish and this is being added into my meals for next week!
Yes, that’s exactly it! That’s the beauty of a one-pot meal.
Oh my this is amazing! You photos are just as amazing! What camera do you use to capture these great shots?
Thank you! I am currently shooting with a Canon EOS Rebel T2i and a 100mm f/2.8L IS. I only use natural lighting, and I utilize Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 to edit.
I made this tonight, and it was SO insane! ! Thank you for all of your recipes! You’ve made such an impact on my life! (I’ve lost 25lbs since following your blog and cooking these meals) your lower fat recipes are literally saving my life.
Some this looks like an easy and comforting recipe. Love the mini pepperonis, so cute! Pinned!
This food is divine. I’d love to make this again and again for my family. Even they have requested me to just do pasta recipes for my blog. Pasta lovers surely know no boundaries. 😛
I made this for dinner tonight, delicious! I only had regular sized pepperoni so it wasn’t as cute but I cut them up and it worked great. And I used whole wheat pasta, again because that is what I had. We loved it! Thanks for a great recipe.
To amp the flavors consider using real garlic (not powder), sauté a few shallots with the sausage, and add in a bag of spinach., The flavors will be even more yummy and the nutritional value greatly increased.
Thanks!
Great additions!! Thank you! Turned out really yummy.
Who knew mini pepperonis were so hard to find?? Now if I ever see them, I’m going to hoard them too! This looks incredible – what an aweseome dinner. And the mini pepperoni definitely makes the dish – so cute!!
Ha Ha! I thought I was the only special food hoarder around! I’m running out of room for all the things I just have to have for that “special” occasion. I guess I’ll have to add mini pepperonis to my list….
Mini pepperonis, squee! I love it. Aaaaaand pinning.
You’re making me so hungry with this!! Absolutely amazing 🙂
Mh, just in love with the “one pot” thing, looks awesome! 🙂
– Julia/ http://www.onekitchenblog.com
Oh my gosh the mini pepperonis are too cute!! Where did you find them?
You should be able to find it at your local grocery store. I would call ahead to make sure they have it in stock.
I live in the Los Angeles area and cannot find them. Which market has them in your area please?
I was able to find them at Ralphs.
Thank you. I can wait to make this.
I always find the minis at target
What brand of mini pepperoni is it? Hormel?
I must find the mini pepperoni! I totally understand the hoarding thing. I’d be hoarding them too, if I could find them!
Great recipe, Chung-Ah. And beautiful photos, as always. Hope you have a great week!
Mini pepperonis = very cute : ) And always love a one-pan meal, especially when it’s pasta and cheese! Looks delicious.
This reminds me of a pasta bake I made not long ago, so delicious – and it tasted as if it came straight from Italy no less! I reckon the secret’s in the pepperoni, and I totally get why you’d hamster all the mini pepperonis once you had managed to track them down, I mean – how could you not?! x
Oh my, oh my, thise looks damn delicious 🙂 I got to try cooking my pasta with the sauce. Thanks!
Mmm..pizza pasta sounds super delicious, and how cute are those mini pepperoni?? And I am *always* a fan of fewer dishes to wash. I think we’ve all got those certain ingredients that are hard to find, so when we do find them, we hoard them 🙂 (personally, I’m a tart cherry hoarder)
I want to dive into that (one pot!) cheesy wonder and eat my way out! Love this…and mini food is always the best food! Pinned!
Ooooo, yeah – What she said! :0
You had me at those mini pepperonis! looks delicious!
we love the mini pepperonis, too! we keep our extras in the freezer – this works beautifully 🙂
This looks amazing Chung Ah , and super easy as its one pot!
http://youtube.com/addalittlefood
This is just a classic Chung-Ah dish! It’s so you and the images just pop right off the page! Love anything one pot!
Made this tonight.
Must double it..cause we ate it all…I have never cooked the pasta in the dish…amazing..thanks