Is a pizza without crust still a pizza? You be the judge.
It seems like I’ve been doing a lot of baking this spring and sharing the results here, of course. I do know how to cook meals, not just bake — as you know from the pork chop series, I’m a versatile cook. But my personal favorites usually lean more Italian. Spaghetti, lasagna, pizza… you get the idea.
Recently I had some ricotta left over and wanted to try my hand at stuffed shells, but believe it or not, I couldn’t find any big shells to stuff. And if you think I’m going to stand there trying to fill those tiny little shells, you are so wrong. Crazy I’m not — only slightly demented.
Anyway, I ran across another interesting recipe, and it looked good. So of course I had to give it a try. I don’t know who to credit for the idea, but it worked great. So without further ado, straight from Dusty’s Test Kitchen, I give you…
Meat Lover’s Pizza Casserole
This is for the crust‑challenged — the folks who don’t want to run to the store for premade crusts but still crave a nice, juicy pizza. Full of cheese and meat, this casserole gives new meaning to the phrase “have it your way.” Lots of options to make it uniquely yours.
Ingredients
- 1/3 lb ground beef
- 1/2 lb Italian sausage
- 1/2 cup pepperoni slices
- 1/2 cup cooked bacon, crumbled
- 2 cups sauce — marinara or pizza sauce (you choose your vibe)
- 8 oz rotini or penne pasta
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar or provolone (optional)
- 1/2 cup sliced black olives (optional)
- 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (optional — see Notes)
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish and set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef and Italian sausage. Break apart and cook until fully browned. Drain excess fat (see Notes).
- While the meat is browning, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Stir in 1/2 cup pepperoni slices and 1/2 cup crumbled bacon. Let everything warm through for about 1 minute.
- Add 2 cups sauce, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt to taste. Stir and let simmer 2–3 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine the cooked pasta and meat sauce mixture. Add 1 cup mozzarella and stir until evenly mixed (see Notes).
- Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared baking dish.
- Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella, the cheddar or provolone, and any optional toppings like mushrooms or olives.
- Cover loosely with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10–15 minutes, until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and lightly golden… or until you can’t resist the aroma any longer.
Let rest 5 minutes before serving so it holds together when scooped.
Notes
- I’m not a sausage fan, so in my version I swapped the Italian sausage for another 1/2 lb of
hamburger. - The recipe calls for a large skillet, and normally I’d grab my trusty cast iron, but this time I used my nonstick double‑handled pot. It browns meat nicely and gives me room to mix everything without dragging out a bowl. One‑pot cooking = simplified cleanup.
- I had jarred marinara in the pantry, so that’s what I used. You can choose marinara or pizza sauce depending on the flavor profile you want.
- About mushrooms: They hold a lot of water. If you don’t want them soggy or adding extra
moisture, sauté them first. A tablespoon of oil, a sprinkle of garlic powder, and 5–7 minutes over medium heat will give you perfect, flavorful mushrooms. - I like onions and forgot to add them — they’d be great here, along with sliced peppers if you’re a green‑pepper fanatic. I also added extra pepperoni on top even though some was already mixed in.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- All the pizza flavor, none of the crust drama. No rolling, no rising, no flour all over the counter — just the good stuff.
- Totally customizable. Pepperoni, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, olives, onions, peppers… mix and match your favorites.
- One‑pot friendly. Brown the meat, mix it all together, bake, done. Cleanup stays blissfully simple.
- Great for leftovers. It reheats beautifully and tastes just as good the next day.
- Crowd‑pleasing comfort food. Whether it’s a weeknight dinner, a cozy weekend meal, or a good old‑fashioned church potluck (yes, they’re still a thing), this casserole is the kind of dish that disappears fast and gets people asking for the recipe.
The result is a very yummy dish that mimics pizza without the crust. I’ll definitely make it again.
Try it, tweak it, claim it as your own — I won’t tell. Make it, bake it, take it to a potluck… and then take a bow. Just save me a scoop.
of boiling water… and left the top half sticking straight out like a pasta bouquet. As the bottom softened, the noodles slowly slid into the pot on their own, as if obeying some ancient culinary law.
This one comes straight from Italian culinary tradition. In Italy, pasta shapes are treated with the same respect we give to Thanksgiving turkey or Grandma’s cast‑iron skillet. Long pasta is meant to stay long because:
S’mores Mini Cookie Cups
Then there’s the version that skips the graham cracker crust. Personally, that ruins the s’mores vibe for me, but to each their own.
