Pizza Pasta Bake
I don’t know about you, but I have 2 major loves (other than Chinese food), Pizza and Pasta. So today I’m sharing my perfect mash-up, a pizza-inspired pasta bake, perfect for meal planning and great for those of you that need to make things ahead of time and then shove it into the oven while homework is being done, and boots are being cleaned off! I actually made this recipe back in 2016 when my blog was a side thought and I had recently had my third child, MJ as a way to sneak veggies into my son’s diet. Back in 2016, he was PICKY. Thankfully, that is no longer the case.
This Pizza bake pasta recipe blog post may contain affiliate links. That means I may make a small commission on items purchased through links in this post at no extra cost to you! Affiliate Disclaimer
I don’t know about you, but I have 2 major loves (other than Chinese food), Pizza and Pasta. So today I’m sharing my perfect mash-up, a pizza-inspired pasta bake, perfect for meal planning and great for those of you that need to make things ahead of time and then shove it into the oven while homework is being done, and boots are being cleaned off! I actually made this recipe back in 2016 when my blog was a side thought and I had recently had my third child, MJ as a way to sneak veggies into my son’s diet. Back in 2016, he was PICKY. Thankfully, that is no longer the case.
Easily adjustable ingredients
One thing I love about this pizza pasta bake recipe is that everything is completely up for interpretation. If you like sausage, toss in some sausage. Want to use gluten-free bean pasta? Go for it!
One thing I usually do is blend in some cooked veg into the sauce (no matter whether I use jarred or make it from scratch). It’s great when you have kids that are super picky, and let me tell you, I offer up some pretty awesome options for food and I STILL have picky eaters. So don’t feel bad or like you’re a “failure” in the kitchen because your kids are specific about what they want. I’ve learned that it is what it is and it’s definitely not a personal attack on you.
Another great thing is to change up the toppings much like pizza, with all the extra tomatoes I had in September I made a Margarita version of this pizza pasta bake with the last of my tomatoes and basil from the outside garden!
The Baking Dish I Use
I personally use the Mora Ceramics Oval Shaped Serving Platters. I love the look and durability of them. The one I use for this specific recipe is the 2XL Serving Dish which comes in a set that also includes a 3XL serving dish as well.
But of course, I’m not one to make things difficult, so if you’d rather… a simple 9X13 casserole dish also works just fine.
Need more pasta recipes? Try These:
Did you try it, have questions?
Your feedback is highly appreciated. Kindly share your thoughts in the comments section and don’t forget to rate the recipe, it’s tremendously helpful.
Let’s get social!
Please tag me on Instagram or Facebook, @alwaysjennsmith, and share your thoughts. It’s wonderful to see loved ones coming together over delicious food. Or share it on this post’s Pinterest Pin!
Pizza Pasta Bake
This Pizza Pasta recipe is a family favorite. Flavorful pizza sauce tossed with rotini noodles, pizza toppings, and tons of melty cheese. It’s delicious and easy!
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 people 1x
Ingredients
- 16 oz Pasta (Rotini, Penne, or Rigatoni are my favs Cooked)
- 14 oz Pizza Sauce (homemade or canned – See Notes ¹ for sneaking in Veg.)
- 2 cups Vegetable juice²
- Pizza Toppings of your choice (examples: mushrooms, green bell peppers, pepperoni, sausage, tomato chunks, pineapple, olives, slices of tomato…)
- 16 oz Mozzarella Cheese
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese (grated)
- 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese (grated – for the top)
Instructions
- Pre-Heat oven to 350ºF
- Grease your baking dish³ and set this aside for now.
- Cook the pasta until about two minutes under al dente (it cooks more in the oven, so you want it a little on the harder side).
- pour 3/4 of the Vegetable Juice at the bottom of the dish, top with the pasta, and add the rest of the Vegetable Juice and about 1/3 of the shredded cheese (mix together in the pan)
- Top with the pizza sauce and any pizza toppings of your choice and the remaining cheese (basically… make it look like a pizza).
- bake for 30 minutes, let sit for about 3-5 min and serve.
Notes
¹A fun trick to do is to puree the veggies into the pizza sauce. I do it all the time for spaghetti. It adds a lot of great flavors and your kids are eating veggies, they don’t normally eat.
² I use V-8, but any tomato/veg juice is good.
³I used the 2XL Mora Ceramics Serving Platter in Chai to bake it in, but whatever you have that will fit all of the contents is fine. You could also toss it into a 9X13 Casserole Pan.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Calories: 588
- Sugar: 8
- Sodium: 1186
- Fat: 20
- Saturated Fat: 11
- Carbohydrates: 67
- Fiber: 4
- Protein: 34
- Cholesterol: 58
Want to remember this post? Pin it to your favorite Pinterest Board!
©Photo, Prop Styling, and Food Styling by Jenn Smith
This Blog Post is ©2016 Always Jenn Smith™; Jenn Smith, LLC (FKA Smith Country, LLC) See below for details
Please Be Respectful
All rights reserved. You may NOT sell, trade, share or redistribute this recipe in any way or use any of my photographs for your site. If you are linking back to this post to a list of recipes, giving credit for the recipe to myself and my site, you may use ONE photo. You must site me and my blog as the creators of the recipe and give credit for the photo. ©2016 Always Jenn Smith; Jenn Smith, LLC
Jenn Smith of Always Jenn Smith™; Jenn Smith, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. As well as the Apple affiliate program now called the Performance Partners Program.
This site displays third-party ads and contains affiliate links, See terms and conditions for ALL affiliates.
If you have any questions feel free to comment below or e-mail me directly.
Thank you for visiting!
