Pizza Pasta Bake
Turn an easy weekend dinner favorite into an equally simple weeknight meal for the whole family with this pepperoni pizza pasta bake.
Ingredients
- 1 lb cavatappi or medium cut pasta
- 1 lb ground beef or Italian sausage
- 1 medium white onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and diced
- 1 green bell pepper seeded and diced
- 10 oz pepperoni quartered. Keep some whole for topping
- 24 oz tomato sauce
- 2 cups fresh mozzarella shredded
- 7-10 basil leaves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°
- In a pot of boiling, salted water, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside
- While pasta is cooking, brown ground beef/sausage in a saute pan. Once the meat is mostly browned, add in onions and peppers. Continue cooking for another 3-5 minutes until the veggies are soft.
- Stir in chopped pepperoni and sauce for 1 minute. Mix in the tomato sauce and cooked pasta and stir to combine
- If baking in another dish, transfer to a greased casserole dish. If not, either way, simply top the pasta with shredded cheese and leftover pepperoni.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
- Remove from oven and top with fresh basil. Serve immediately.