Crock Pot Pizza Casserole is an incredibly delicious meal for the entire family to enjoy! It is really easy to make, kid friendly, and perfect for busy days!
Diving into my best crock pot recipes is a lifesaver during the week. Between school, work, and errands, some days I just don’t have it in me to make dinner in the evening. But a good slow cooker recipe is a great option because I can prep, set, and forget until dinner time. This Crock Pot Pizza Casserole is always a winner with my boys. They love all their favorite pizza toppings over pasta. It’s definitely become one of my favorite easy casserole recipes.
CROCK POT PIZZA CASSEROLE
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Pizza is one of my family’s favorite meals, but it’s not exactly cheap. Luckily the combination of sauce, pepperoni, Italian sausage, and cheese in this recipe is enough to satisfy our pizza cravings. My family raved about this dish. I’ve also started experimenting with different pizza flavors.
Our Favorite Easy Pizza Casserole Recipes
- Ham or Canadian bacon while cooking and then adding pineapple chunks during the last 30 minutes
- Green bell pepper, onion, mushroom, and olives
- Substituting BBQ sauce, grilled chicken, and red onion. Then finishing with cilantro when plating (This is still a work in progress.)
There are so many possibilities! While my boys love the classic version of this recipe best, they like trying my other pizza flavors too. It’s a fun dinner idea that you’ll be making for years to come! And if you’re a pizza fiend like us, you’ll go crazy for this White Pizza Dip. It’s my go-to party appetizer.
Want more crock pot dinners?
- Slow Cooker Pizza Sloppy Joes
- Crock Pot Cheesy Chicken Bacon & Tater Tot Bake
- Slow Cooker Italian Chicken Dinner
- Slow Cooker Cheesy Spaghetti & Meatballs
- More dinner recipes…
Tools used in this Crock Pot Pizza Casserole recipe
Large Pot: This pot is a kitchen essential for everything from dinner to desserts. I use mine all the time and with proper care, it’ll last for years and years.
Large Skillet: This skillet is my go-to kitchen tool. It’s large circumference and high sides make it perfect for cooking anything from one pan meals to soups and sauces.
Mixing Bowl: These mixing bowls get used just about every day at my house. The grip handle makes them easy to hold and the pour spout makes them perfect for transferring ingredients!
Slow Cooker: I love this crock pot! The lid is very secure and I can pack it up and take it on the go if I’m heading to a potluck. This slow cooker is a workhorse in my kitchen and has worked great for years!
Ingredients
- 8 ounce box of short pasta rigatoni, penne or ziti
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage
- ½ pound of ground beef
- 8 ounce package of sliced pepperoni
- ½ large white onion chopped
- 42 ounces of pizza sauce Three 14-ounce jars
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 16 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until almost al dente, but not quite, about 6 or 7 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- While the pasta boils, cook the Italian sausage and ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat until browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes.
- Layer the pepperoni slices between a couple paper towels. Place the towels on a plate and microwave for 15 seconds to help remove the excess grease from the pepperoni.
- In a large bowl mix together the pasta, Italian sausage, pepperoni, ground beef, onion, pizza sauce, Italian seasoning, and garlic.
- Coat the inside of a 5-quart slow cooker with non-stick spray
- Layer the pasta in the slow cooker, alternating layers with the shredded mozzarella cheese. There should be three layers, ending with the cheese on top.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
- Serve warm with garlic bread and a salad.
Notes
Nutrition
Donna says
Is the onion, garlic and Italian really needed with the pizza sauce? I use Contadina and it has all that in already
Aubrey Cota says
If your sauce already has the ingredients you like in it, then no you do not need to go in with extra.
Becky Stewart says
I made this a couple nights ago. Tastes okay, but needs more body to it. Maybe the whole pound of pasta, instead of a half pound. Burns easily, so you’ll definitely want to use a crockpot liner. I did three hours on low and it was already starting to burn on the bottom.
Aubrey Cota says
Sounds like the crockpot liner is the way to go for you, plus it makes for an easier clean up too right! You could also certainly try adding some cooking spray before you add the ingredients just in case you don’t have a liner on hand. More pasta would definitely add more too it, we just like the gooey cheesiness that it offers, but please do whatever works best for your family. Thank you Becky.
Marlena says
So I made this without really reading his before I started :-). You can also substitute for pizza sauce w a veggie spaghetti sauce. And prep time is more like 15 min, because you cook the meat and boil the noodles. I also used turkey pepperoni and only half of what it recommended because there a lots of meat in it! It was a HIT!
Aubrey Cota says
The possibilities are endless right! Happy to see it turned out so well for you and thanks for the additional suggestions.
Christina Murray says
I made this for dinner yesterday. It was very good, I will admit. The only problem I had was that it took me an hour to get everything ready and I really didn’t see the need of a slow cooker. I did follow the recipe and like I said, it was very good. Next time I will cut out the slow cooker part and make it like a one pot goulash. I do make my own pizza sauce too and the combinations were delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe, I will use this often.
Cheryl Dunsmore says
This turned out great! At the Remembrance Day potluck supper it was the first Crock-Pot emptied. Made it several times since. My husband & son love it. 🙂
I did not bother to layer it. It all went in the Crock-Pot, 1/2 hr before serving I put all the cheese on top & put the lid on. When it was time to eat… ..melted perfectly. I used Kraft Italian shredded cheese & it was just like pizza used to be… Long strings of stretchy cheese. Thanks for the new family favorite. ?
Aubrey Cota says
Awesome! So glad it worked so nicely for you.
Joan says
This looks great but 2 lbs of meat and 42 oz of pizza sauce seems a lot for 4 people. Is this right?
Aubrey Cota says
While this will most likely yield some leftovers (great for busy nights where it’s easier to just heat up and go) I assure it makes for an amazing mixture of meats and sauce. If you would rather be without leftovers please feel free to adjust the ingredients that work best!
Natalee Embry says
Sure does look good!
Thanks for sharing 🙂