PIZZA PASTA BAKE is perfect for feeding a crowd or freezing for busy nights. It’s a baked pasta with your favorite pizza toppings mixed in and on top! My kids love it!
My youngest son goes to a co-op school for kindergarten. Our public school only offers half-day kindergarten and that just wasn’t going to be enough for this little guy! We love his school. He has a small class of 8 kids and they’re like a little family. Most of the parents work 1 to 2 days a month in the class and so we get to know all the students and the families. It’s such a fun time to spend with the kids.
One of the duties of the parent helper is to cook lunch for the class. The kids usually get involved with chopping or mixing or flipping and have a great time. They’re more likely to try something when they’ve helped and they get such a boost of self-esteem when they’ve helped to cook. I love it!!! I’ve been thinking of something fun to make for my last parent help day and thought that Pizza Pasta Bake would be perfect!
It’s so simple to make and offers something for the kids to help with too. Pasta bakes are fantastic because it takes just as long to make two as it does to make one. You can make one for dinner and a second to freeze for a busy night. (Just like our other favorite – baked stuffed shells!) I know that summer is coming and I always think things will slow down when school is out but really it seems to speed up. We get so busy with camps and traveling and so on that having a back up ready for dinner is a lifesaver!
You can use whatever toppings make your family happy. I cut the bell peppers into pretty big chunks because I have one monkey that won’t eat them and the other will eat raw red bell peppers but not green or cooked. So…… big chunks it is for easy picking. 🙂 Put anything you love on pizza and you’ve got a dish to feed a crowd!
Ingredients
- 1 lb. rotini pasta
- 24 oz or 2 cups of your favorite spaghetti sauce
- 4 cups mozzarella cheese shredded, divided
- 6 oz. pepperoni divided
- 1 medium onion chopped, divided
- 2 bell peppers chopped, divided
Instructions
- preheat oven to 375 degrees F
- bring water to a boil and prepare pasta according to package directions
- drain pasta and return to the pot
- add spaghetti sauce, 2 cups of mozzarella, 1 cup of pepperoni, half of the onion and half of the bell pepper
- stir to combine
- spray a 13x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray
- pour pasta mixture into the baking dish and spread into an even layer
- spread 1 cup of cheese on top of pizza
- lay out remaining pepperoni, onion and bell pepper over the top of the cheese
- top that with remaining 1 cup of cheese
- place in oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly
- enjoy!
Nutrition
Rebecca says
Delicious!!
Aubrey says
Thanks!
Joann Woolley says
My mom used to make a spaghetti pizza and this reminds me of it! I have pinned it and plan to give your version a try!
Carlee says
It’s always nice to have a fun new way to serve flavors you know your family will love. This is a great idea!
Sandra McCollum says
Love this recipe. Just stumbled this on Stumble Upon, thanks for sharing.
Sherrie Webb says
Delicious