Meet your new favorite weeknight recipe! This cheesy, saucy pizza casserole is quick to make and easy to customize with your favorite pizza toppings. Assemble this casserole the night before and have dinner on the table in 20 minutes!
Love getting creative with casseroles? Because, same. Try my easy Frito pie casserole and this flavor-bomb of a Doritos casserole, next!
Why You’ll Love This Pizza Casserole Recipe
This pizza casserole has all the flavors of an oven-fresh pepperoni pizza, packed into a cheesy, weeknight-friendly casserole. Here’s why you’ll love it:
- Layers of flavor. This recipe combines fluffy biscuit dough with savory tomato sauce, your favorite pizza toppings, and plenty of cheese. It’s melty, gooey pizza bliss in a baking dish!
- Easy. I have a few recipes on the blog that start with Bisquick mix, from 7UP biscuits to chocolate chip cookies. Bisquick is the secret to the quick and easy “pizza dough” in this pizza casserole. Just add water!
- One pan. Layer up your ingredients in a casserole dish and let your oven do the rest. It’s an easier alternative to making a traditional pizza from scratch that bakes up in 20 minutes.
- Make it your own. Just like ordering from your favorite pizza takeout menu, you can customize this pizza casserole with any toppings you’d like. I make mine with pepperoni, but you can easily go all-dressed, Hawaiian, you name it. See below for ideas.
Casserole Ingredients
I’ll start you off with some notes on what you’ll need. Scroll down to the recipe card for a printable ingredients list.
- Bisquick – Bisquick is an easy shortcut to biscuit dough in this recipe. Of course, you can always use refrigerated biscuit dough from the store, or your favorite homemade biscuit dough.
- Seasonings – Seasoning the Bisquick dough with garlic powder and Italian seasoning boosts the flavors.
- Pizza Sauce – Choose your preferred jarred pizza sauce from the store.
- Toppings – I make a classic pepperoni pizza casserole. Feel free to change things up with any pizza toppings you’d like!
- Mozzarella Cheese – Shred the cheese straight from the block for the meltiest results. You can also use another mild, melty cheese, like Monterey Jack or Cheddar.
How to Make Pizza Casserole
Follow this short step-by-step to assemble and bake the ultimate pizza casserole. It’s on the table in under an hour! Scroll to the recipe card for printable instructions.
- Prepare the dough. First, whisk together Bisquick with Italian seasoning and garlic powder, and combine it with water to form the dough. The dough should be soft and not too sticky.
- Assemble the casserole. Drop half of the dough, one spoonful at a time, into the bottom of a greased 9×13” baking dish. Top this with a drizzle of pizza sauce.
- Layer on the toppings. Next, layer on the pepperoni and mozzarella. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, ending with a last layer of cheese.
- Bake. Bake the casserole at 375ºF for 20-25 minutes, then serve!
Tips for Success
It doesn’t take much for a melty pizza bake to turn out a success. Here are some last-minute tips:
- Fix sticky dough. If your Bisquick dough is too sticky, add a few more spoonfuls of Bisquick. If it’s too dry, sprinkle in more water.
- Grease the spoon. Spray the tablespoon you use to scoop the dough to make it easier to release into the baking pan.
- Halve the recipe. For a smaller pizza casserole, halve the ingredients and bake this recipe in an 8×8” baking dish instead.
More Pizza Topping Ideas
Layer any of these tasty pizza topping combos between the dough and cheese in this homemade pizza casserole. Or, mix and match your favorite topping ideas to create your own.
- Vegetarian – Skip the pepperoni and add bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, and olives.
- Hawaiian – Chopped ham (or leftover baked ham) and diced pineapple.
- Greek – Kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes, spinach, and crumbled feta cheese.
- Mexican – Ground beef, black beans, avocado, and any other taco fixings you like. Check out my taco pizza recipe for inspiration.
- Buffalo Chicken – Toss shredded chicken with melted butter and your preferred Buffalo hot sauce, replace the pizza sauce with ranch dressing, and layer it into this casserole. It’s a lazy chef’s version of a Buffalo chicken pizza!
- BBQ – Make a BBQ chicken pizza casserole with juicy crockpot BBQ chicken.
What to Serve With a Pizza Bake
A serving of cheesy pizza casserole is a meal on its own. Of course, you can always round out dinner with some tasty sides. This family-style pull-apart garlic monkey bread is perfect for sharing. Or, start the meal with fresh tomato bruschetta. For something lighter, serve pizza casserole with a side of green salad drizzled with homemade ranch dressing.
Can I Prepare This Casserole In Advance?
Yes! Get a head start and assemble this pizza casserole the day before. Store it tightly covered in the fridge until you’re ready to bake it.
Note that the casserole might need an extra few minutes of baking time if you’re baking it cold from the fridge. If you’re looking for another make-ahead-friendly casserole idea, try this cheesy chili mac casserole.
Storing and Reheating Leftover Casserole
- Refrigerate. Store leftover pizza casserole airtight in the fridge. Reheat servings in the microwave, or the oven at 375ºF until the cheese is melted and the casserole is hot throughout.
- Freeze. Freeze any leftovers airtight for up to 2 months, and defrost them in the fridge before reheating.
More Easy Pizza Recipes
Print
Pizza Casserole
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6-8 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Cheesy pizza casserole is the best weeknight dinner! This recipe combines layers of fluffy biscuit dough with savory tomato sauce, your favorite pizza toppings, and lots of melty cheese.
Ingredients
- 3 1/3 cups Bisquick
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
- 1 (14-15 ounce) jar pizza sauce
- 6 ounces sliced pepperoni
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 9×13 baking dish lightly with cooking spray, set aside.
- In a medium bowl combine Bisquick, garlic powder and Italian seasonings. Add water and stir until a soft dough forms. (If dough is too sticky, sprinkle a few tablespoons more Bisquick, if it feels dry add a tablespoon of water).
- Divide dough in half and drop dough by tablespoon sized portions all over the bottom of the prepared pan. Pan will not be covered by the dough.
- Drizzle 1 cup of the pizza sauce on top of the dough. Then layer half of the pepperoni on top of sauce.
- Sprinkle half of the mozzarella cheese all over the pepperoni. Repeat this entire process again with remaining ingredients.
- Bake 20-25 minutes. Cut into squares and serve warm.
We used ground beef and ground pork cooked (instead of pepperoni) plus canned mushrooms and black olives. Make sure you get the dough mixture mixed up where there is no flour you can see, that was my only mistake and I should have added a Tablespoon of water it suggested and mixed it with my hands and it would have been better. I googled a Gluten Free Bisquick recipe and used it and it was good. Excited to make it again.