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This Pepperoni Pizza Pasta recipe is a super easy dinner you make in just one pan in less than 30 minutes! Kids love this cheesy skillet meal and moms love the easy clean-up!
Pizza pasta is one of our favorite quick and easy budget meals. It’s cheaper than buying pizza, and it’s faster than ordering out! But, it tastes like pizza, and you get plenty of ooey, gooey stretchy cheese!
Best of all, you only have one pan to clean, which is a huge plus for Mom! I make this easy pepperoni pizza pasta and other one dish dinners a lot during the school year and whenever we need something quick and kid friendly.
If you have a pressure cooker, you can also make Instant Pot pizza pasta. And if you have more time, you can turn this into a pizza pasta bake in the oven.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
You only need a few simple ingredients to make this easy pizza pasta. In fact, you may already have what you need in your fridge and pantry!
- Penne pasta — or another short, thick pasta shape
- Pasta sauce — Use your favorite brand here
- Mozzarella cheese — shredded
- Parmesan cheese — grated
- Water
- Italian seasoning
- Pepperoni slices
How to Make Pepperoni Pizza Pasta
First, add your pasta sauce and water to a large skillet. Then, gently mix in the pasta.
Cover with foil or the cover to your skillet if you have one. Cook on medium high heat until the sauce starts to boil.
The sauce will seem thin at first, but as the pasta cooks, the sauce gets nice and thick. It really hugs the pasta, and that’s exactly what you need for this type of dish.
If the sauce seems too thick, just stir in enough water to thin it out. When the pasta is fork tender, reduce the heat. Then, stir in the shredded mozzarella cheese.
You top this dish off with mozzarella cheese and a little bit of Parm, a few pepperoni slices and Italian seasoning. Then, you let the cheese melt and get nice and ooey gooey and super stretchy – just like your favorite pizza.
And, that’s it. Easy, cheesy, completely delicious and totally kid friendly. We think this is the BEST pizza pasta ever!
Not to mention, this is a one-pot meal, so clean-up is a breeze, as well. And that’s exactly what we all need on a crazy weeknight, right?
Make it Meatless
If you prefer a vegetarian version, just leave off the pepperoni. You can add slices peppers, olives or your favorite veggies, instead.
What to Serve with It
Serve pizza pasta with your favorite side salad and breadsticks or rolls if you like. You can also make Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Wings or BBQ Chicken Wings.
Store and Reheat
Store any leftover pizza pasta in a covered container in the refrigerator. Leftovers should be eaten in 3 to 4 days. You can freeze leftovers for later in a freezer safe container.
You can reheat the pasta in the microwave or on the stove or in the oven. I recommend adding a little more sauce and cheese for best flavor!
One Pan Pepperoni Pizza Pasta
Ingredients
- 23 oz jar pasta sauce or larger
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups mini penne pasta mezza penne
- 2 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning mix
- Thinly sliced pepperoni
Instructions
- Mix the pasta sauce, pasta and water in a large skillet
- Cover and cook on medium to medium high heat, stirring occasionally untill pasta is cooked
- Stir in 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese
- Reduce heat to low and top with remaining 2 cups of mozzarella cheese, pepperoni slices, Italian seasoning blend and Parmesan cheese.
- Cover and allow cheese to melt
- Serve immediately
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Eating dinner together as a family is important to me. And, one dish meals make this happen! Even though I love cooking, I would rather spend more time chatting with the kids around the dinner table, know what I mean?
My family gave this one pan pepperoni pizza pasta a collective double thumbs-up, so that’s 14 total. Can’t beat that!
Looks great and what an easy meal for back to school! Thanks for linking up to Merry Monday! Yummed & Sharing on G+! Have a great week!
Kim
Could you add ground beef or sausage to this recipe? Sounds so good!
Definitely — both would be just as good!
My entire family would gobble this up! A total crowd pleaser!
Such a great idea. My family would eat this in no time.
My family loved it, and so did I. 🙂
Pasta and pizza together?! Yes, please!
I love pizza and one pot dinner ideas!!! This is perfect
Thanks! This was a tasty compromise for everyone. 🙂
I love simple one-pot meals like this – and I know my family would devour it!
Mine sure did — There wasn’t anything left in the pan!
Love this mash-up dish! Also loving these new Ragu sauces — so thick & rich! Nice!
Thanks, Patricia. We absolutely love these sauces!
I’m ready for dinner – pass that skillet!!
I would love to send some to you! 😉
Oh yum, this looks so tasty!
Thanks, Nora. My family loved it!