One Pot Cheesy Pizza Pasta Bake

5 from 5 votes

All of your favorite pizza ingredients and baked penne pasta wrapped into a hearty one pot Italian inspired pasta bake dinner!

Prep Time20

Cook Time25

Total Time45

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

In Dutch oven over medium high heat, cook 13 ounces spicy Italian sausage with 1 small onion (diced) and 1/2 red bell pepper (diced) until meat is slightly browned, 10-15 minutes. Add 2 cloves garlic (minced) and half the 3-4 ounces pepperoni, stir, and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Add 1/4 cup artichoke hearts, 1/4 cup fresh basil, 14 ounces pasta sauce, 1 1/2 cups water, and 8 ounces pasta. Stir well and cover. Cook over medium high heat for 7-10 minutes until pasta is tender. While pasta is cooking, preheat oven to 425°F.
When pasta is cooked, cover with shredded 8 ounces mozzarella (grated) as well as remaining pepperoni and 1/4 cup black olives. Bake in preheated oven for 5-10 minutes until cheese has fully melted.

Top tips for making this pasta bake:

Be sure that the pot you use is oven safe since you'll start the recipe on the cook top and it will finish cooking in a hot oven.
Cook the pasta al dente on the stove since it will finish cooking in the oven. Taste it and when it's just soft enough to chew, it's time to let it finish cooking during the baking process.
Change out any of the toppings based on your preferences. Ground beef would work well instead of or in addition to the sausage and pepperoni. Mushrooms would be a great addition - I would add them in at the same time as the onion.