Pizza outside the box in this delicious take on a Pizza Pasta Bake without Tomato Sauce!
Pizza is traditionally done up al a pie style with a tomato sauce and loads of your favorite toppings. This however is outside the ordinary. This is done in casserole form, with your toppings and sauce incorporated and topped your favorite pasta. We like to mix it up and use whatever pasta we have on hand. We've used elbow, spirals, ziti noodles, etc. This time we had loads of spaghetti noodles on hand thanks to our trips to all the big organic stores while on vacation over Thanksgiving break.
This pasta bake can be made your own, with your favorite sauces, from red, white, or like we used a garlic infused olive oil. Kelsie as I have mentioned before is allergic tomatoes and at first we thought that was the end of pizza as we knew it until we were at Whole Foods in Mountain Brook, Alabama, where they suggested we use a garlic infused olive oil. Genius! We were also lucky enough to find a local place that sales exactly that, and it's delicious. Of course I could have made my own, but sometimes when you already make most everything from scratch, it's nice to buy something that is pre-made. If your in the Panama City area and are looking for excellent olive oil blends for cooking or bread dipping you need to check out Emerald Coast Olive Oil, located in Pier Park.
As I said, you can make this your own, use whatever pasta you have on hand. Use your favorite pizza sauce and toppings and you have an instant meal that your whole family will love! Serve it along side a salad and garlic bread and you have a complete meal.
What do you need?
one pound pasta - I chose spaghetti and broke them into 4ths before adding to the boiling water
¾ - 1 cup of your sauce of choice - garlic infused olive oil is what we used
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 package Applegate pepperoni's - cut into 4ths
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
Your favorite pizza toppings; mushrooms, peppers, onions, sausage, olives, etc.
What do you do?
Cook your pasta according to the directions and drain well.
In a large bowl mix together your pasta, sauce, garlic, and Italian seasoning.
In a 9 inch casserole dish, start by layering ⅓ of your pasta, ⅓ of your cheese, and ⅓ of your toppings. Repeat until your ready to place in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.
Tips: Double or triple the recipe to feed a crowd!
