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italian casserole

(5 ratings)
sugarshack avatar
Blue Ribbon Recipe by
Gail Welch
@sugarshack
Carthage, TX

I love the meaty marinara pasta that you can buy. So I decided to try to make it at home. It is easy to make and very appetizing. This tastes like a cross between a meat lovers pizza and lasagna. I hope you like it.

Blue Ribbon Recipe

We love meals that are easy to make and pack a punch of flavor. This is full of tomatoey flavor and has a great meaty taste throughout the dish. The bits of ooey, gooey cheese are perfect. Gail is right, it tastes like a cross between pizza and lasagna. So good!

— The Test Kitchen @kitchencrew
(5 ratings)
yield 6 serving(s)
prep time 15 Min
cook time 30 Min
method Bake

Ingredients For italian casserole

  • 2 c
    rotini or any pasta
  • 1 1/2 lb
    ground chuck
  • 1/2 tsp
    salt or seasoned salt
  • 1/2 tsp
    black pepper (coarse ground)
  • 1 sm
    white onion, chopped (optional)
  • 2 1/2 c
    spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce
  • 1 can
    tomato paste (6 ounce)
  • 1 can
    tomato sauce (8 ounce)
  • 1/2-1 tsp
    sugar
  • 1/2 tsp
    garlic salt
  • 1/2 tsp
    oregano leaves
  • 2 c
    mozzarella cheese
  • 20 slice
    pepperoni
  • 2 Tbsp
    grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

How To Make italian casserole

  • Drained pasta sitting on the stove.
    1
    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook rotini in boiling water 7-9 minutes. Drain and set aside.
  • Browning ground beef and onions in a frying pan.
    2
    While rotini is cooking, brown seasoned ground chuck (with salt and pepper) and onion (if desired).
  • Tomato sauce and spices combined with pasta in a pan.
    3
    Combine pasta, 2 cups of spaghetti sauce (or pizza sauce), tomato paste, tomato sauce, sugar, garlic salt, and oregano. Add beef mixture to pasta and sauce.
  • Rotini pasta and ground beef in a baking dish.
    4
    Pour 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce in bottom of 3 qt casserole dish. Pour half of beef and pasta mixture over sauce.
  • A layer of cheese added to the ground beef and pasta mixture in a baking dish.
    5
    Top with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Then pour remaining meat and pasta mixture over top.
  • Mozzarella cheese sprinkled on top of pasta in a baking dish.
    6
    Add 1 cup of mozzarella cheese on top of meat mixture.
  • Casserole with pepperoni slices on top baking in the oven.
    7
    Place pepperoni slices on top of cheese and bake for 25-30 minutes until hot and pepperoni is somewhat crisp. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.
  • Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!
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