Pizza Pasta With Turkey Pepperoni Recipe

"If you love pasta and the flavors of pizza, this dish is for you," says recipe developer Deniz Vergara about her pizza pasta with turkey pepperoni recipe. "It's saucy and cheesy, and the turkey pepperoni adds a nice saltiness." Another great thing about this pasta bake, Vergara says, is that it's "so easy to make." Nearly all of the ingredients are ready-made, so the longest part of the preparation time involves boiling the pasta — Vergara uses rigatoni, but you can swap this out for any other short and chunky shape you like.

Vergara says she makes this dish with turkey pepperoni because her kids love it and "it adds some healthy protein." Of course, "turkey has much less fat, so the texture and flavor is different than pork pepperoni," she adds. Whichever meat you prefer, feel free to pick your favorite among the many pepperoni brands at the grocery store.

The base of this easy casserole is pasta, such as Vergara's preferred rigatoni or another chunky variety. You'll also need marinara sauce — Vergara opts for the store-bought stuff, although homemade would certainly work, as well. The other necessary ingredients are two types of cheese (Parmesan and an Italian-style blend), pepperoni (turkey or otherwise), and some spices: salt, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Boil rigatoni 2 minutes shorter than indicated by package instructions. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, mix together the marinara sauce, salt, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, turkey pepperoni, 1 cup Italian-blend cheese, and Parmesan in a large bowl until evenly distributed.

Stir in the cooked and drained pasta.

Place the pasta mixture into a lightly oiled 9x13-inch casserole dish.

Add remaining 1 cup Italian-blend cheese over the top.

Bake casserole for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted. If desired, broil for 2-3 minutes for a golden, bubbly top.

Serve immediately.

This pizza pasta is Italian-inspired, so Vergara tells us, "I like to serve this with a green salad and garlic bread." Conveniently, both of these sides can be thrown together pretty quickly while the pasta is in the oven.

If you're wondering what type of occasion this casserole might be best suited for, Vergara says, "This meal is great for a busy weeknight." Besides the fact that it's quick and easy, she also points out that "it uses mainly pantry staples." And if you're missing any ingredients, you don't necessarily have to run to the grocery store to grab them. Don't have pepperoni but do have cooked chicken? Leftover rotisserie chicken works well in place of the sausage. You could also turn the marinara into a meat sauce by simmering it with some ground beef. As Vergara says, "The recipe is pretty versatile to customize to your needs."

Even though Vergara created this pasta as something to serve her kids, it also makes a great dish for solo diners since the leftovers last a few days. As she informs us, "You can store leftover pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days," so if you make this on a Monday night, you have the rest of the work week to finish it off. And if that time frame still seems too tight, you can always freeze it for a couple of months. In fact, if you're a meal prepper, you might want to make up a few batches of this casserole and portion them out into single-sized servings in freezer containers. That way, you'll have it on hand for a quick meal at any time.

The good news when it comes to reheating this dish is that there's no need to heat up the oven or do an overnight thaw or anything else that might be time-consuming. Vergara assures us that "you can reheat this pizza pasta in the microwave" so it will be ready in minutes.