Pizza Casserole is the perfect cheese-filled dish to serve for a fun dinner! This pepperoni pizza casserole recipe is made with layers of cheese, sauce, and pepperonis, then topped with balls of pizza dough and brushed with garlic butter. You’re left with a DELICIOUS garlic bread pizza bake that everyone will love!
Pizza Casserole Recipe
This pizza casserole recipe is beyond tasty. Cheese, pepperoni, pizza sauce, and garlic bread pizza dough make one delicious dinner!
Pizza…in a casserole? Have you ever heard of anything so amazing? This pizza casserole recipe combines all the flavors and ingredients of a regular slice of pizza (cheese, sauce, dough), but adds a twist. Everything bakes together in a casserole dish and melts together into something incredibly delicious!
Casseroles always make for an easy weeknight dinner. Just layer up the ingredients and let it bake. This dish is soooooo cheesy, and it’s filled with plenty of sauce and pepperonis. Then we made a garlic bread pizza dough topping to finish it off.
So if you’re craving pizza, but want something a little different, try out this pepperoni pizza casserole. It’s easy to make, and everyone will love it!
This Garlic Bread Pizza Casserole recipe is the perfect weeknight alternative to pizza delivery!
Garlic Bread Pizza Casserole
The trick to the garlic bread topping on this pizza casserole? We’re using pizza dough, but instead of spreading it over the casserole in a single layer, we created little balls of dough to place on top. Then we brush each ball of dough with a delicious garlic butter mixture!
The garlic bread pizza dough is what really takes this pizza casserole recipe to the next level. And beneath the dough is alllllll the cheese and sauce and pepperonis…yum! The cheese layer is super creamy thanks to the mix of mozzarella, Parmesan, and cream cheese. Dig in and make sure you get a nice big bite with everything in it.
Ingredients:
- Pizza Dough
- Pizza Sauce
- Pepperonis
- Cream Cheese
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Parmesan Cheese
- Italian Seasoning
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Garlic
- Butter
- Ground Pepper
How to Make Pepperoni Pizza Casserole
Making a pizza casserole is simple. Mix a few things together, layer everything into a casserole dish, and bake! Prep time is quick, so you can throw it all together when you get home in the evening, let it cook while you finish some things around the house, and then dinner is ready! Your family is going to LOVE this dish.
- Make the garlic butter (whisk together butter, garlic, and parsley) and set it aside.
- Mix the Mozzarella cheese, cream cheese, Parmesan, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Then spread the mixture into the casserole dish.
- Spread the pizza sauce in an even layer over the cheese mixture; sprinkle the remaining Mozzarella over the sauce; then top with pepperoni slices.
- Divide the pizza dough and make small dough balls (they should be roughly the same size as the pepperonis). Then place the dough on top of the pepperonis.
- Brush each ball of dough with the garlic butter, and sprinkle the rest of the Parmesan cheese on top.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes at 350°F. The pizza dough will turn golden brown, and the cheese will start to bubble.
- Let it cool 10-15 minutes before serving (it will be hot!).
Just scoop a big helping of it onto your plate and enjoy! Be sure to check the recipe card below for more detailed instructions. This is a great freezer meal idea to make ahead of time.
When the word pizza is involved, you know it’s going to be amazing! This garlic bread pizza casserole is PROOF. Sure, a regular pizza is good, but a fun recipe that switches things up is ever better. Pizza bites, pizza rolls, pizza dip…there is no wrong way to eat pizza if you ask me!
More Pizza Recipes We Love
- Pepperoni Pizza Sticks
- Veggie Crescent Roll Pizza
- Deep Dish Pizza
- French Bread Pizza Bites
- Cauliflower Crust Pizza
- Easy White Pizza Recipe
- Mini Margherita Pizzas
- Stuffed Pepperoni Pizza Rolls
- Slow Cooker Pepperoni Pizza Dip
- Best Pan Pizza
- Pepperoni Pizza Gnocchi Bake
This Pepperoni Pizza Casserole recipe with garlic bread pizza dough topping is the perfect weeknight meal. Try it out this week and let me know what you think!
More easy casserole recipes:
- Baked Macaroni and Cheese Casserole
- King Ranch Chicken Casserole
- Doritos Casserole
- Chicken Pot Pie Casserole
- Broccoli Cheese Rice Casserole
- Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole
- French Onion Soup Casserole
Garlic Bread Pepperoni Pizza Casserole
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley or basil
- 4 cups shredded mozzarella divided
- 16 ounces cream cheese softened
- ½ cup grated Parmesan divided
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- ¾ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¾ cup pizza sauce
- 1 package medium-size not the minis pepperoni slices
- 2 14.1 ounces packages of pizza premade pizza dough.
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F and spray a 9x13-inch casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, garlic and parsley. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together 2 cups mozzarella, cream cheese, 1/3 cup Parmesan, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and black pepper.
- Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared 9x13-inch dish.
- Spread pizza sauce evenly over the cheese mixture.
- Sprinkle with the remaining 2 cups mozzarella.
- Top with pepperoni.
- Divide the dough into the same number of sections as the number of pepperoni slices used. Roll the dough sections into balls and place each on each slice of pepperoni.
- Brush each ball of dough with the butter/garlic mixture.
- Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese.
- Bake at 350°F, 35-45 minutes, or until the pizza dough is golden brown, cooked through and the pizza dip is bubbly.
- Let cool 10-15 minutes before serving.
- Enjoy!
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Nutrition Information
Hi there! This recipe sounds delicious & can’t wait to try it. Was wondering your thoughts on adding green peppers or banana peppers or onions, mushrooms, etc.. do you think that would work or make the dish mushy? Thank you!
You can add whatever you like! I would just make sure to drain the banana peppers if they are jarred!
This recipe sounds amazing! I would like to make it for a friend as a freezer meal. I’ve never done freezer meals before though and dont think I quite understood your instructions from the link provided. Should this recipe be baked and then frozen? Or put it all together in the pan and she bake it? For either option, if she is pulling it from the freezer, what temp and how long?
Freeze before, let it thaw in fridge overnight, follow instructions from recipe, add time if needed!
Made with biscuits and added bacon there is non left this will be added to the rotation
Thanks for sharing, Joey!
I made this recipe last week (minus the red pepper flakes), and it was AMAZING. Tasted delicious fresh from the oven, and even as leftovers! Definitely will make again!
That’s awesome! thanks for sharing!
Yum! Yum! I wouldn’t change a thing!
Thanks for sharing, Joy!
If freezing, do you adjust the temp and cooking time? Do you put in fridge to defrost? I have 2 kids with a super busy schedule so trying to get this freezer cooking down!!
Let it thaw in the fridge overnight!
If making as a freezer meal, do you suggest baking, cooking, and freezing, or preparing and freeze without baking?
You’d prepare and freeze without baking beforehand!
Fantastic recipe!! Easy to whip together and a real crowd pleaser!!
Yay!! Thanks for sharing your success with us, Melissa!
Would this recipe be considered healthy?
I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily healthy, but I can say it is yummy!
I made this tonight using the extra Italian bread loafs my family left. I cut the bread in bite sized pieces and then mixed them with the butter, garlic and fresh chopped basil. I threw on top in place of the pizza dough, then covered the bread with foil and then the last 10 minutes uncovered and continued baking. Delicious! Thank you for the recipe :)
What a great way to reuse!! That sounds so yummy, I’ll have to try that next time!