Easy, healthy, and flavorful recipe that will have your family screaming for more! This recipe is not only packed full of veggies but also ingredients that are clean and will have you feeling confident feeding your family this. This veggie packed pizza casserole will have you serving your family this weekly!
Friday night dinner was rolling around again and doing what I did every Friday night, I walked to our freezer and pulled out a frozen pizza. Pizza is something my family and I enjoy, and it is a quick dinner that I just have to throw in the oven. After studying the ingredients label, I noticed that there was no nutritional value to this pizza that I was feeding my family weekly. I wanted a way to make this pizza into something nutritious and delicious and obviously packed full of vegetables. Quickly I knew a casserole was an easy way to sneak vegetables into my family diet. With research and trial and error I finally found the perfect recipe!
If you have seen my other post before, you already know I am a big advocate of meal prepping. This is something that can be prepped in a matter of 15 minutes and store in the freezer! In my blog post Weekly Meal Plan for a Family of 5 I explain to you meal prepping and how to do it. The post also shows you that it is possible to eat healthy and still keep the grocery bill under $100.00!
Ingredients
The ingredients to this veggie packed pizza casserole are pretty simple! You can pick them up at your local grocery store. My favorite store to use when it comes to my pantry items is Thrive Market. Thrive Market has all organic, clean products that are affordable and gets shipped right to your front doors in just a couple of days. Want 40% off your first order? Click the link here! I will have links to the ingredients that I get off Thrive Market. If I cannot get them off their website than usually Aldi’s is my second choice!
- 1 Pound Beef
- 1 Pound Sausage
- Your Favorite Pizza Toppings
- Spaghetti Squash
- 2-25 OZ Marinara Sauce
- Jovial Lasagna Noodles
- 5 OZ Parmesan Cheese
- 15 OZ Ricotta Cheese
- 6 OZ Mozzarella Cheese
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
This is all about layering. It doesn’t have to be perfect. That’s what is so great about making a casserole. It is just a whole bunch of layers smushed together. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and ribbing. Drizzle the inside of the squash with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the spaghetti squash cut side down on the baking sheet and use a fork to poke holes. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned on the outside, fork tender, but still a little bit firm.
While the spaghetti squash is cooking, brown your ground beef and your sausage. You can do this all-in-one pot.
When the sausage and ground beef are brown, drain the grease out into a glass or stainless-steel pan. Then add your marinara sauce.
Remove the spaghetti squash from the oven and let it cool. Reduce the oven to 375 degrees.
Once you have combined the ground beef, sausage, and marinara sauce, put a layer of the meat sauce at the bottom of your lasagna pan.
Then put a layer of lasagna noodles and spaghetti squash.
Then lay a layer of your ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and mozzarella cheese.
repeat the process until you reach the top of your pan or run out of ingredients.
Top it off with a layer of your favorite pizza toppings. (Unfortunately, my toddlers only allow cheese.)
Put aluminum foil on top of the casserole and cook in the oven at 375 Degrees for 1 hour.
Once it has hit an hour, remove it from the oven. Let it cool.
Serve and enjoy!
Check on the casserole frequently. Not all ovens are the same do not be afraid to leave it in longer or take it out sooner!
Also, try not to overflow the casserole pan-you don’t want all your pizza toppings sticking to the aluminum foil.
My favorite thing to do is to make about 3 or 4 pizza casseroles and store them in the freezer!
Substitutions
Feel free to use any brand that you prefer in your casserole. I like to get my pasta sauce and my noodles from Thrive Market. Thrive Market allows me to shop the certain diet I am going for. Also, most pasta sauces are packed full of added ingredients. Thrive Markets pasta sauce has only 5-7 ingredients, so it is super clean and delicious!
If you are needing substitutions for cheese, you can use any type of dairy free cheese. and as for gluten free, I love the jovial gluten free pasta noodles. That is actually what I use in every recipe. They are delicious and you cannot even tell that they are gluten free!
Some other vegetables that would be easy to add in if your local grocery store does not have spaghetti squash is shredded carrots or shredded zucchini. Heck, I have sometimes added zucchini, carrots, and spaghetti squash into the casserole and the kids don’t even notice. It still tastes just as delicious!
Equipment
Storage
For a casserole it is usually good in the refrigerator after being cooked for 5-7 days.
If you are storing the casserole into the freezer it can last up to six months!
Top tip
Casseroles are so easy to hide vegetables in. Do not be afraid to add some shredded carrots or zucchini. The family will not notice it and you are filling their body with nutrients without them knowing!
Also, once the ground beef and sausage are brown and the spaghetti squash is cooked it takes no longer than 5 minutes to make assemble the casserole. Do yourself a favor and make a couple of them at 1 time. That way when you are in a pinch for dinner you have a meal to pull out of the freezer and bake!
FAQ
Absolutely! I make about 4-5 pizza casseroles and store them in the freezer. They last 6 months in the freezer!
It is very easy to do, all you have to do is double triple or quadruple the ingredients and assemble them. Next, let the casserole cool off. Once it is cool, put a layer of plastic wrap over the casserole. Then, you will put a layer of aluminum foil over the casserole. Repeat the process for the remaining casseroles. IMPORTANT: BEFORE BAKING REMOVE THE PASTIC WRAP!!
You will need to store the casserole in the refrigerator for 24 hours before to thaw out. If you are in a pinch or forget to lay it out (this is usually the case for me), you can bake it in the oven at 375 degrees for two hours! Just continue to check it to make sure it is not over cooking.
Spaghetti Squash Pizza Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 LB Ground Sausage
- 1 LB Ground Beef
- 24 OZ Pasta Sauce I did 2-24 OZ to make it extra saucy.
- 1 Spaghetti Squash
- 9 OZ Lasagna Noodles I like the jovial brand
- 5 OZ Parmesan Cheese
- 15 OZ Ricotta Cheese
- 6 OZ Mozzarella Cheese
- Your favorite pizza toppings
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and ribbing. Drizzle the inside of the squash with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the spaghetti squash cut side down on the baking sheet and use a fork to poke holes. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned on the outside, fork tender, but still a little bit firm.
- While the spaghetti squash is cooking, brown your ground beef and your sausage. You can do this all-in-one pot.
- Once you have combined the ground beef, sausage, and marinara sauce, put a layer of the meat sauce at the bottom of your lasagna pan.
- Then put a layer of lasagna noodles.
- Then lay a layer of, ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and mozzarella cheese.
- Top it off with a layer of your favorite pizza toppings.
- Put aluminum foil on top of the casserole and cook in the oven at 375 Degrees for 1 hour.
- Once it has hit an hour, remove it from the oven. Let it cool.
- Serve & Enjoy!
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