Puffy Pizza Casserole is like a meat lovers pizza all tossed in a casserole dish - flavorful with melty cheese, sauce and the fun part - no pizza dough needed!
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook and crumble the ground beef and Italian sausage along with the onion and green pepper. Season with a little salt and pepper to taste (about ½ teaspoon each.) Cook until meat is cooked thoroughly.
Turn off heat. Drain any excess grease.
Place mixture back into the skillet. Stir the marinara sauce in with the meat.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 F degrees. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl (I used a large measuring cup), combine the milk, butter, oil and eggs and mix with a whisk until combined well. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and continue to whisk until fully combined.
Evenly pour this batter into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
Then distribute the meat mixture evenly on top of the batter (as best as possible - it will start to sink into the batter as you do this - that’s ok!)
Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese evenly over the top, followed by the shredded Parmesan. Add pepperonis.
Cover the pan with nonstick aluminum foil.
Bake, on the middle rack, for 20 minutes then remove the foil and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes (or until the casserole is puffed around the edges, light golden brown and cheese is completely melted.) Take care not to burn the cheese on top.
Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving. Giving it time to cool also helps it to continue to set up and make it easier to scoop and serve.
Sprinkle the top with a bit of dried parsley (optional) then serve with a fresh salad and garlic bread!
Notes
Please refer to my FAQ’s and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
You can use whatever ground sausage you prefer. I used hot Italian but you can use mild or sweet.
Any of your favorite pizza toppings can be added: mushrooms, diced pepperoni, etc.
My favorite jarred sauce is Rao’s Roasted Garlic but feel free to use your favorite.
We like this to be fairly “saucy”, but if you don’t, just use a 15 ounce jar of pizza sauce. This will give you a firmer, less saucy casserole.
If you want the biscuit layer to be all at the top, place the sauce into the bottom of the dish first, then evenly pour the batter on top, followed by the cheese. Bake for the same amount of time.