Crock Pot Pizza
Over the years, I’ve seen several different versions of this Crock Pot Pizza recipe.
In this post, I’m sharing the one that has been our family’s favorite!
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Why You’ll Love This Crock Pot Pizza Casserole Recipe
- You can make it and forget it! Slow cooker recipes are great for busy weeknights. You can throw all of the ingredients in your slow cooker and leave it to cook while you go about the rest of your tasks.
- It’s a family favorite! More than likely, your whole family likes pizza. Thankfully, there are many ways to put a twist on pizza night. And it’s nice to know that you have an easy dinner recipe that even the picky eaters will enjoy.
- It’s a simple recipe! There isn’t any fancy trick to it. Brown your meat, cook your noodles, and then just layer them up in your Crock Pot.
Ingredients You’ll Need For Crock Pot Pizza
Some of the ingredients on this list take some extra prep steps, like cooking the noodles and browning the beef.
But the meal is so delicious that it’s worth it, and you can prep those ingredients at any point during the day, or even the day before.
- 1 Pound of Ground Meat – Want to use a little more than that? Go for it! Use whatever ground meat your entire family will enjoy. I like ground beef, but you can use Italian sausage or ground turkey. Brown your ground meat and drain it of excess grease.
- 1 Jar of Spaghetti Sauce – You’ll mix a large jar of sauce with your browned meat to make a meat sauce mixture. Any sort of tomato sauce, marinara sauce, or pizza sauce will do. You can add some Italian seasoning or garlic powder to it for a great flavor addition throughout the Crock Pot pizza!
- 1 Box of Lasagna Noodles – These will serve as the “pizza dough”. Be sure to cook them beforehand in salted water, according to the package directions.
- Pepperoni – The addition of pepperoni slices helps give this recipe its pizza flair. Use turkey pepperoni, if you’d rather.
- Mozzarella Cheese – Layered all through this slow cooker pizza casserole will be delicious shredded mozzarella cheese. You can shredded cheddar cheese if you’d rather, but mozzarella cheese gets more of the gooey melty goodness that we enjoy on pizzas!
- Parmesan Cheese – You’ll also add a good sprinkle of Parmesan cheese in each layer!
The amount of pepperoni and various cheeses? You decide what your family would enjoy most!
How To Make This Easy Crock Pot Recipe
With this pizza casserole, you’re basically making a layered lasagna with a pizza flair, inside of your Crock Pot!
- Combine your browned ground meat and the spaghetti sauce to create your meat sauce for layering.
- Place a layer of cooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of your Crock Pot.
- Add a layer of meat sauce, then add your pepperoni or other favorite toppings.
- Finish this first layer with a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese and a generous shake of Parmesan cheese.
- Repeat layers! Continue layering lasagna noodles, sauce mixture, slices of pepperoni, and cheeses. You’ll have 3 total layers of pasta and toppings. Be sure to spread each ingredient out as evenly as possible!
- Top with the remaining mozzarella cheese, then cover and cook on high for 2 hours, or low for 4 hours.
- Serve warm with garlic bread and a fresh side salad.
Other Ingredients You Can Try!
The great thing about pizza recipes is that you can typically add all your favorite pizza toppings and trust that you’ll wind up with a delicious meal.
My family likes it best with the ground beef, cheese, and pepperoni, but you can also try added some of these ingredients!
- Green Pepper (or red pepper… really just any bell peppers)
- Black Olives
- Canadian Bacon
- Red Onion (or white as pictured here)
- Fresh Cilantro (this would be sprinkled on top)
- Sliced Mushrooms
- Cream Cheese (mix with the mozzarella cheese for extra gooey cheese!)
You can also try using a different type of pasta.
How about using spiral pasta, penne pasta, or wide egg noodles instead of lasagna noodles?
How To Store Leftover Crock Pot Pizza
You can save this Crock Pot pizza recipe to eat as leftovers the next day.
Simply place all of the leftovers in an airtight container and store it in the fridge.
It will be good to eat for up to a week!
To reheat, place portions of the pizza casserole in the microwave, or place it in a 350 degree oven in an over-safe dish for 10 minutes.
Meal Prepping My Crock Pot Pizza Casserole Recipe
I love to meal prep meals for busy days.
Because layering is key to this easy weeknight dinner, you can’t exactly make the entire meal and have it perfectly ready to pull out and cook.
For these types of recipes, I like to prep all of the ingredients ahead of time and have them bagged and placed together in my freezer.
I will brown the ground beef, combine it with the tomato sauce and seasonings, and store it in a plastic Ziploc freezer bag.
Next to the bag of meat sauce, I’ll place small bags containing my topping choices, already chopped up into small pieces.
This means that when it’s time to get the meal cooking in the Crock Pot, all I have to do is cook the noodles.
The rest is already ready for layering.
My Top Tips For A Perfect Crock Pot Pizza
This easy family meal will taste great no matter what, but here are some tips to try next time!
- Spray your slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. The noodles will want to stick to the sides of your Crock Pot, and can be frustrating to scrub off when it’s time to clean up the kitchen.
- Make sure to get all of the grease off of your ground meat. After browning it in a large skillet, set it on a plate lined with paper towels for at least 30 minutes.
- There isn’t a long cooking time with this Crock Pot recipe, but if you’re really in a time crunch, you can use this recipe in an Instant Pot. Set the manual/pressure cook button for 4 minutes, then let it self-vent for 5 to 10 minutes.
- If you have the time, opt to cook this recipe on low heat for 4 hours rather than high for 2 hours. This will prevent the noodles and red sauce from scalding.
Crock Pot Pizza
Equipment
- 1 Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Meat Browned
- 1 Jar Spaghetti Sauce
- 1 Box Lasagna Noodles Cooked
- 1 Package Pepperoni Amount Optional
- Mozzarella Cheese Amount Optional
- Parmesan Cheese Amount Optional
Instructions
- Combine your browned ground meat and the spaghetti sauce to create your meat sauce for layering.
- Place a layer of cooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of your crockpot.
- Add a layer of meat sauce, then add your pepperoni or other favorite toppings.
- Finish this first layer with a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese and a generous shake of Parmesan cheese.
- Repeat layers! Continue layering lasagna noodles, sauce mixture, slices of pepperoni, and cheeses. You'll have 3 total layers of pasta and toppings. Be sure to spread each ingredient out as evenly as possible!
- Top with the remaining mozzarella cheese, then cover and cook on high for 2 hours, or low for 4 hours.
- Serve warm with garlic bread and a fresh side salad.
Could you use the “no boil, oven ready” lasagna noodles like from Barilla in this? That way it saves the step of pre-boiling the regular ones?
They would maybe work! I think the only complaint I’ve heard from friends is that the noodles sometimes end up a little too mushy, but it might be worth a try! I’m all for saving a step – Happy New Year, Nancy!