Recipe

Pizza Pasta: An Opportunity to Eat More of Your Two Favorite Things

By Camille Balhorn at University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Pizza is a timeless delicacy: it's good at 2pm and 2am, for dinner and for breakfast, today and tomorrow. And yet as with anything so simple, there is a constant effort to improve what already exists. For pizza, that effort is focused around toppings. There's the standard tomato sauce, cheese and pepperoni; the controversial pineapple on pizza; and countless dinner dishes piled onto a thin or deep dish crust (see: mac and cheese pizza). So what's left to create in the realm of pizza, you might ask? Taking pasta pizza and turning it into pizza pasta. A deconstructed pizza, if you will. It's everything you love about pizza, but in a pasta dish. While the crust is missing, I think you'll be forgiving once you take your first bite.

Pizza Pasta

  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Total Time: 30 mins
  • Servings: 5
Ingredients
  • 1 12-ounce box rigatoni pasta
  • 1 pound ground Italian sausage
  • 1 bag pepperoni
  • 1/2 onion chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 16-ounce can spaghetti sauce
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

Camille Balhorn

Step 1

Heat oil in a pan.

Camille Balhorn

Step 2

Chop up onions.

Camille Balhorn

Step 3

Sauté onions in oil for 5 minutes on medium-low heat.

Camille Balhorn

Step 4

Boil water and prepare pasta according to directions on box.

Camille Balhorn

Step 5

Add garlic and Italian sausage. Cooked until meat is browned.

Camille Balhorn

Step 6

Add pepperoni and cook until it gets crispy.

Camille Balhorn

Step 7

Pour in spaghetti sauce and let flavors come together on medium-low heat.

Camille Balhorn

Step 8

Mix in cooked pasta and enjoy!

Camille Balhorn

This is your standard pizza pasta: good to try and always a staple. But if you're feeling like living on the edge, try out this Hawaiian pizza mac and cheese—if you're into that. Otherwise, try out other combinations like veggie pizza or California pizza. These recipes are adaptable to your preferences, so experiment to find your favorite pizza pasta!