Ziti Pepperoni Casserole

Submitted by Charmie777

"This is my kids' favorite meal. And it's so easy to prepare, that they often do it themselves! It's very cheesy! I've also made this and cooked it in the microwave during the summer. Freezing instructions included. If you prefer, you may sub in ricotta cheese for the cottage cheese."

 

• Ready In: 1hr
• Ingredients: 9
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) box ziti pasta, cooked and drained
• 1 (32 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
• 1⁄2 lb mozzarella cheese, grated (or more)
• 1⁄2 lb cheddar cheese, grated (or more)
• 1⁄2 lb pepperoni, chopped
• 1 lb cottage cheese

• optional additions

• bell pepper
• mushroom
• onion

directions

1. Set aside some of the cheeses for topping the casserole.
2. Mix remaining ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Spoon into a 13x9 baking dish.
4. Top with remaining cheese.
5. Bake at 375º for 40 minutes or until lightly browned on top.
6. To freeze: Cover dish with foil and freeze. When frozen you can pop it out of the container and put in a freezer bag if desired. To heat: Thaw and preheat oven to 350°F Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10-15 minutes more.

Reviews

[Sassy J]

Scrumptious casserole that was enjoyed by everyone at the table (not always an easy feat). Used turkey pepperoni. Cheesy pasta goodness. Very pleased.

 

[John C.]

So easy and so tasty! This casserole was an instant hit with my son. We will make this one again soon.

 

[mtrouton]

Made this for my family tonight and it was DELICIOUS. We didn't change a thing. I've been looking for a replacement for lasagna (too hard to make efficiently) and this is probably it. Recommend choosing a really veggie packed sauce to give it some extra lunch. Thanks so much for sharing.

 

[GaylaV]

We enjoyed this dish very much. I am not that big on pepperoni but found I really liked it done this way. I fried the onions, green peppers and mushrooms for a few minutes before adding them to the casserole. Thanks for sharing your recipe, Charmie.

 

[Margie99]

This was really good stuff. It was really easy to make. I used less pepperoni because sometimes my kids find it spicy and I used the sliced stuff which I microwaved for a 1 1/2 minutes between layers of paper towel, it makes it less greasy. I used a 26 oz jar of spaghetti sauce and ended up using about half of another jar. I'd like to try it with bell pepper, onions and black olives but not unless I make another one for the kids. Maybe I could seperate it into 2 smaller dishes. Yum.