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This Upside Down Pizza Casserole is everything you love about pizza – hearty meat, tomato sauce, gooey cheese, buttery biscuits – baked together in one skillet for the easiest, family-approved dinner. It’s fast, filling, endlessly customizable, and one of the most-loved casseroles in our house!
Why we love it
- One-pan comfort food. You simmer it right in an oven-safe skillet, then top with biscuit pieces, mozzarella, and maybe a few pepperoni slices if you’re feeling it. Into the oven it goes, and about 15 minutes later, your cozy dinner is done!
- Family-approved flavor. The biscuit topping is soft and so good. The filling itself is like a quick stovetop meat sauce with pizza vibes: ground sausage or beef, bell pepper, onion, canned mushrooms (yes we are mushroom people but you can leave them out), and a few pantry seasonings.
- Totally customizable. Add whatever pizza things you like to the sauce or as a topping. Make it easier with store-bought biscuit dough, or make your own.
I’ve tried all kinds of “bubble-up” style pizza bakes where the biscuit dough gets mixed right into the filling over the years. But honestly? I really prefer keeping the biscuits as a topping. You get that golden crust, you avoid the dreaded doughy middle, and it just feels like a pizza pot pie. And while I love a middle brownie, here I’m 100% an edge biscuit person!
Printable recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage (OR ground beef, or a mix)
- ½ cup chopped yellow onion (about 1 small)
- ½ cup chopped red or green bell pepper (about 1 medium)
- salt & pepper (to taste)
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 (15-oz) can diced tomatoes, not drained
- 1 (4-oz) can mushrooms, drained
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (OR fresh basil/oregano if you have it)
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼-1/3 cup water OR chicken broth
- 1 (16-oz) tube refrigerated biscuits (quartered; OR use homemade biscuit dough)
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- optional: pepperoni slices, grated Parmesan cheese
Tips
- Vegetables: Bell pepper, onion and mushrooms are my favorites, but feel free to add olives, pepperoncini – or skip anything you don’t like!
- Biscuits: I use a standard 16-oz can, quartered. When I have time, I make homemade biscuit dough!
- Bake time: Make sure the biscuit pieces stay on top of the filling and aren’t buried in sauce so they bake up golden and fluffy, not doughy.
- Skillet: Use an oven-safe skillet, or transfer the filling to a casserole dish before baking.
Instructions
- In a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat, season ground beef/sausage, onion and pepper with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until browned. Drain.1 pound ground Italian sausage, ½ cup chopped yellow onion, ½ cup chopped red or green bell pepper, salt & pepper
- Stir in flour. Add undrained tomatoes, mushrooms and seasonings; mix well. Stir through chicken broth and simmer until bubbly and slightly thickened. Take off the heat.1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, 1 (15-oz) can diced tomatoes, not drained, 1 (4-oz) can mushrooms, drained, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼-1/3 cup water OR chicken broth
- Arrange biscuit pieces over mixture in skillet. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and pepperoni, if using.1 (16-oz) tube refrigerated biscuits, 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, optional: pepperoni slices, grated Parmesan cheese
- Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 14-16 minutes, until biscuits are golden and filling is bubbly. Let the casserole sit for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with parmesan cheese, if you like.
Upside Down Pizza Casserole
make your kitchen smell like home?Pizza casserole questions answered
You can make the filling up to 2 days ahead and store it in a covered container in the fridge.
Once you’re ready to bake the casserole, place the filling in your skillet and bring it to a simmer. Take off the heat, add the biscuits/topping and bake as directed in the recipe.
If you don’t have one, you can transfer the filling to a 3-4 quart casserole dish before topping with the biscuits and baking.
I usually use a mix of sausage and ground beef, but you can absolutely use either one solo.
For the vegetables, bell peppers and onions are what I usually have on hand, but you could even skip them entirely or use a veggie-based jarred pizza sauce if you’re very short on time.
Canned mushrooms? Always, always yes for me. If they’re not your thing, skip them. The sauce still works without. Chopped pepperoncini or black olives also taste great here if that’s your thing!
Perfect to serve with
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