Bubble Up Pizza Casserole is made with ground hot Italian sausage or ground beef, pepperoni, pasta sauce, and unbaked canned biscuits. It is a quick and easy dinner recipe that the kids will love that is ready in just 30 minutes!
A convenient and easy casserole made with Pillsbury biscuits is great for those busy weeknights and goes great with a side of Caprese Salad!
Quick Summary:
- Ready in 30 minutes with pantry staples and canned biscuits - no dough to make.
- One skillet, one dish.
- Serves 8, with a keto option built in if you want it down to 6 net carbs a serving.
A popular retro recipe and my keto option
This Bubble Up Pizza Casserole recipe was popular when my kids were young. It was a Pillsbury recipe that became popular because of the ease of making and its taste! For 1 serving, you will have 25 carbs, which, when allowing yourself a low carb diet, is not bad.
While for the most part, I stick to keto, I will incorporate a recipe like this that is not keto as a rare treat. I do make this for the rest of the family on our weekly family dinner sometimes.
When I want to stick to keto, I will reserve 1 cup of the filling (see pic above) and put it in a small single-serving casserole, top with the cheese and bake it for a 6 net carb pizza casserole dinner.
What You Need for This Biscuit Pizza Casserole
Hot Italian Sausage: We love spicy sausage on our pizza. I always buy ground hot Italian Sausage for this recipe. It adds a ton of flavor without packing too much heat.
Pepperoni Slices: I used a pork pepperoni. Cut the pepperoni slices in half or in quarters, whatever way you like. I measured the whole slices into ½ cup, then cut them.
Pasta or Pizza Sauce: I use a sugar-free pasta sauce. If I don't have any homemade pasta sauce on hand, I will buy a sauce with no sugar added such as Ragu Simply.. I love that it is sugar-free and much more budget-friendly than other sugar-free sauces.
Canned Biscuits: I use the flaky layers 10 count buttermilk biscuits made by Pillsbury. This particular biscuit has only 15 carbs per serving.
Cheese: I use a 3-cheese blend to mix into the pizza bake. Then I top it with the shredded mozzarella
Casserole Baking Dish: You will need a 9x13 baking dish. I have a glass pyrex dish (affiliate link) that has a lid, making it easy to just cover and store in the fridge for those make-ahead days.
How to Make Bubble Up Pizza Casserole with Biscuits
Brown the sausage with the onion, then stir in the sauce and pepperoni and let everything simmer together. Cut the biscuits into quarters and mix them right into that filling with the cheese. That's the "bubble up" part. Spread it all into a 9x13 pan, top with mozzarella, and bake until the cheese is browned and bubbly.
Substitutions
This Bubble Up Pizza Casserole is a very versatile recipe. You can use any ingredients you would normally put on as a pizza topping. Below are just a few substitues you can make that work in this recipe.
- Use ground beef, pork, chicken, or turkey in place of the sausage. Or, swap in chicken sausage links. The buffalo chicken sausage links are my favorite.
- Substitute turkey pepperoni for the pork pepperoni.
- Substitute 2 cups of cooked penne pasta for the biscuit dough or use Mom's Old Fashioned Buttermilk Biscuits for the dough.
Variations
- Saute some red and green pepper with the onion and ground meat.
- Stir in ½ cup of black olives along with the pepperoni slices.
- Sprinkle the top of the casserole with ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese along with the mozzarella cheese.
- Instead of mixing the pepperoni into the sauce, lay it over top of the cheese before baking.
Tips
- Cut the biscuit dough into quarters, not smaller - they hold their fluffy layers better and still cook through in the 20 minutes.
- Simmer the sauce and pepperoni for the full 5 minutes before adding the biscuits so the filling isn't watery.
- Caot the dish with cooking spray before adding the filling. It makes serving (and cleanup) a lot easier.
- Bake until the cheese is browned, not just melted. That's your cue the biscuits underneath are full cooked.
Storage & Make Ahead
Bake the casserole as directed, then let leftovers cool and store them in the fridge for up to 4 days. I don't recommend freezing this one. The biscuits turn soggy once thawed, so fridge storage is the way to go.
FAQ
Yes, butif you use a biscuit mix or homemade dough, you'll need to shape it into biscuits and cut it into bite sized pieces before adding it in. It's more time-consuming and kind of defeats the point of a quick, easy dinner, but it can be done. Your favorite brand of canned biscuit dough is the easiest route.
Not as writte, but see my keto version above - reserving a single-serving portion of the filling gets you a 6 net carb pizza casserole dinner.
Yes. You'll just need a bigger dish or make two 9x13 pans.
More Casserole Recipes You'll Love
Tuna Noodle Casserole - a healthier version
When you make this recipe, please comment below and leave a rating, letting me know what you think! I'd love it if you'd tag me @grumpyshoneybunch in Instagram so I can see your photos!
📖 Recipe
Bubble Up Pizza Casserole
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Ingredients
- 1 pound hot Italian sausage
- ½ cup sliced pepperoni
- ¼ cup diced onion
- 2 cups pasta sauce
- 1 can biscuit dough
- 1 cup shredded pizza cheese blend
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- In a large skillet, crumble and cook the hot Italian sausage over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Stir in diced onion and cook for 5 minutes, or until sausage has browned.
- Stir in pasta sauce and pepperoni slices and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Cut the biscuit dough into quarters and stir into the meat mixture with the pizza cheese blend.
- Transfer to a casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and bake for 20 minutes or until cheese has browned.
Mary says
I do not see a baking temperature listed. What should I use?
Shelby Law Ruttan says
Hi Mary, this should bake at 350 degrees F. Thanks!