I feel like this is the perfect recipe for when you’re trying to be good with your diet, but you need a treat. Like, an end-of-the-week-no-more-willpower meal. This meal has all the flavors of pizza and none of the greasy, carb-y crust😝
I went with a pepperoni and green olive topping, since that’s Dan’s favorite pizza topping, but you could go with your own favorite toppings. I also used ground chicken, but a ground beef would be perfectly acceptable. It might seem like I used a lot of spices, but I basically made the plain old ground meat more of an Italian sausage.
Pizza Casserole
Author: Salted Gold
Ingredients
- 1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained (I used the roasted kind)
- 2 lbs lean ground chicken (or beef)
- ¼ cup black olives, sliced
- ½ large onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp. + 2 tsp. olive oil
- 1 Tbs Italian Seasoning
- 1 tsp dried fennel
- salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste
- 16 oz. fresh mushrooms, washed and sliced
- 1½ cups grated Mozzarella cheese
- About ½ cup pepperoni slices(I used turkey pepperoni)
- 14 ounces pizza sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F/200C. Spray an 8 inch x 11 inch dish with non-stick spray or olive oil.
- Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Once pan is hot add diced onions. After two minutes add garlic. Once onions are translucent move onions aside in the pan and add chicken and cook over medium-high heat until it's nicely browned, breaking it apart as it cooks. Season with the Italian Seasoning and fennel.
- While chicken cooks, wash mushrooms, pat dry, and slice into thick slices. When the chicken is done make a layer of chicken and onion mixture in the bottom of the casserole dish. Add drained canned tomatoes and pizza sauce to the chicken. Stir in the pan until evenly combined.
- Rinse out the pan if needed, then heat the other 2 tsp. of olive oil over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot add the mushrooms and cook, stirring a few times, until all the liquid is released and the mushrooms are starting to brown. Layer the mushrooms over the sausage-tomato mixture.
- Sprinkle the grated Mozzarella over the top of the casserole and lay the pepperoni and olives on top of the cheese, spacing them evenly so the whole top is covered with pepperoni. Bake about 25 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown. Serve hot.
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