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Johnny Marzetti Casserole is a hearty ground beef Italian casserole with lots of cheese and a thick, rich tomato sauce.

It originated at the Italian restaurant Marzetti’s in Columbus, Ohio and it is pure pasta comfort food. This version has a meaty pasta sauce, plus pepperoni. It also has bell pepper, onion, and 3 types of cheese: mozzarella, cheddar, and Parmesan.

It makes enough to feed a crowd and leftovers reheat well. Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days and reheat in the microwave.

The sauce is easy to make with a jar of pasta sauce (use your favorite) and a can of tomato paste. A full can of tomato paste gives it a rich tomato flavor that really stands up to all the cheese. For the pasta sauce, I like to use Classico Roasted Garlic, but any one will work. A little brown sugar in the sauce gives it just a hint of sweetness.

Johnny Marzetti Casserole Recipe Tips:

For the pasta, my favorite is large elbow pasta but you can use penne, ziti, rotini, or egg noodles. You can use a combination of ground beef and Italian sausage if you want a little extra flavor.

Just cook the pasta to al dente since it will cook more in the oven.

The size of this casserole is huge and you can get a good 12 servings from it. It barely fits in a 9×13-inch pan so you can use a slightly larger one if you have one.

To round this meal out, serve with a garden salad with Creamy Italian dressing and Pepperoncini Garlic Bread.

Try These Other Pasta Casseroles:

• Homestyle Ground Beef Casserole
• Spaghetti Casserole
• Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole
• Jalapeno Popper Chicken Casserole

Johnny Marzetti Casserole

Course: Dinner, Main Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: ground beef, pasta

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 392kcal

Johnny Marzetti Casserole is a hearty ground beef Italian casserole with lots of cheese and a thick, rich tomato sauce.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound large elbow pasta
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 medium yellow or sweet onion, diced
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 (24-ounce) jar pasta sauce
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 40-50 pepperoni slices

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions. Drain well.
• While water for pasta is coming to a boil, start cooking sauce.

  Brown and crumble ground beef in a large nonstick skillet.

  Drain off any grease.
• Add onion and bell pepper and cook until soft.
• Add minced garlic and cook 1 minute.
• Add salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, brown sugar, tomato paste, pasta sauce, and water.

  Simmer until thickened some. Remove from heat.
• Place cooked pasta in the bottom of a greased 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Sprinkle half the mozzarella and half the cheddar cheese on top of the noodles,
• Spread sauce on top. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese.
• Sprinkle with half the Parmesan.
• Scatter the pepperoni on top. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese on top.
• Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet in case there is any over flow.

  Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly and hot.

Nutrition

Calories: 392kcal