Pizza. Pasta. Meat. Cheese. What’s not to love? This recipe checks all the boxes and is perfect for making for multiple people (or you can cut down the recipe and make a single serving. So let’s get right into it…
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Bring at least 8 cups of water to boil in a large pot.
- While the water comes to temp, begin to brown beef in a pan.
- Add pasta to pot when water reaches a rapid boil, reduce temp to simmer for approximately 7 minutes or until pasta begins to soften.
- Chop pepperoni into small pieces.
- Add pepperoni to beef while browning.
- Add your favorite Italian spices to beef mixture (onion/garlic powder, dried basil and/or oregano, etc).
- Chop beef while cooking into bite size or smaller pieces.
- When pasta begins to soften (do not overcook!) drain and move to baking dish.
- When beef is cooked through/browned, add sauce to beef and mix well.
- Pour meat sauce mixture over pasta in baking dish, mix well.
- Top with shredded fat-free mozzarella.
- Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until cheese is thoroughly melted and pasta is fully tender.
- Serve.
I ate 1/4 of this recipe for dinner and… Damn. It’s good. Sure it’s not “Pizza” but it’s got all the warmth and tasting notes you’re looking for from a great meat lover’s pie.
Give this one a try, it’s seriously good stuff and the macros are nothing to shake a stick at. In a quarter of the recipe, which is my recommended serving size: 565cals, 40g carbs, 22g fat, and a whopping 51g of protein! In baked cheesy pasta form!