This Healthy Pizza Casserole recipe means you can get your pizza fix in a guilt-free way! It's a lighter version of a pizza casserole that's also WW friendly, but so good, that you'd never know it's a healthier version.
This recipe is a popular game day food, making it a great alternative to chili. But it also makes a fun and easy dinner for back-to-school, movie night, pizza night, or any night! This casserole is also ideal for bringing along to a potluck. My whole family LOVES this casserole and it pairs well with Baguette Garlic Bread or salad.
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I love pizza in any form! And you don't have to give up pizza to lose or maintain your weight. I have a bunch of lighter and WW friendly pizza recipes you'll want to try, such as my Healthy Pizza Dippers, Weight Watchers Pizza with 2 ingredient Weight Watchers Pizza Dough, Pizza Cupcakes, Healthy Breakfast Pizza Recipe (Egg White Pizza), and my Healthy Homemade Pita Pizza Pockets!
🥘Ingredient Notes
You'll need the following simple ingredients for this pizza casserole:
- Egg noodles ( smart pasta ). * I use no yolks broad egg noodles
- Red pasta sauce (marinara sauce). I use any type of red pasta sauce I have on hand.
- Cream of chicken soup (low-fat). The canned soup gives this soup a rich and creamy taste and texture.
- Cheddar Cheese and Parmesan Cheese. I use light versions.
- Extra lean ground beef. Makes this casserole meaty and delicious - be sure it's extra lean to reduce the fat and ww points.
- Turkey pepperoni . I used this because I wasn't able to find the sliced pepperoni, but now I have found it at Walmart!
📖Variations & Substitutions
- Noodles - you can use any type of noodle, such as penne pasta. But to keep it light, you'll want to use smart pasta or whole wheat pasta. Alternatively, you could use zucchini noodles to lighten it up even more.
- Ground Beef - I use extra lean ground beef but you could use regular, lean, or use ground turkey or ground chicken instead
- Pepperoni- I use turkey pepperoni sticks but you can also use the sliced Butterball Turkey Pepperoni (I was finally able to find this again at Walmart!)
- Cheese - you could use part-skim mozzarella cheese instead
- Peppers - you can use red, orange, yellow or green pepper.
- Toppings - you could use an Italian turkey sausage (or chicken sausage), Italian seasoning, or any of your favorite pizza toppings
- Cream of chicken soup - you can make your own "cream of anything" - check out this Kitchen Hacks post (#17) for how to make it!
- Spicy - for a little kick of spice add chili pepper flakes or jalapenos
🔪How to Make Healthy Pizza Casserole
Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C). Cook noodles as directed. Drain, return to pot, and set aside on a trivet.
Spray a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray.
Cook mushrooms, onion, and pepper over medium heat for 5 minutes (covered)
Add the ground beef.
Cook ground beef until browned.
Add pasta sauce, cream of chicken soup, ¾ cup of cheddar cheese, pepperoni, and most of the black olives (reserving about 1-2 tablespoon for garnish) to the cooked pasta.
Spoon into casserole dish.
Bake until hot, about 35 minutes
Remove from oven and add remaining cheese.
Cook for an additional 5 minutes or until melted.
Garnish with parmesan cheese and remaining black olives. Serve hot.
Expert Recipe Tips
- Undercook the Pasta Slightly: Cook the egg noodles 1-2 minutes less than the package instructions to prevent them from getting too soft during baking.
- Layer the Cheese: Instead of mixing all the cheese into the casserole, layer some between ingredients for a gooey, melty texture.
- Increase Fiber: Swap half the noodles for spiralized zucchini or whole wheat pasta.
- Add More Veggies: Toss in spinach, kale, or grated carrots for extra nutrients without changing the flavor much.
- Reduce Sodium: Use a low-sodium pasta sauce and homemade cream of chicken soup to control the salt content.
- Use Leaner Meat: Try ground turkey, ground chicken, or even crumbled tofu for a leaner option.
- Opt for Greek Yogurt: Replace half the cream of chicken soup with plain Greek yogurt for added protein and creaminess.
- Let It Rest: After baking, let the casserole sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. This helps it set and enhances the flavors.
- Crispy Cheese Topping: For a crispy, golden topping, broil the casserole for the last 2-3 minutes of baking.
🥗 What to Eat with Weight Watchers Pizza Casserole
Bread Machine Italian Breadsticks go really well with this casserole, as does this Strawberry Spinach Pecan Salad (shown). If you're looking for lighter, give my Everything Bagel Cloud Bread Recipe
👪 Serving Size
This healthy pizza casserole recipe makes 8 servings. However, you can half, double, or triple the recipe by clicking on the serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.
🔢WW Points
This original recipe was lightened to be WW friendly, so this is Weight Watchers friendly @ 7 points per serving, using fat-free parmesan. There are 8 servings in this Weight Watchers Pizza casserole - a serving is about 1 ¼ cups.
You can further lighten this up by using broad whole wheat noodles or zucchini noodles.
🌡️Storage
Store leftover pizza casserole with pasta in an airtight container for up to 4 days. It can also be made a couple of days ahead for busy weeknights
It can be for up to 3 months in a sealed container (see Top Tip for how to reheat).
Top tip
How to reheat ww pizza casserole:
This method is the best because it prevents the casserole from drying out.
- Simply bring the casserole out of the freezer the night before and let it defrost (preferably in the fridge). Ideally, you want to keep it at room temperature for about 30 minutes to an hour before you put it in the oven.
- Then heat the oven to 350 degrees F/175 degrees C, remove the lid and plastic wrap, then tightly seal your casserole dish with aluminum foil (shiny side in) and put it in the oven for 20 - 30 minutes, until it's warmed through. *you can remove the foil and broil it for the final 2 minutes if you desire.
- You can use an instant-read thermometer (affiliate link) to make sure it's done (165 degrees F/75 degrees C)
❔ Recipe FAQs
This Healthy Pizza Casserole is made with lean meat, light cheese, veggies, smart pasta, and low-fat soup so it's substantially lower in calories and fat than a traditional pizza casserole.
Yes, ground chicken or ground turkey can easily be substituted for ground beef and it will further reduce the calories and fat in this dish.
If you are looking for healthy meals that are delicious and fun, the entire family will love this pizza pasta casserole recipe!
🍲More Healthy Casseroles
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📋Healthy Pizza Casserole Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups broad egg noodles * I use no yolk broad noodles, measured dry
- 8 oz package of sliced mushrooms
- 1 orange bell pepper
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 ¾ cups red pasta sauce
- 10 oz - can of cream of chicken soup * I use low-fat
- 1 lb extra lean ground beef
- 1 ½ cups low- fat cheddar cheese
- ¾ cup turkey pepperonini sticks about 5 sticks, chopped
- ¾ cup can of olives, pitted and sliced
- 2 tablespoon low-fat parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C)
- Cook noodles as directed. rinse and drain
- Spray a skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Cook mushrooms, onion and pepper over medium heat (with a lid) for 5 minutes.
- Add the ground beef to the skillet.
- Cook until browned.
- Add pasta sauce, cream of chicken soup, ¾ cup of cheddar cheese, black olives (reserve a few for garnishing) and noodles. Mix well.
- Spoon into baking dish. Bake until hot, about 35 minutes.
- Top with remaining cheddar cheese, then bake 5 minutes longer
Garnish
- Garnish with parmesan cheese and remaining black olives. Serve hot.
Notes
- Noodles - you can use any type of noodle, such as penne pasta. But to keep it light, you'll want to use smart pasta or whole wheat pasta. Alternatively, you could use zucchini noodles to lighten it up even more.
- Ground Beef - I use extra lean ground beef but you could use regular, lean, or use ground turkey or ground chicken instead
- Pepperoni- I use turkey pepperoni sticks but you can also use the sliced Butterball Turkey Pepperoni (I was finally able to find this again at Walmart!)
- Cheese - you could use part-skim mozzarella cheese instead
- Peppers - you can use red, orange, yellow or green pepper.
- Toppings - you could use an Italian turkey sausage (or chicken sausage), Italian seasoning, or any of your favorite pizza toppings
- Cream of chicken soup - you can make your own "cream of anything" - check out this Kitchen Hacks post (#17) for how to make it!
- Spicy - for a little kick of spice add chili pepper flakes or jalapenos
- Undercook the Pasta Slightly: Cook the egg noodles 1-2 minutes less than the package instructions to prevent them from getting too soft during baking.
- Layer the Cheese: Instead of mixing all the cheese into the casserole, layer some between ingredients for a gooey, melty texture.
- Increase Fiber: Swap half the noodles for spiralized zucchini or whole wheat pasta.
- Add More Veggies: Toss in spinach, kale, or grated carrots for extra nutrients without changing the flavor much.
- Reduce Sodium: Use a low-sodium pasta sauce and homemade cream of chicken soup to control the salt content.
- Use Leaner Meat: Try ground turkey, ground chicken, or even crumbled tofu for a leaner option.
- Opt for Greek Yogurt: Replace half the cream of chicken soup with plain Greek yogurt for added protein and creaminess.
- Let It Rest: After baking, let the casserole sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. This helps it set and enhances the flavors.
- Crispy Cheese Topping: For a crispy, golden topping, broil the casserole for the last 2-3 minutes of baking.
Susanne
Easy recipe to follow and make.....delicious result!
Terri Gilson
I'm so glad you found it easy to make and loved it, Susanne!