Upside-Down Pizza Casserole

We need easy family meals, so this Upside-Down Pizza Casserole is a real winner in our family!  This casserole is EASY to make in 30 minutes and can be customized to include ingredients that make everyone happy.

The flavors in the hamburger, fresh vegetables and pizza sauce really stand out with the crescent roll dough offering a nice accent.

Upside down pizza casserole with pepperoni, ground beef and vegetables on a white plate

If you enjoy this easy casserole you may also like our Tater Tot Chicken Pot Pie.

Easy Upside Down Pizza Casserole

We love all of the pizza inspired dishes from Air Fryer Pizza Sliders to  Pizza Spaghetti Casserole pizza inspired dishes are a regular on our family’s dinner table.

This is one of our family’s favorite casseroles because we almost always have the ingredients on hand.  Hamburger, onion, pizza sauce, green pepper, mushrooms, crescent rolls, sour cream, pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese.  A similar low-carb recipe with lots of veggies is our Keto Ground Beef Casserole.

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If you have other vegetables that you prefer add them in!  Don’t care for peppers or mushrooms, then take them out.

Upside-Down Pizza Casserole has plenty of pizza sauce in the bottom so it won’t dry out during baking or when being reheated.  You can adjust the amount of sauce to suit your preference.  I like to use a full can of sauce so that I don’t waste the leftovers by accidentally pushing the jar to the back of the refrigerator and forgetting about it.  If liquid in the bottom of a casserole isn’t your thing, just decrease the amount of sauce.

If you are out of fresh vegetables, a jar of mushrooms or a bag of frozen vegetables will work just fine.  Life is busy, I get it!  So don’t stress about what you do or don’t have. 

Brown some meat, drain it and then add vegetables and pizza sauce to the skillet to get your desired consistency.  Pour all of that in a 9 x 13″ casserole dish, swirl in some sour cream, sprinkle on a layer of cheese, lay down some pepperonis and then unroll the crescent roll dough on top.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and pop that baby in the oven.

We love how meat and vegetables are the flavors that stand out.  I really like bread as an accent piece and it plays that role perfectly in this casserole.  Serve with a salad or Air Fryer Broccoli and the hotdish dinner is ready!

Layer of refrigerated crescent roll dough on a 9 x 13 pan of Upside-Down Pizza Casserole

Tips for Making Pizza Casserole with Beef

  • I like to use a sheet of crescent dough as it is easier to handle and fits perfectly into a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish
  • Adjust amount of pizza sauce used based on the amount of vegetables included – sauce should prevent casserole from drying out, but should not be too soupy
  • Ground beef or sausage works well, use what you have on hand
  • Fresh or canned mushrooms work well
  • Fresh or frozen green pepper and onions work well – if using frozen, just allow more time for them to heat up in the skillet
  • If the crescent dough looks too brown, but isn’t cooking underneath then cover with foil to finish baking
  • One pound of meat is plenty for our family at this point, but the meat, sauce and vegetables could easily be doubled to make the casserole thicker and bigger
  • I’ve seen multiple variations of this recipe in multiple cookbooks, so feel free to customize it to best suit your preferences
Upside down pizza casserole - We love how meat and vegetables are the flavors that stand out.  I really like bread as an accent piece and it plays that role perfectly in this casserole. 

How to Make Pizza Hotdish

  1. Grease a 13×9 inch casserole dish and preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Brown hamburger or sausage. Drain fat.
  3. Return hamburger to skillet and add onions, pepper and mushrooms. Stir until heated through.
  4. Add pizza sauce until mixture is the desired consistency. Pour into the bottom of a greased, 9 x 13″ baking dish.
  5. Spoon sour cream evenly over mixture and then using a gentle swirling motion mix it into the casserole.
  6. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese evenly over top. Add a layer of pepperonis.
  7. Unroll crescent roll dough and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
  8. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes until casserole is bubbly and dough it baked.
Collage of Upside-Down Pizza Casserole is a an easy family meal

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Other Easy Casserole Dishes:

Printable Upside-Down Pizza Casserole Recipe

ground beef pizza casserole with crescent roll dough on top

Upside-Down Pizza Casserole

Servings 6 people
Author: Jennifer
We need easy family meals, so this Upside-Down Pizza Casserole is a real winner in our family!  This casserole is EASY to make in 30 minutes and can be customized to include ingredients that make everyone happy.  The flavors in the hamburger, fresh vegetables and pizza sauce really stand out with the crescent roll dough offering a nice accent.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound hamburger or sausage
  • 1 can / jar pizza sauce
  • 1 green pepper diced
  • 1 1/2 cups mushrooms chopped
  • 1/4 cup onions chopped
  • 3/4 cup pepperoni
  • 1 package crescent roll dough
  • 1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F
  • Brown hamburger or sausage. Drain fat.
  • Add onions, pepper and mushrooms to hamburger. Stir until heated through.
  • Add pizza sauce until mixture is the desired consistency. Pour into the bottom of a greased, 9 x 13" baking dish.
  • Spoon sour cream evenly over mixture and then using a gentle swirling motion mix it into the casserole.
  • Sprinkle mozzarella cheese evenly over top. Add a layer of pepperonis.
  • Unroll crescent roll dough and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
  • Bake for 20 – 30 minutes until casserole is bubbly and dough it baked.

Notes

  • I like to use a sheet of crescent dough as it is easier to handle and fits perfectly into a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish
  • Adjust amount of pizza sauce used based on the amount of vegetables included – sauce should prevent casserole from drying out, but should not be too soupy
  • Ground beef or sausage works well, use what you have on hand
  • Fresh or canned mushrooms work well
  • Fresh or frozen green pepper and onions work well – if using frozen, just allow more time for them to heat up in the skillet
  • If the crescent dough looks too brown, but isn’t cooking underneath then cover with foil to finish baking
  • One pound of meat is plenty for our family at this point, but the meat, sauce and vegetables could easily be doubled to make the casserole thicker and bigger
  • I’ve seen multiple variations of this recipe in multiple cookbooks, so feel free to customize it to best suit your preferences

Nutrition

Calories: 582kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 27gFat: 45gSaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 114mgSodium: 868mgPotassium: 440mgFiber: 1gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 538IUVitamin C: 17mgCalcium: 248mgIron: 3mg

Nutritional Disclaimer

“Plowing Through Life” is not a dietitian or nutrition professional. Any nutritional information shared is an estimate and can vary greatly depending on specific products are used. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator of your choice.

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One Comment

  1. Kristi Herron says:

    I make it and use biscuits it works great I cook them on side and serve it up on top when both are cooked.just place biscuits on top of sour cream topping.

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