Pizza mac and cheese (from a box) reinvents packaged mac and cheese and turns it into a dinner all your pizza fans will love. With extra meaty toppings, sauce, and cheese, this dish is sure to delight your kids!
There are two things we could eat every day in this house.
Pizza and macaroni and cheese.
Why not put them together in one delicious, crowd pleasing dish that is almost as easy to make as preparing a box of mac and cheese?
It’s a delightfully comforting, meaty, cheesy pasta bake your kids will love.
And you’ll love making it since you are shortcutting the recipe with a box of macaroni and cheese instead of making this totally from scratch.
The result is maximum yumminess with minimal work.
Can’t go wrong!
Ingredients
To make this you’ll need:
- Ground sausage– You can use any kind of ground sausage you like. Sweet, mild, hot. It’s totally up to you!
- Mac and cheese– Go for a 24 ounce box of Velveeta shells and cheese
- Pizza sauce– If you have leftover homemade pizza sauce, you can use that. But we often use a jar of store-bought pizza sauce.
- Cheese– Shredded mozzarella or Italian blend.
- Dried oregano
- Mini pepperoni– For topping
How to Make
Turning boxed mac and cheese into pizza mac and cheese is easy!
To make it, start by preparing the macaroni and cheese according to the directions on the box.
While the pasta cooks, cook the sausage in a skillet until it is brown all the way through.
Once the sausage is cooked, drain the grease and set it aside.
Then, add the pizza sauce, cooked sausage, a cup of shredded cheese, and the oregano to the cooked, warm mac and cheese.
Stir it all together so it gets evenly combined.
Transfer the mixture into an 8×8″ baking dish you’ve sprayed with nonstick spray, spreading it out into an even layer.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top followed by the pepperoni.
Bake the pasta at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes or until the pasta bubbles and the cheese is melted.
Serve warm and enjoy!
Storing Leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Reheat in the microwave until warmed through.
Tips and Tricks
- Prefer more veggies in your meal? You can add diced onion and/or diced green peppers in with the sausage during cooking. This will also give it a supreme pizza taste.
- Want to go totally vegetarian? Skip the sausage and sauté up a combo of mushrooms, onions, peppers, and black olives instead!
- You can add other seasonings if desired like crushed red pepper flakes or dried basil. An Italian seasoning blend would also be good!
Other Ways to Dress up Boxed Mac and Cheese
Pizza mac and cheese is a yummy way to turn a box of mac and cheese into a full dinner your family will love.
Make it and enjoy!
Looking for other ways to dress up boxed mac and cheese?
Try these:
If you’ve tried this PIZZA MAC AND CHEESE (FROM A BOX) or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!
Pizza Mac And Cheese (From A Box)
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground sausage
- 1 24 oz box velveeta shells & cheese
- 1 12-13 oz jar pizza sauce
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided
- 1/2 - 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 cup mini pepperoni for topping
Instructions
- Prepare the shells and cheese according to the package directions.
- While the pasta's cooking, brown the ground sausage in a skillet cooking until browned through. Strain off the grease, then set the cooked and crumbled sausage aside.
- To the still warm prepared mac and cheese add the cooked sausage, pizza sauce, 1 cup of shredded cheese, and oregano. Stir until evenly combined.
- Lightly spray an 8x8 baking dish with nonstick spray, then transfer the mac and cheese mixture to the dish. Spread out in an even layer.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheese evenly out overtop, followed by the pepperoni.
- Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes, just until the pasta's hot & bubbly and the cheese is melted.
- Serve warm & enjoy!
Notes
- Prefer more veggies in your meal? You can add diced onion and/or diced green peppers in with the sausage during cooking. This will also give it a supreme pizza taste.
- Want to go totally vegetarian? Skip the sausage and saute up a combo of mushrooms, onions, peppers, and black olives instead!
- You can add other seasonings if desired like crushed red pepper flakes or dried basil. An Italian seasoning blend would also be good!
Leave a Reply