Pizza Hut Cavatini (Copycat Recipe)
This copycat Pizza Hut cavatini recipe brings back the classic pasta dish loaded with noodles, sauce, and melty cheese just like you remember. It’s an easy, family-friendly dinner that lets you recreate a nostalgic favorite right at home.
Pizza Hut nights were for one of two things: either cashing in on that sweet, sweet personal pan pizza you earned from BookIt or heading straight for their iconic salad bar.
While the days of piling into the booth and awaiting those ice cold drinks in their classic red cups may be in the past, this copycat Pizza Hut cavatini brings all those cozy, familiar flavors back in one easy dish.
It’s loaded with pasta, rich sauce, and plenty of melty cheese in every bite.
If you’ve been craving a little throwback taste of the Hut, this recipe is a fun, family friendly way to bring it to the table.
Ingredients
To make this you’ll need:
- Pasta– 4 ounces of each of rotini, medium shell pasta, corkscrew pasta, and wagon wheel pasta. This is the mix Pizza Hut used to use.
- Olive oil– Extra virgin if you’ve got it
- Veggies– Diced green bell pepper and a peeled and diced yellow onion
- Sausage– Ground Italian sausage. You could swap ground beef or use half ground sausage and half beef.
- Pepperoni– The sliced kind, pulled apart.
- Cheese– Shredded Parmesan and shredded mozzarella
- Marinara sauce– Homemade or 2 store bought 24 ounce jars of your favorite brand.
How to Make
This copycat Pizza Hut cavatini recipe is pretty easy.
Just cook the pasta per the directions on the package for ‘al dente’.
Once the pasta is done, drain it and then return it to the pot.
While the water boils and the pasta cooks, heat the oil in a large skillet set over medium/high heat.
Once the oil’s hot, sauté the peppers and onions, stirring often just until they have softened.
When the veggies are soft, add the sausage to the skillet, crumbling it and letting it completely cook through.
Once the sausage has fully cooked, strain off the grease.
Transfer the meat mixture to the pot with the cooked, drained pasta.
Stir the pepperoni, Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese, and the sauce into the pasta in the pot until evenly combined.
Spread the pasta mixture out evenly in a 9×13″ baking dish lightly sprayed with nonstick spray, then spread it out in an even layer.
Sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese evenly out overtop.
Tightly cover the dish with aluminum foil then bake it at 350° for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, remove the foil and let it bake for another 10 minutes.
Take the dish out of the oven and let it rest for 5-10 minutes.
Serve warm and enjoy!
Storing Leftovers
Store leftovers in the fridge tightly wrapped in the baking dish or in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Reheat it either in a hot oven until warm or in the microwave.
Tips and Tricks
- The pasta shape mixture called for is for an authentic replica of the original Pizza Hut dish. It’s nostalgic, but also fun for kids and a great way to use up leftover boxes of pasta. If preferred you can skip it and use a pound of 1 shape of pasta instead. And most of the time, the pasta has a pretty similar cook time so you can cook it one big pot.
- Be sure to pull each individual pepperoni slice apart from one another before using in the recipe. This step may seem a bit tedious, but it’s necessary so they don’t stick together in large clumps.
- Make sure to let the pasta rest before you serve it to give the cheese a chance to set.
Other Copycat Pizza Hut Recipes
This copycat Pizza Hut cavatini recipe packs all the flavor and fun pasta shapes into the classic dish.
Make it and enjoy!
Looking for other copycat Pizza Hut recipes?
Try these:
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Pizza Hut Cavatini (Copycat Recipe)
Ingredients
- 4 oz rotini pasta
- 4 oz medium shell pasta
- 4 oz corkscrew pasta
- 4 oz wagon wheel pasta
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup diced green bell pepper
- 1 large yellow onion peeled & diced
- 1 lb ground Italian sausage
- 3 oz pepperoni slices pulled apart
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided
- 2 24 oz jars marinara sauce
Instructions
- Cook the pasta per the directions on the package for 'al dente'. Drain, then return to the pot. Set aside.4 oz rotini pasta, 4 oz medium shell pasta, 4 oz corkscrew pasta, 4 oz wagon wheel pasta
- While the pasta cooks add the oil to a large skillet set over medium/high heat. Once the oil's hot add the peppers and onions, sauteeing and stirring often, until softened.1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 cup diced green bell pepper, 1 large yellow onion
- Add the sausage to the skillet cooking and crumbling until completely cooked through. Strain of grease. Transfer the meat mixture to the pot with the cooked and drained pasta.1 lb ground Italian sausage
- Add the pepperoni, Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese, and all of the sauce to the pot. Stir everything together until evenly combined.3 oz pepperoni slices, 1 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese, 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, 2 24 oz jars marinara sauce
- Lightly spray a 9x13" baking dish with nonstick spray. Transfer the pasta mixture to the dish, then spread it out in an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese evenly out overtop.
- Tightly cover the dish with aluminum foil then bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Carefully remove the foil then bake for another 10 minutes.
- Remove the dish from the oven and let the pasta rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Serve warm & enjoy!
Notes
- The pasta shape mixture called for is for an authentic replica of the original Pizza Hut dish. It's nostalgic, but also fun for kids and a great way to use up leftover boxes of pasta. If preferred you can skip it and use a pound of 1 shape of pasta instead. And most of the time, the pasta has a pretty similar cook time so you can cook it one big pot.
- Be sure to pull each individual pepperoni slice apart from one another before using in the recipe. This step may seem a bit tedious, but it's necessary so they don't stick together in large clumps.
- Make sure to let the pasta rest before you serve it to give the cheese a chance to set.
Nutrition
