# Pizza Pasta Bake

## Description
Pizza meets pasta with baked cream cheese and pepperoni creating ultimate comfort food mashup #PizzaPasta #ComfortFood #ViralHack

## Quick Facts
- Calories: 580 per serving
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Servings: 6
- Difficulty: easy
- Cuisine: Italian-American
- Health Score: 6/10

## Nutrition Per Serving
- Calories: 580
- Protein: 28g
- Carbohydrates: 0g
- Fat: 28g
- Fiber: 3g
- Sugar: 8g
- Sodium: 1250mg

## Ingredients (6 servings)
- 1 lb penne pasta (or rigatoni)
- 8 oz cream cheese (softened)
- 24 oz pizza sauce (jar)
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese (shredded, divided)
- 8 oz pepperoni slices (divided)
- 1 lb Italian sausage (cooked and crumbled)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 0.5 cup parmesan cheese (grated)
- 0.25 cup fresh basil (chopped, for garnish)

## Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain and return to pot.
3. Add softened cream cheese to hot pasta and stir until melted and creamy.
4. Mix in pizza sauce, 2 cups mozzarella, half the pepperoni (chopped), cooked sausage, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning.
5. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish and spread evenly.
6. Top with remaining 1 cup mozzarella, parmesan cheese, and arrange remaining pepperoni slices on top.
7. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
8. Remove foil and bake for additional 15 minutes until cheese is bubbly and edges are golden.
9. Let rest for 5 minutes, then garnish with fresh basil before serving.

## Allergen Information
Contains: gluten, dairy

## Tags
viral, tiktok, pizza-pasta

## Source
Recipe by: CalorieGram AI

## Machine-Readable Data

### Recipe Metadata
```json
{
  "id": "46525a46-f315-49c0-91e9-72b2a0fab4bc",
  "youtube_id": null,
  "title": "Pizza Pasta Bake",
  "cuisine_type": "Italian-American",
  "meal_type": [
    "dinner"
  ],
  "difficulty_level": "easy",
  "servings": 6,
  "prep_time_minutes": 15,
  "cook_time_minutes": 40,
  "total_time_minutes": 55,
  "health_score": 6,
  "created_at": "2025-06-24T17:08:23.000Z",
  "updated_at": "2025-06-24T17:08:23.000Z"
}
```

### Ingredients Data
```json
{
  "servings": 6,
  "ingredients": [
    {
      "name": "penne pasta",
      "amount": 1,
      "unit": "lb",
      "notes": "or rigatoni"
    },
    {
      "name": "cream cheese",
      "amount": 8,
      "unit": "oz",
      "notes": "softened"
    },
    {
      "name": "pizza sauce",
      "amount": 24,
      "unit": "oz",
      "notes": "jar"
    },
    {
      "name": "mozzarella cheese",
      "amount": 3,
      "unit": "cups",
      "notes": "shredded, divided"
    },
    {
      "name": "pepperoni slices",
      "amount": 8,
      "unit": "oz",
      "notes": "divided"
    },
    {
      "name": "Italian sausage",
      "amount": 1,
      "unit": "lb",
      "notes": "cooked and crumbled"
    },
    {
      "name": "garlic powder",
      "amount": 1,
      "unit": "tsp",
      "notes": null
    },
    {
      "name": "Italian seasoning",
      "amount": 2,
      "unit": "tsp",
      "notes": null
    },
    {
      "name": "parmesan cheese",
      "amount": 0.5,
      "unit": "cup",
      "notes": "grated"
    },
    {
      "name": "fresh basil",
      "amount": 0.25,
      "unit": "cup",
      "notes": "chopped, for garnish"
    }
  ]
}
```

### Nutrition Data (per serving)
```json
{
  "calories": 580,
  "macros": {
    "protein_g": 28,
    "carbs_g": 0,
    "fat_g": 28,
    "fiber_g": 3,
    "sugar_g": 8,
    "sodium_mg": 1250
  },
  "dietary_tags": {
    "vegan": false,
    "vegetarian": false,
    "gluten_free": false,
    "dairy_free": false,
    "nut_free": false
  }
}
```

---
This recipe is from CalorieGram Recipes - Your AI-powered healthy recipe discovery platform.
Visit https://recipes.caloriegram.ai for more healthy recipes.