Potato pizzaiola is a cross between lasagna and scalloped potatoes. It’s a layered casserole made with potatoes, cheese, and tomato sauce. It is a delicious and comforting meal that can be made ahead.
Pizzaiola literally translates to “in pizza style”. Typically, it is a dish with meat braised in a tomato sauce. However, this version of pizzaiola is a layered cheese, potato, and tomato sauce casserole.
Reasons to love potato pizzaiola
Pizzaiola is an absolute favorite around my house. My kids love it and I love it too! Here are just a few reasons to make potato pizzaiola:
- It can be cooked in a slow cooker, instant pot, or oven. Regardless, it’s a simple make-ahead meal that can be ready when you want it.
- Pizzaiola is so versatile. Add in whatever vegetables or pizza toppings you have in your kitchen. (See the section below for some suggestions).
- It’s a grain-free alternative to lasagna. And if you have a good mandolin, slicing potatoes is easier than pre-cooking lasagna noodles!
- Perfect for potlucks. Serve it as a side dish. Or use a rich sauce and turn pizzaiola into a one-dish meal!
Mix and match ingredients
The recipe is pretty simple, with just three ingredients: potatoes, cheese, and tomato sauce. However, this simple casserole is perfect for using up whatever you have in your fridge.
Here are a few ways to mix up this basic recipe.
- Kefir Cheese: I actually created this recipe as a way to use up kefir cheese. (Something I accidentally make about once a month!) Just replace the ricotta with homemade kefir cheese.
- Pizza pizzaiola: For a really pizza-like dinner, add a layer of your favorite pizza toppings on top of each of the tomato sauce layers. Pepperoni, mushrooms, peppers, olives, whatever you like!
- Veggie pizzaiola: Add a bit more vegetables to this dish by replacing the middle layer of potatoes with vegetables. Zucchini, mushrooms, or greens all work well. Pre-cooking the vegetables isn’t required, however, if you’re using a slow cooker or instant pot, it will come out soupy if the added vegetables aren’t pre-cooked. So I recommend quickly sautéing the vegetables before adding them to the dish.
- Lentil pizzaiola: For a filling vegetarian meal use a rich lentil sauce. (This is what I used in the photograph below).
Potato Pizzaiola
Pizzaiola roughly translates to “in pizza-style.” This version of pizzaiola is a casserole made with layers of potato, tomato sauce, and cheese. It is a comforting and delicious dish that is sure to be a favorite.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4-6 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Oven/Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 4 cups of prepared tomato sauce
- 3 lbs of potatoes
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- 1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella
- 1 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Thinly slice the potatoes. Aim to have them as thin as possible, as the dish will cook faster if the potato slices are around 1/8″ thick.
- Mix the ricotta with 1 cup of mozzarella and 1 cup of cheddar. The rest of the grated cheese will go on top of the casserole.
- Grease a medium-sized baking dish or medium-sized slow cooker to prevent sticking. Depending on how deep the dish is, you can make 2 or 3 layers.Â
- Start by covering the bottom of the dish with potatoes. Overlap them to form a solid base. Lightly season the potatoes with salt and pepper.
- Cover the potatoes with sauce, then dollop on a layer of the ricotta and grated cheese mixture. This should use up 1/3 of the sauce and cheese for a deep dish (like a slow cooker), or 1/2 of the sauce and cheese for a shallow dish (like a baking pan).
- Repeat the layers of potatoes, sauce, and cheese, until it is all used up. Finish the casserole with a final layer of potatoes and top with the remaining grated cheese (1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/2 cup of cheddar).
- Baking instructions: Cover the baking dish with tin foil and bake at 400 F for 40 minutes. Remove the tinfoil and bake for another 15-30 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked and the cheese is bubbling.
- Slow cooker instructions: set the slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours, until the potatoes are well cooked.
Notes
- I like using my rotating mandolin to make nice thin slices of potato.
- See the section above for ways of adding more vegetables or other flavors to this very simple dish!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Approximately 2 cups
- Calories: 426
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 423mg
- Fat: 17.6g
- Saturated Fat: 10.9g
- Carbohydrates: 45.5g
- Fiber: 6.8g
- Protein: 23.4g
- Cholesterol: 45.5g
Keywords: grain free, gluten free, lasagna, scalloped potato, casserole, dinner, comfort food, easy, kid-friendly, slow cooker, instant pot
Kids dig it. Easier to make that lasagna but an easy GF alteration using similar ingredients.
★★★★★