Pizzaiola literally translates to “in pizza style”. Usually, it is a dish with meat braised in a tomato sauce. However, this potato pizzaiola is a layered cheese, potato and tomato sauce casserole. The resulting dish is a cross between lasagna and scalloped potatoes.
Reasons to love potato pizzaiola
Pizzaiola is an absolute favourite 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. Either way, 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 good grain-free alternative to lasagna. And if you have a good mandoline, 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 the 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 favourite pizza toppings on top of each of the tomato sauce layers. Pepperoni, mushrooms, peppers, olives, whatever you like!
- Veggie pizzaiola: To add a bit more vegetables to this dish replace 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 sauteing before adding extra vegetables.
- Lentil pizzaiola: For a filling vegetarian meal use a rich lentil sauce.
Potato Pizzaiola
Pizzaiola roughly translates to “in pizza-style.” This potato 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 favourite.
- 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: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 3 cups of prepared tomato sauce
- 2 lbs of potatoes
- 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
- 1 1/2 cup grated mozzarella
- 1 cup grated melting cheese
- 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Thinly slice the potatoes. Try for as thin as you can, as the dish will cook faster if the potatoes slices are around 1/8″ thick.
- Mix the ricotta and mozzarella together.
- Grease a medium-sized baking dish or medium-sized slow cooker to prevent sticking.
- Spread 1/4 of the potatoes on the bottom of the pan. Overlap the potatoes to form a solid base. Lightly season the potatoes with salt and pepper.
- Pour 1/3 of the sauce over the potatoes and top 1/3 of the ricotta and mozzarella mixture.
- Repeat with two more layers of potatoes, sauce and cheese, then finish with the remaining potatoes and top with the grated melting cheese.
- Baking instructions: Cover the 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 done and the cheese is bubbling.
- Slow cooker instructions: set it 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 (affiliate link) to make nice thin slices of potato.
- See the section above for ways of adding more vegetables or other flavours to this very simple dish!
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.
★★★★★