Pizzaiola literally translates to “in pizza style”. Usually it is a dish with meat braised in a tomato sauce, potato pizzaiola is a layered cheese and tomato sauce casserole. The result is more lasagna-like, however, adding some pizza toppings to the layers results in a unique and delicious dish.

Reasons to love pizzaiola

Potato pizzaiola is an absolute favourite around my house. My kids love it and I love it too! There are so many reasons to love pizzaiola:

It works well as a slow cooker dish or oven dish. Just make it ahead then arrive home to an already prepared meal.
Pizzaiola is so versatile. Add in whatever vegetables or pizza toppings you have in your kitchen.
It’s a good grain free alternative to lasagna. And slicing potatoes is easier than pre-cooking gluten free lasagna noodles.
Pizzaiola is a good dish to use up kefir cheese. (Something I accidentally make about once a month!)

Potato Pizzaiola

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

Pizzaiola roughly translates to “in pizza-style.” Potato pizzaiola is a layered potato dish made with a flavourful tomato sauce and cheese. It is a comforting and delicious casserole that is a favourite with pretty much everyone.

Author: Emillie
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: Serves 4-6 1x
Category: Main Dish
Method: Slow Cooker
Cuisine: Italian

Scale

Ingredients

28 oz of prepared tomato sauce
2 lbs of potatoes
1 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella
1/2 cup grated hard 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.
Use a medium sized baking dish (about 11″ x 7″) or a medium sized slow cooker. Grease the dish to prevent sticking.
Start with a layer of potatoes on the bottom of the pan. Make it a single layer, but 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 spread 1/3 of the ricotta and mozzarella mixture.
Repeat for two more layers, then finish with the remaining potatoes, and top with grated 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.
Feel free to add up to 2 cups of vegetables in the tomato sauce layer. If you are baking the dish in the oven, the vegetables can be added in raw. However, I recommend quickly sauteing the vegetables before adding them to the slow cooker. Otherwise they will release too much liquid and the potatoes will come out soupy. Try peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, spinach or chard.
Make it even more pizza-like by adding slices of pepperoni or olives to the tomato sauce layers. Yum!
Though the recipe calls for ricotta, I usually use homemade kefir cheese.

Keywords: grain free, gluten free, lasagna, scalloped potato, casserole, dinner, comfort food, easy, kid-friendly