Pepperoni Pizza Hamburger Helper

by Sabrina Snyder

Last Update:

28 Comments

5 from 8 votes
8 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
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Try making this Pepperoni Pizza Hamburger Helper this week for a quick and comforting meal that delivers supreme flavor with minimal effort.

Sometimes it’s hard to choose what’s for dinner. Mix up these fun Pasta Recipes such as Cheesy Taco Pasta and Cheeseburger Pasta to keep it exciting every night.

pasta cooked in meat sauce in a skillet
close up of pepperoni pizza pasta

Sabrina’s Pepperoni Pizza Hamburger Helper Recipe

Pepperoni Pizza Hamburger Helper is the ultimate comfort food mashup, bringing the nostalgic flavors of pizza night into an easy, satisfying homemade meal. This recipe is perfect for busy weeknights when you want something quick, cozy, and family-friendly without sacrificing flavor. With its simple preparation and hearty appeal, it’s a fun dinner option that both kids and adults will enjoy.

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Pepperoni Pizza Hamburger Helper Recipe

Try making this Pepperoni Pizza Hamburger Helper this week for a quick and comforting meal that delivers supreme flavor with minimal effort.
Yield 8 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
pasta cooked in meat sauce in a skillet
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 1 pound large shells pasta
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 small yellow onion , diced
  • 1 small green bell pepper , diced
  • 6 ounces pepperoni , quartered
  • 2 cups marinara sauce
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
  • 8 ounces mozzarella cheese , shredded

Instructions

  • Cook the large shell pasta according to the directions on the bag and drain (do not rinse).
  • Add the ground beef to a large cast iron skillet, and brown until a deep brown crust appears before breaking the beef apart.
  • Stir the ground beef and brown until a deep crust appears on about 50 or so percent of the beef.
  • Remove the beef (you can leave the fat) and add the butter and the onions and bell peppers.
  • Let brown for 1-2 minutes before stirring, then let brown for another 1-2 minutes before stirring again.
  • Add the beef back into the pan.
  • Add the marinara sauce, pepperoni, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper into the pan.
  • Cook until the mixture is only slightly liquidy (about 75% of the mixture is above liquid), 3-5 minutes.
  • Add the pasta back to the pan and mix together gently.
  • Turn off the heat, add in the mozzarella cheese and stir until melted.
  • Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 571kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 89mg | Sodium: 1013mg | Potassium: 593mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 588IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 189mg | Iron: 3mg

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Sabrina’s Tip

Recipes like this are best made using a cast-iron skillet. This is the most used pan in my kitchen. It keeps heat well, and gives the BEST sear!

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About this Recipe

Pepperoni Pizza Hamburger Helper is a quick weeknight dish your whole family will love that has all the flavors of your favorite pepperoni pizza without the takeout! This easy homemade meal combines savory ground beef, classic pepperoni, pasta, and a rich pizza-inspired sauce topped with melty cheese for the ultimate comfort food dinner. It’s a simple, satisfying recipe that comes together fast and delivers all the cheesy, nostalgic flavors you crave from pizza night in a cozy skillet meal.

How to Store

  • Store: After cooking, don’t leave this pasta recipe at room temperature for more than 2 hours. You can let the leftovers cool, then transfer them to an airtight container to keep fresh in the fridge for 3-4 days.
  • Freeze: For another storage option, seal the recipe in a freezer bag and keep it frozen for up to 3 months. You can let it thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
  • Reheat: You can reheat the cheesy pasta over medium-low heat on the stovetop, or in 30-second increments in the microwave. Add a splash of water or broth to keep the recipe from drying out, and stir as you reheat it.

Variations

  • Make it a combo pizza: Add in chopped mushrooms and sliced olives.
  • Make it a triple meat pizza: Add in either crumbled or sliced sausage or bacon!

More Hamburger Helper Options

Shell pasta in a pepperoni pizza sauce

Photos used in the previous post:

close up pasta pizza
Pin image of pasta with pepperoni pizza sauce
Collage of cheesy pasta dinner with meat sauce

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. Teen boys loved this. Made pretty much as written, except crisped the pepperoni on a plate in a single layer in the microwave.

    Reply

  4. What size skillet do you use? My cast iron is a 10″. Although for the amount of pasta, a 12″ skillet will hold everything. This sounds very yummy.

    Reply

    2. Delicious and quick. Looked just like pictured, impressive. Will save and make again. Used penne pasta. Thank you much.

      Reply

  5. This was so yummy. My kids loved that the taste of the pasta was so similar to their favorite food, pizza! We will absolutely be making this for dinner again.

    Reply

  6. This was excellent. My picky family loved it. I didn’t have any shell pasta, so I used mix of macaroni and penne! Pasta is a little short around my town right now!

    Reply

  8. Making a dinner that makes 8 people all happy is basically nonexistent…ALL 8 of my family inhaled this, not a drop was left even the picky 2 yr old asked for seconds. Definitely going to have to double it next time.

    Reply

  9. Hi Sabrina 
     Your recipes look amazing. I’m going to try this recipe tomorrow and I’m looking forward to tasting it.

    Reply

  10. Was a total hit , hubby and daughter loved it. Hubby even woke up craving it. !!!Made pasta as recipe recommended thou did add all of it, used 24oz =2 cups store bought marinara. Will definitely make again and again, new family fav

    Reply

    1. It makes me so happy to hear that the whole family loved the dish! I know how hard it can be to find meals to please everyone.

      Reply

  15. PEPPERONI PIZZA HAMBURGER HELPER
    Good morning! I like the looks of this dish a lot as I recently made something similar with taco spices. Could you tell me how much provolone to add to the dish and when?
    Thank you
    Earl Williams
    Las Cruces, NM

    Reply

    1. Hi Earl! That was an error in the recipe card I’ve fixed. No provolone, you’re just adding in the mozzarella. Hope you enjoy it!

      Reply