Upside Down Pizza recipe is a fun way to make pizza pot pie-style by serving a homemade slice on its head! It’s like building a pizza backwards, with the toppings at the bottom and the crust baked on top!
Popover Upside Down Pizza
Our Upside Down Pizza casserole recipe takes a classic comfort food and bakes it bottom up! Filled with ground beef, pepperoni, and all of your favorite pizza toppings, this inverted pizza is prepared with the crispy crust on top.
If you’re craving pizza but want to branch out from the basics, try this simple twist: spread the sauce, veggies, and meat mixture on the bottom of the pan, melt the cheese in the middle, and pour the popover batter on top. Bake it until puffed up and golden brown and you’ve made an upside down deep dish pizza for dinner!
Let’s talk about flexibility! This popover pizza is like your favorite pair of spandex pants—it’s always a perfect fit. Craving the classic, crispy crust? Place pizza dough over the filling. Prefer a vegetarian version? Omit the meat! Got picky eaters? Toss in their favorite toppings This forgiving, adaptable upside down pan pizza recipe is always a reliable go-to.
Upside Down Pizza Ingredients
- Lean ground beef: You can substitute ground chicken, turkey, meatless crumbles, or ground Italian sausage.
- Yellow onion: Adds sweetness and depth of flavor.
- Sauce: To mimic the classic tomato sauce taste, use your favorite pizza, spaghetti, or marinara sauce.
- Pepperoni: If you don’t love pepperoni, leave it out or use Canadian bacon, bacon bits, or homemade meatballs in its place.
- Minced garlic: Garlic adds depth and enhances the overall taste profile.
- Italian Seasonings: This blend of herbs (typically including oregano, basil, thyme, and rosemary) provides a familiar, aromatic flavor characteristic of pizza.
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Shredded mozzarella cheese: Once it melts, mozzarella adds a gooey, stretchy texture to the middle. For better melting, I recommend freshly shredding your mozzarella from a block instead of buying a pre-shredded bag.
- Eggs: Eggs are crucial for creating the popover’s structure and rise. They help the batter puff up and become airy.
- Whole milk: Milk adds moisture to the batter and helps create steam during baking, which is essential for achieving the popover’s light, airy texture.
- Olive oil: Helps with browning, giving the top crust a golden, crispy texture.
- All purpose flour: Flour provides the structure for the popover covering.
- Shredded parmesan cheese: Adds a nutty, sharp flavor that complements the mozzarella in the middle. You can substitute grated parmesan cheese in a pinch.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Upside Down Pizza
- Brown The Beef: Cook the ground beef until it’s no longer pink. Drain the grease, return it to the cast iron skillet, and break the meat into small pieces.
- Make The Meat Mixture: Add the onions into the beef, cook for 5 minutes, then stir in the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir in the Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and pepperoni and cook until heated through.
- Simmer And Spread: Stir the spaghetti sauce into the meat mixture and simmer for 3 minutes. Spread into the bottom of the baking dish and and top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Place in the pre-heated oven while you make the bubble up top mixture.
- Prepare The Popover Batter: Combine the flour, eggs, milk, oil, and salt into a batter. Pour the batter over the meat mixture and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
- Bake: Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes, or until the bubble up top has puffed up and is deep golden brown.
- Serve: Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
Would you eat pizza every night of the week without getting tired of the same old thing: When you customize your popover pizza recipe with a variety of pizza toppings you can! Just spread your favorite toppings over the base, cover with pizza dough, and bake to perfection. Here are some ideas:
- Classic: Pepperoni, mozzarella, and marinara sauce.
- Veggie Delight: Bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, spinach, and olives.
- Meat Lover’s: Sausage, bacon, ham, and ground beef.
- Supreme: A mix of bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, sausage, and pepperoni slices.
- Cheesy: Extra cheese with a mix of cheddar, mozzarella, and parmesan.
- Mediterranean: Feta cheese, black olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and artichoke hearts.
- BBQ Chicken: Cooked chicken, BBQ sauce, red onions, and cilantro.
Tips & Variations
- Go With Glass: A glass dish is the best option for cooking this recipe! It will turn out better if you use a glass dish.
- Rise With Best Results: It is very important that your eggs and milk are at room temperature for this recipe and that you sift your flour into the bowl. If not, the mix for the bubble top won’t rise or puff up at all.
- Before Baking: Make sure that your baking dish is very hot before adding the crust mixture on top. Put it in the hot oven before baking it with the crust!
- Don’t Open The Door: DO NOT open the oven while cooking this pizza casserole ecipe! You want to keep all of the heat trapped inside so that the pan gets nice and hot. When you bake it with the popover batter, make sure that the top of the puff is golden brown before you open the oven door (look through your oven window)!
- Toss In Toppings: You can add any of your favorite pizza toppings to the meat mixture. Some of my favorites include green bell peppers, olives, spinach, and mushrooms.
- Skip A Step: You can save some time by skipping the traditional from-scratch popover topping on this pizza. Simply substitute Pillsbury Crescent Rolls or Biscuits and bake until golden brown (the end result will be a little bit different).
Proper Storage
- To Store: Leftovers can be stored covered in the fridge for 2-3 days. Because of the popover top, the pizza’s texture will change quickly and may become soggy.
- To Freeze: I do not recommend freezing this upside-down pizza pot pie recipe, as the popover top will become soggy when thawed.
More Twists on Pizza Recipes
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Upside Down Pizza
Serves — 8
Upside Down Pizza is a fun and delicious twist on a traditonal pizza pie, featuring a puffy, golden crust baked above the toppings rather than below. An easy weekday dinner the whole family will love.
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Video
Ingredients
Meat Mixture
- 1½ pounds lean ground beef
- ½ large yellow onion diced finely
- 24 ounce jar traditional spaghetti sauce I used Ragu Old World Style
- 6 ounces package pepperoni chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon Italian Seasonings
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Cheese Layer
- 1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Crust Top
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1½ cups whole milk room temperature
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1½ cups all purpose flour sifted through mesh into bowl
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a glass 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large skillet cook ground beef over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain grease and return ground beef to the skillet and use a meat masher to break meat into small pieces.1½ pounds lean ground beef
- Add onions and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often so they do not burn. Add minced garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes, stirring often.½ large yellow onion, 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- Add Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, and pepperoni. Stir well and continue to cook for an additional 3-5 minutes, or until pepperoni is cooked and heated through.1 tablespoon Italian Seasonings, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 6 ounces package pepperoni
- Add spaghetti sauce to the meat mixture and stir well. Let simmer for 3 minutes.24 ounce jar traditional spaghetti sauce
- Add the meat mixture to the bottom of the baking dish and spread out evenly using a rubber spatula. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- Place in the oven at 400 degrees while you combine the bubble up top mixture. You want your baking dish to be very hot when you pour the bubble up mixture into it.
- In a separate medium mixing bowl combine sifted flour, eggs, milk, vegetable oil, and salt. Use a large spoon to mix together. Don’t over mix. (NOTE: This batter will be a bit runny and should be able to pour onto the top of the casserole)3 large eggs, 1½ cups whole milk, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1½ cups all purpose flour, ¾ teaspoon salt
- Remove the baking dish from the oven and pour the bubble up top over the meat mixture, making sure to get the top all the way to the edges of the casserole dish. Sprinkle ⅓ cup shredded parmesan cheese over the top of the bubble up top and place in the oven.⅓ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- Cook at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, or until the bubble up top has puffed up and is a deep golden brown color.
- Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
Jenn’s Notes
Storage:
To Store: Store leftovers covered in the fridge for 2-3 days. Because of the popover top, the texture of the pizza will change quickly and may become soggy.
To Freeze: I do not recommend freezing this upside down pizza pot pie recipe as the popover top will become soggy when thawed.
Tips:
- A glass dish is the best option for cooking this recipe! It will turn out better if you use a glass dish.
- It is very important that your eggs and milk are at room temperature for this recipe and that you sift your flour into the bowl. If not, the mix for the bubble top won’t rise or puff up at all.
- Make sure that your baking dish is very hot before adding the crust mixture on top. Put it in the hot oven before baking it with the crust!
- DO NOT open the oven while cooking this pizza casserole ecipe! You want to keep all of the heat trapped inside so that the pan gets nice and hot. When you bake it with the popover batter, make sure that the top of the puff is golden brown before you open the oven door (look through your oven window)!
- You can add any of your favorite pizza toppings to the meat mixture. Some of my favorites include green bell peppers, olives, spinach, and mushrooms.
- You can save some time and skip the traditional from scratch popover top of this pizza. Simply substitute Pillsbury Crescent Rolls or Biscuits and bake until golden brown.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 497kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 160mg | Sodium: 1544mg | Potassium: 765mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 718IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 262mg | Iron: 5mg
You and your family are going to love your Popover Upside Down Pizza. You will get the same saucey, cheesy pizza flavors and the crust you love, but in a new and exciting way! This has become a favorite in our household, and I’m willing to bet it will in yours, too.
I’m curious to know how it taste, I have never heard of this, thank you for sharing the recipe.