Name: Spaghetti Pizza
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 pound (16 ounces) spaghetti noodles; 1 pound ground beef; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; ½ teaspoon black pepper; 1 small yellow onion, (chopped); 1 small green bell pepper, (diced); 3 teaspoons garlic, (minced); 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes; 1 can (16 ounces) tomato sauce; 1 can (6 ounce) tomato paste; 2 teaspoons dried oregano; 2 teaspoons dried basil; 1 teaspoon granulated sugar; 1 cup water; 2 cups all-purpose flour; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1 teaspoon ksoher salt; 1 tablespoon olive oiI; 1 teaspoon garlic salt; 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning, (divided); ¼ cup parmesan cheese, (grated)

Spaghetti Pizza is not really a pizza, more like spaghetti served on top of Italian seasoned focaccia bread. This “recipe” was inspired by how we like to eat spaghetti… which is piled high on top of buttery garlic bread. It’s not normal, but it sure is delicious! If you like this easy dinner option, don’t miss my Homemade Egg Noodles that go great with so many dishes!

The Spaghetti

When making homemade spaghetti sauce I always make a meat sauce. I know some Italians are rolling their eyes and that’s just fine, they can stick to the traditional and timeless spaghetti and meatballs. But I grew up in North Dakota and with very little money and we made do with what we had. That often meant adding some inexpensive ground beef to a jar of generic spaghetti sauce. My dad would add butter and garlic salt to toast (poor mans garlic bread) and serve it up. As kids, we thought this was a magical feast and begged for it weekly.

As much as I still love the concept of spaghetti meat sauce on top of toast, I wanted to upgrade it a bit. I made spaghetti sauce from scratch (but still not technically authentic as I only cook mine for about 20 minutes) and then a quick homemade focaccia bread that is loaded with Italian seasoning and cheese.

My meat spaghetti sauce is perfect for this “pizza” because it is fairly thick. If you happen to prefer a runny sauce it would be difficult to eat. Definitely possible! But messy as heck. 😂

How to Make Focaccia Bread

Start with some basic pantry staples:

water
flour
baking powder
salt
olive oil
garlic salt
Italian seasoning, divided
Parmesan cheese

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook add water, flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning, and salt. Mix on medium speed until dough forms a ball. (about 5 minutes) If the dough appears too dry, you can add more water a teaspoon at a time. If the dough appears too wet and is not forming a ball, add more flour, a tablespoon at a time.

When the dough is done, add olive oil to a 12-inch skillet. (or sheet pan) Plop the dough into the oiled skillet and spread to a 1/2-inch thickness, making sure there are no holes. Use your fingertips to gently push the dough around. You want the finger indentations, no need to try and make it completely flat. Sprinkle garlic salt and remaining Italian seasoning over top.

Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with more olive oil then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and return to oven. Bake until just golden or about 5 minutes.

Now you can pile the spaghetti on!

How to Serve Spaghetti Pizza

Because I like to make the focaccia in the skillet, I usually serve it right out of that skillet. If you want to make the focaccia bread on a sheet pan, that would work beautifully too. Just make the bread, boil the noodles and prepare the spaghetti sauce. When the bread is done pile the noodles on top of the focaccia bread (as many or as little noodles as you would like), spoon the sauce on top of that, and then use a sharp knife to cut the bread into slices.

You eat this Spaghetti Pizza just like you would a pizza… picking up the slice with your hand and taking a giant bite. 🙂 Some noodle and sauce might fall off, so have a fork handy and just pile it right back on top. It’s not pretty to eat, but it’s so delicious you have to try it at least once. I probably wouldn’t serve this to guests, but for a family dinner? Absolutely, YES. The kids LOVE it. And I am brought right back to fond memories of my youth while enjoying a fantastic dinner!