How Ree Drummond Combines Pizza And Lasagna For A Truly Unique Meal

While medieval lasagna looked nothing like what we know it as today, Ree Drummond takes things a step further by combining all the merits of a supreme pizza with this delicious Italian dinner. With zesty pepperoni and a garden mix of vegetables, the Pioneer Woman's supreme pizza lasagna is easier to make than you'd think — provided you've got a big enough pot.

Classic lasagna has a straightforward flavor profile, rich in beef, cheese, and noodles. But Drummond kicks things up a notch with the fresh vegetable flavors of supreme pizza, adding a mix of bell peppers, pesto, mushrooms, and parsley. But even with all that earthiness, the dish is plenty bright thanks to her use of whole canned tomatoes, tomato paste, and black olives — all ingredients rich in acid. Her addition of red pepper flakes ties up the flavors with a neat, spicy little bow, creating a comprehensively seasoned lasagna sauce all in just one pot.

Drummond's cheese choices are simple: ricotta and Parmesan whisked together with egg, seasonings, and sliced mozzarella. The Parmesan and pepper flakes play off of each other, adding the flavors of classic pizza toppings to the mix. Ricotta typically melts beautifully in lasagna, but you can always add the unique baking ingredient sodium citrate to guarantee a perfectly gooey dairy layer. But while this dish may taste like supreme pizza, Drummond still observes all the best practices associated with a well-assembled, top-quality lasagna.

The Pioneer Woman's supreme pizza lasagna is more similar to a Chicago-style deep dish pie than classic thin-crust varieties. Avoiding the mistakes everyone makes with lasagna while still keeping it as a fusion recipe, it's Ree Drummond's assembly of the dish that makes it so well-crafted.

While some folks prefer a towering, multi-layered lasagna, Drummond sticks with just two layers of noodles. She's a big believer in using plenty of the ricotta and Parmesan cheese mixture, providing a delicious, almost saucy base for richness. But while this mixture provides tons of flavor and moisture, the slices of mozzarella pull apart into a stringy, yummy mess — just like a slice of pizza! Top it all off with meat sauce, and you get something almost identical to a Chicago-style deep dish without needing a purpose-built oven or other specialty tools.

If you want to make this dish at home, the key is to keep each individual layer completely distinct from the next. Cover the bottom of the pan from end to end with al dente pasta to create a sturdy base to build on. By smearing the entire noodle base with the cheese mixture, you keep them from growing soggy once the meat sauce starts to warm up. For this recipe, you want the meat sauce to act almost like a topping without interfering with the meltiness of the cheese or the integrity of the noodles.