Transform Pillsbury Canned Biscuits Into An Easy Italian Sub-Style Casserole With A Few More Ingredients

There are a wealth of creative uses for a can of store-bought biscuits. And Pillsbury canned biscuits are arguably the best brand for the task, with easily malleable dough that you can manipulate into everything from pie crusts to empanada shells. Canned biscuits would also be a buttery upgrade for an Italian-sub bread swap. Instead of making Italian biscuit sandwiches, the biscuits and traditional Italian sandwich fillings can become part of a dump-it casserole recipe.

An Italian sub-style casserole is especially easy to make because the ingredients are pre-made meats and cheeses united by a cup of store-bought marinara sauce. A YouTube video by Julia Pacheco shows how to make it. Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit while you dice your biscuit dough into bite-sized chunks. Slice provolone, salami, ham, and pepperoni quarters, then cube your mozzarella. Add it all to a bowl with a cup of marinara, mixing to combine and ensuring that all ingredients are evenly dispersed before adding it to a baking dish. Top the casserole with Italian seasoning and some shredded mozzarella cheese then bake it covered with tin foil for 25 minutes, followed by an additional 25 minutes uncovered to get the cheese bubbly and crispy on top and to evaporate any watery residue from the pasta sauce. The result will be a savory, gooey, saucy casserole with a meaty chew studded with fluffy bites of buttery biscuits.

Many of the best ways to upgrade a conventional Italian sub sandwich also apply to this casserole, starting with the core ingredients. You can get fancier with your cured meat choices, swapping pepperoni for capicola or ham for prosciutto. Mortadella would also be a sumptuous addition. You can bring more depth of flavo with your sauce choice. Sauce brands from Prego to Carbone offer a diversity of flavored red sauces, some with roasted garlic, others with added herbs, and still others with a hint of cream. All of these sauces will pair beautifully with the meats and cheeses of your casserole. You can also doctor the sauce with a splash of balsamic or red wine vinegar.

If you want to bring more Italian flair to the biscuits, you can toss the pieces in melted butter or olive oil with parmesan and Italian seasoning. For that matter, you can sprinkle parmesan or Pecorino Romano over the top of the casserole with panko breadcrumbs for added crunch. Of course, most Italian sub sandwich come chalk full of fresh and pickled veggies. You can certainly add pickled giardiniera to your casserole as well as sliced olives. Serve the casserole alongside an Italian sub salad of shredded iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced red onion, tomatoes, and cucumbers dressed with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.