How to Make Your Own Family Pizza Night

All the best tips & ideas on how to make your own family pizza night. Personalizing homemade pizza is easy & yummy. Grab the kids, ingredients, & the step stool - this is going to be fun & messy.

We have been making pizza with the kids since they were little. Here are my top tips, tools needed, cooking ideas, & ingredients for a delicious pizza night with family & friends.

Why Have a DIY Pizza Night

There is no magic formula here. Building your own pizza at home is all about making it what you love & with your favorite toppings.

• It's fun & tasty.
• Brings people together to talk & spend quality time.
• Saves money when you cook at home versus going out to a restaurant or getting take out.
• No one has to agree what to order, each person can create their own. I all about less kid arguments - haha.
• Use ingredients you trust, are quality, organic, or meet your dietary needs such as gluten-free, dairy-free, low-sodium, low-fat, etc.

Equipment for Making Pizza Easy

Here are the tools & items needed to help make pizza night a success. These help prep, assemble, & cook pizza at home.

• Rolling Pin - easy for the kids to shape & flatten the dough. A rolling pin with handles on both ends is great for small hands.
• Pizza Paddle/Peel - to transfer pizza in & out of the oven. Metal or wood typically - make sure you buy one that fits into your pizza oven opening. The foldable handle on this pizza peel is great for storing.
• Pizza Pan - a nonstick pizza pan with holes so the crust cooks evenly without a soggy crust.
• Pizza Oven - the high heat makes the best authentic Italian pizza. This outdoor pizza oven by PizzaQue is great and gets up 700°F for the best crispy Nepolitan style pizzas. For under $200 it's worth it!
• Pizza Stones - helps crisp up the bottom of pizzas, no soggy bottoms. Cheaper than a pizza oven & works great. We own two large square pizza stones to use in our grill or oven when we want to do several pizzas at once.
• Aprons - we all get messy, not just the kids.
• Cheese Grater - freshly-grated cheese beats pre-shredded any time.
• Pizza Cutter - for easy slicing. Whether you like a traditional pizza wheel or a pizza rocker, make sure the blade is sharp.
• Large Cutting Board - surface ideal for all pizza sizes. We own this 15x20 cutting board and can get 2-3 personal pizzas on it at once.
• Step Stool - so the kids (and short adults like me) can get into the action at the counter better. I have several foldable step stools all over my house which are ready for anyone to use.

All About the Dough

Start with the base, pizza dough. Whether you make it from scratch, buy it from a grocery store, or pick it up from a local pizzeria - get what you love.

• Try different types of crust; sourdough, white, whole wheat, or garlic herb for example.
• Buy dough from Trader Joe's, they even have a gluten-free option.
• My favorite homemade pizza crust recipe is by Chris Bianco and is in his Pizza Bianco cookbook.

Pizza Topping Ideas

Here is where the real fun comes in. I recommend going for a variety of different cheeses and toppings. Include meats, vegetarian, seasonal, classic, & gourmet choices.

• Cheese Textures - use shredded, crumbled, & fresh choices.
• Best Italian Cheeses - mozzarella, gorgonzola, parmesan, reggiano, ricotta, burrata, provolone, & pecorino.
• Best Gourmet or Unique Cheeses - blue cheese, cheddar, pepper jack, goat, smoked Gouda, or brie.
• Sausages or Salumi - Italian mild or hot, pepperoni, calabrese, mortadella, saprosseta, Genoa salami, prosciutto, pancetta, & speck.
• Other Unique Meat Choices (all pre-cooked) - anchovies, diced chicken, BBQ or buffalo chicken, garlic shrimp, bacon, pork belly, Canadian bacon, taco meat, pulled pork, lamb or gyros, smoked salmon, clams, or meatballs.
• Classic Veggies - mushrooms, olives, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, greens like basil, arugula & spinach, artichokes, & broccoli.
• Fun & Gourmet Veggies - potatoes, corn, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes, grilled squash, asparagus, Brussels sprouts or caramelized onions.
• Other Topping Ideas - garlic, pine nuts, almonds, figs, grilled peaches, truffles, balsamic vinegar, hot honey, chickpeas, pumpkins seeds, creme fraiche, & fresh herbs. (no pineapple please - haha!)
• Sauces - tomato red sauce, pesto green sauce, Alfredo, garlic white sauce, olive oil, truffle oil, BBQ sauce, spicy hot sauce, or none.

Ways to Cook Pizza at Home

There are different ways to cook pizza at home. Here are the best ideas for cooking pizza in the kitchen or outside.

• Oven with a Pizza Stone - It is easy to use a pizza stone in your oven, just make sure it is preheated to be very hot before adding the pizza.
• Oven on a Pizza Pan - use a top-rated pizza pan to baking.
• Toaster Oven or Air Fryer - bake or reheat pizza in the toaster oven or the air fryer to warm up slices.
• Outdoor Grill with a Pizza Stone - before we got our pizza oven, our prefered way to cook pizza was in on the grill with hot pizza stones.
• In a Pizza Oven - wood-fired is tasty or use a propane pizza oven for the ultimate pie.

Kids Helping

We like to get the kids involved when we can in the kitchen.  This is one of best recipes to involve toddlers, tweens, & teens. Pizza party time!

The things they like the help out with:

• Rolling the dough
• Spreading the sauce
• Sprinkling on the toppings
• Using the pizza roller to cut slices
• Taste testing along the way

The things they do not like to help out with:

• Grocery shopping for the ingredients
• Cleaning up the flour that seems to get everywhere
• Washing dishes
• Sharing!

I am a realistic mom and try to celebrate the small victories that they want to help at all. I know it is a huge mess but in our house hubby is in charge of clean up, so it is win-win for me!

Don't Forget Dessert

We typically use two Trader Joe's dough balls to make 3 pizzas and a dessert calzone. A recent night, we finished with a favorite dessert of my husbands - Nutella and banana calzone.

Some of our favorite savory and sweet pizza inventions include:

• Peanut butter, bacon, tomato & green onion
• Pesto, cheese & sundried tomatoes
• olive oil, cheese, prosciutto, fresh arugula & balsamic
• Anything with anchovies and green olives - Ok, I admit only I love this one!
• chocolate, marshmallows and crushed graham crackers - Smores pizza!
• Nutella, banana & peanut butter chips