Homemade Pizza Recipe for Family Pizza Night

As I say with all my baking adventures – I don’t go by looks, I go by taste. I try to really do all my baking on Sunday and get everything prepared for the week. So it takes a lot of time and effort. I don’t end up with perfectly round pizzas or exact replicas of Hot Pockets. But I come pretty close – and the taste is amazing!

I will honestly say homemade pizza is the best pizza I ever had! The kids love it! My boyfriend loves it. My daughter's friends all love to come over for pizza night. We actually prefer this to any pizza chain anywhere!

I spend roughly $5 dollars on ingredients to make two pizzas. Before, on a Friday night I would spend at least $20 on pizza delivery. But this pizza is made fresh, the kids love to help make it - and you just saved a minimum of $15 dollars.

So for us, every Friday is Family Pizza Night.


I usually make the dough on Sunday for my pizzas and freeze it. Learn more about having a baking and prep day HERE.
I lay my dough in the fridge on Thursday night so it’s ready for Friday.

Pizza Dough

(I use my bread maker, but you can make the dough by hand. However, I love my bread maker and strongly recommend it. It has saved me so much time and money. I even wrote a full post about it. Read here.)

3 1/2 Cups Bread Flour (You can use All-Purpose, but Bread Flour tends to have a crispier crust)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 package Dry Active Yeast

2 teaspoons kosher salt (or regular salt, or sea salt)

1 1/2 Cups Water

2 tablespoons olive oil (I have used vegetable oil before when I have been out of olive oil, and it works fine too.)

If you using your bread machine - most machines require you to add wet ingredients then your dry ingredients. Then select dough cycle. It takes my machine about 1 1/2 hours.

You can also use a stand mixer or by hand (though it is hard to get a good mix by hand.) Put dough in a box and cover once mixed, and let it rise for 1 hour.

Dough can then be cut into two equal parts. You want to roll them out on a lightly floured surface. You can make circle pizzas if you have pizza pans or use your regular baking sheets and make square pizzas. Both are good.

I spray my baking pans with a little cooking spray.

Pizza Toppings

(I swear by my local Giant's store brand pizza sauce!)

Half can/Half Jar Pizza Sauce of Your Choice

4 Cups Shredded Cheese (I usually use a mozzarella/parmesan combo)

1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil (Or Vegetable Oil)

Meats/Toppings of Your Choice (Pepperoni, Onion, Sausage, etc)

I sprinkle a little olive oil on my dough and spread it around. Then I top with a little Italian seasoning all over. Next I add my sauce. I am pretty generous with my sauce. Then comes the cheese - I am also pretty generous with my cheese ;)

You can then add any other toppings you'd like.

Note: The kids and I have also tried this with Alfredo sauce - it was AMAZING!

You want to cook your pizzas at 400 degrees. Mine take about 15mins. Just keep a close eye on them. When cheese is completely melted and crust is browning - it is time to take them out.

I honestly would not have pizza any other way.