Pizza parties aren’t just for delivery! I’m including a few simple tips for How To Host A Make Your Own Pizza Party that will be a huge success with your friends and family!

One of BMW and my favorite group dinners is a Make Your Own Pizza Party! I’ve hosted several over the years and they are always a hit with guests. There are a few quick and easy tips that are helpful for making your pizza party go smoothly!

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Watch My Video for How To Make The Best Homemade Neapolitan Style Pizza!

How To Host A Make Your Own Pizza Party

Hosting and entertaining friends should be a) fun and b) delicious in my opinion. BMW and I love hosting friends over for dinner. We’ve hosted a Steak Frites night inspired by our trips to Paris, we’ve made xiao long bao dumplings inspired by our travels to China and now we’ve perfected the art of the pizza night!

Last summer we visited Italy and oh what a dream! We ate delicious seafood on the Amalfi Coast, we ate all the gelato in Venice and spent one day eating our way through Naples. We even stopped into the famous L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele (made famous by Eat Pray Love) and y’all, yes. Yes, it was that good! We had made pizza at home before but this trip really inspired us to nail down our pizza making at home.

I’m not saying this pizza is 100% the best ever pizza from Italy you’ve ever had… but also not saying that it isn’t. Making pizza and hosting guests for dinner is easier than you think and quite delicious if I do say so myself!

Here is everything you need to know for hosting your own pizza party!

• Prepare your pizza dough ahead of time – this is probably the #1 most important tip for hosting your own pizza party. If the dough isn’t ready, you might be eating dinner really, really late.
• Make a homemade sauce – everyone will ask if you make your own sauce, so do it the right way and make your own! It’s as simple as blending a few ingredients together and takes almost the same amount of time to make as it does to open the jar of the pre-made stuff.
• Layout the toppings ahead of time – do this so you don’t forget anything! Lay out the pepperoni, peppers, basil, parmesan, oregano, olives… you get the picture. Put them all into little bowls and let guests choose their own toppings.
• Prep your oven and counter space – make sure your oven and pizza stone are piping hot! This way the pizzas will cook quickly and you can all eat together. Make sure you have a clean counter space to roll out the dough and plenty of flour for dusting so it won’t stick to the counter or the pizza peel.

All The Kitchen Tools You Need To Make Your Neapolitan Pizza At Home

Pizza Peel – I suggest getting a pizza peel that isn’t too heavy or dense. A lightweight pizza will make maneuvering your pizza in and out of the oven much easier.

Pizza Cutter– We’ve used those old school pizza roller cutters in the past but this one works MUCH better and stays super sharp!

Pizza Stone– This is how you will get that crispy crust underneath without burning the whole pizza up. Make sure to get your pizza stone nice and hot so in the oven, so once you put your pizza in, it will cook from the top and bottom! This is how you will achieve that crispy crust and chewy inside.

Homemade Neapolitan Pizza Dough Recipe

Makes about 4 personal size pizzas

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all purpose flour + more for dusting and rolling out dough
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 pack (2 1/4 teaspoons) active yeast
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 cup olive oil

Directions:

1. Whisk warm water, sugar and yeast together in a small bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes or until it is frothy. If it’s not frothy, the yeast is old and thus the dough won’t rise properly.
2. In a stand mixer with a dough hook, add flour, salt, olive oil and yeast mixture. Mix together for about 5 minutes on medium speed until the dough is soft and elastic. It should come clean off the side of the bowl.
3. Shape into a ball and place into a bowl that is wiped with olive oil to prevent sticking. Cover and place in the fridge until ready to use. If making ahead, you can refrigerate overnight, or freeze and thaw. If freezing, I recommend cutting the dough into individual balls first and freezing separately.
   

   Homemade Neapolitan Pizza Dough Recipe

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   Prep Time 10 minutes mins

   Cook Time 10 minutes mins

   Course Main Course

   Cuisine Italian

   Servings 4 personal pizzas

   Calories 371 kcal

   Ingredients

     

   1x2x3x

   • 3 cups all purpose flour + more for dusting and rolling out dough
   • 1 1/2 cups warm water
   • 1 teaspoon sugar
   • 1 pack 2 1/4 teaspoons active yeast
   • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
   • 1/3 cup olive oil

   Instructions

    

   • Whisk warm water, sugar and yeast together in a small bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes or until it is frothy. If it's not frothy, the yeast is old and thus the dough won't rise properly.
   • In a stand mixer with a dough hook, add flour, salt, olive oil and yeast mixture. Mix together for about 5 minutes on medium speed until the dough is soft and elastic. It should come clean off the side of the bowl.
   • Shape into a ball and place into a bowl that is wiped with olive oil to prevent sticking. Cover and place in the fridge until ready to use. If making ahead, you can refrigerate overnight, or freeze and thaw. If freezing, I recommend cutting the dough into individual balls first and freezing separately.

   Nutrition

   Calories: 371kcalCarbohydrates: 78gProtein: 11gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 584mgPotassium: 116mgFiber: 3gSugar: 1gCalcium: 16mgIron: 4mg

   Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Homemade Tomato Pizza Sauce Recipe

Makes about 4 cups of sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 can (28oz) San Marzano tomatoes (doesn’t matter whole or crushed, San Marzano does matter if you can find them)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon salt
• Fresh herbs of your choice: I recommend 1 teaspoon thyme, 1 teaspoon oregano, 3 garlic cloves

Directions:

1. Blend all together. This will make quite a bit of sauce. You will probably use about 1/2 of it for 6-8 pizzas. The sauce is great on pasta and for dipping your pizza into. You can freeze any leftovers for later!
   

   Homemade Tomato Pizza Sauce Recipe

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   Prep Time 5 minutes mins

   Course Main Course

   Cuisine Italian

   Servings 0

   Calories 133 kcal

   Ingredients

     

   1x2x3x

   • 1 can 28oz San Marzano tomatoes (doesn't matter whole or crushed, San Marzano does matter if you can find them)
   • 1 tablespoon olive oil
   • 1 tablespoon salt
   • Fresh herbs of your choice: I recommend 1 teaspoon thyme 1 teaspoon oregano, 3 garlic cloves

   Instructions

    

   • Blend all together. This will make quite a bit of sauce. You will probably use about 1/2 of it for 6-8 pizzas. The sauce is great on pasta and for dipping your pizza into. You can freeze any leftovers for later!

   Nutrition

   Calories: 133kcalFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 6977mgPotassium: 2mgCalcium: 4mgIron: 1mg

   Keyword pizza

   Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Homemade Neapolitan Style Pizza Recipe

Making Neapolitan Style Pizza at home is so easy! All you need are a few quick ingredients and a really hot oven!

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees with the pizza stone inside the oven so it gets nice and hot. This will help your pizza to cook evenly without burning the top. I suggest switching to broil on high for the last minute or so of cooking so the top of the crust will get that crispy, charred bubbles that make Neapolitan pizza so famous.
2. To make your own pizza sauce, blend San Marzano tomatoes with salt, fresh herbs like oregano, and garlic until smooth.
3. Use your hands to stretch out dough, make sure to coat with flour so it doesn’t stick.
4. Place dough onto pizza peel or sheet pan coated with flour.
5. Use a spoon to spread sauce, don’t use too much or pizza will be soggy.
6. Top with fresh mozzarella, pepperoni or whatever topping you like! Remember, fresh herbs should be added towards the end of baking or they will burn.
7. Put pizza onto pizza stone and bake for about 5 minutes or until crust begins to brown and cheese is bubbling.
8. Cut into slices and serve.