OUR TOP TIPS ON HOW-TO MAKE PIZZA AT HOME

Hey y'all!

I love to cook at home.  I even consider it one of my hobbies.  One of the benefits to cooking at home is that you are 100% in charge of what ingredients go into your meals. But, let's be honest... we don't always have time to make everything from scratch.  So, I'm also a big fan of finding shortcuts to make a homemade meal come together quick. Today, I'm sharing some shortcuts and tips to making your own pizza at home and in less time than you would have one delivered! 

So... let's talk pizza!  There are 4 main components of any pizza. The... 

1. Crust
2. Sauce 
3. Cheese
4. Toppings​

​Let's break down each essential pizza component and share our top tips for each! 

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THE CRUST

You can make your own pizza crust from scratch (we love this 2-Ingredient Pizza Crust Recipe) or a boxed mix, OR you can buy a ready-to-cook store bought dough to save time!

If you're looking for a pre-made dough, check out your local grocery store's bakery section for a ball of raw pizza dough.  This allows you and your family to create the shape and thickness of crust that YOU like. (Pst... often times you can also get raw pizza dough from your local pizzeria!)

​Whether you make your own pizza dough or buy store-bought, aim for a whole wheat dough if possible for a more nutritious choice. (Stonefire's Whole Grain Naan is one of our favorites that we buy up whenever on sale!)  A whole grains dough will give you more vitamins, minerals, and fiber than your regular pizza dough. 

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THE SAUCE

Traditional pizza sauce is a marinara sauce.  And you may not realize that making your own marinara sauce at home is actually super simple! 

• Enter this new-to-me trick I saw on Tastemade's Discover Channel that I just had to try it for myself!  (Mostly because I thought it was waaaay too easy. Boy was I wrong!  It totally works.)  The trick is: Blend a can of tomatoes.  That's it! 
  
• Using canned tomatoes are a super quick and inexpensive shortcut to speed up the sauce making process.  (Did you know that tomatoes -- even canned -- are nutritional powerhouses providing antioxidants and vitamins such as A and C!?) 
• And you can add extra flavor to your homemade marinara sauce with fresh garlic, onion, and spices such as oregano, thyme, and basil.

So, why do this over jarred pizza sauce?  Many sauces in the stores contain a lot of added sugar. Making your own pizza sauce is a way that YOU can control how much sugar, salt, and spices, etc. go into your pizza. 

You can also top your pizza with other sauces, of course, such as a white sauce, olive oil, and pesto -- which makes for a fun way to create and eat the flavors you enjoy most on your pizza.

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THE CHEESE

This is the pizza component that you can be really creative with on your pizza!  You can try all kinds of cheese for different flavors.  Examples would be...

• Mozzarella for a traditional Margherita pizza,
• Feta for a mediterranean or Greek-inspired pizza, or
• Cheddar for a taco-inspired pizza.

Just remember that a little cheese goes a long way on pizza so use sparingly. Cheese is the main culprit on pizzas with a high saturated fat content.  We want to limit our daily saturated fat intake as it can clog our arteries and be hard on our hearts.

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THE TOPPINGS

Now, let’s talk toppings as you can truly put ANYTHING on a pizza!  Because of this, toppings are a great, delicious, and nutritious way to add servings of vegetables (and even fruit) to your day.  To start, try tomatoes, spinach, bell peppers, mushrooms and/or onions on your pizza.  As mentioned before, you can make pizzas inspired by any other favorite foods or cuisines.  For example...

• Taco Pizza: lean, seasoned ground beef + low-fat cheddar cheese + green onions
• Greek Pizza: pesto sauce + feta cheese + banana peppers + olives + tomatoes
• Spinach & Artichoke Dip Pizza: white sauce + spinach + artichokes 

Have all your pizza components -- the crust, sauce, cheese, and toppings -- in place and your sure to be a pizza making pro in no time! 

Be sure to check out a few of our favorite pizza night recipe ideas over on our Pinterest. 

What are YOUR favorite cooking shortcuts? Share by commenting below or tagging us at @themealplanningmethod. 


christy