Simple Homemade Pizza
We LOVE pizza in our house, for any meal, at any time. This doesn’t mean we order out constantly – it’s quite the opposite! There ARE ways to enjoy pizza routinely without breaking the bank. Here are a few options to Simple Homemade Pizza that are just as awesome as (and way cheaper than) take-out!
Order-out pizza at our house tends to get expensive. My son hates pizza sauce, which means we eat mostly white pizza in our house. Most places around us classify this as a “specialty pizza”, which equals a higher price. There are also four of us, so we tend to need more than one pizza when we are super hungry. This results in a bill that usually makes me not even enjoy the pizza. I had to find a cheaper alternative.
Like white pizza? Here’s 2 ways we make it at home.
White pizza is traditionally topped with spinach and tomato slices. In our house, white pizza means white sauce, topped with any desired topping.
Homemade Butter-Garlic Sauce
A staple in our refrigerator at all times is our butter-garlic sauce. We use it on everything from pizza crusts to grilled cheese sandwiches to paninis. Even when we put pizza sauce on our crust, we put this butter-garlic sauce on the crusts before adding the sauce. It’s simple to make:
- Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a small bowl (we use a ramekin) – about 30 seconds
- Sprinkle in some Italian seasoning and garlic salt (about 1/4 tsp of each seasoning per half a stick of butter)
- Using a plastic basting brush, coat your pizza crusts with the butter-garlic sauce, then top with your desired pizza sauce, cheese and your choice of toppings.
Homemade Parmesan Cream Sauce
- Soften 4 oz. of cream cheese in a medium sized bowl
- To the cream cheese, add 1/4 cup of heavy cream
- Add 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, 1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning and 1/2 tsp. grated parmesan cheese
- Stir until mixture is thoroughly combined.
Tip: If sauce is too thick, add 1 tsp. heavy cream until thin enough to spread easily. If too thin, add some cream cheese until sauce is to your desired consistency.
Want to keep it traditional? We do homemade tomato pizza sauce too.
Homemade Pizza Sauce
Mix the following ingredients together in a food processor or blender and this is as good as done!
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can whole or diced tomatoes
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste (or to desired thickness)
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
- 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
This Simple Homemade Pizza can be done the easy way… or completely from scratch.
Here’s our take on store-bought pizza crust.
We started our “no more pizza shop” pizza craze by using store-bought crusts. These are available in a variety of sizes and thicknesses at the grocery store, just like at the pizza shop. We love the mini crusts (personal pan size) that each of us can make to our own liking. My daughter likes less cheese than the rest of us, and I love banana peppers, which everyone else hates.
Let the kids make their own – special – just for them. After less than five minutes of assembly time – let them bake for 7-10 minutes and lunch is served.
Cost Savings: The store-bought crusts cost on average $3.50 for a pack of two large crusts or three personal pan sized crusts. This way, you can make 2 medium sized pizzas for less than $10.00 on average, depending on your toppings. That’s quite a savings!
This Simple Homemade Pizza crust is our new favorite thing.
When the 2020 pandemic hit, if we wanted pizza but were out of crusts I didn’t always want to run to the grocery store. As part of my newfound desire to make as much from scratch as possible, I tried several recipes for Simple Homemade Pizza crust and have found one that only takes a few ingredients, no food processors, and takes just a few minutes to make into dough.
From now on, when we have the pizza craving (which happens a few times a month), I don’t have to find an alternative if we are out of crusts, we just whip up our own. Knowing exactly what is in the foods we eat is much more appealing to me, and I love making everything from my pantry versus depending on the store.
Cost Savings: This Simple Homemade Pizza crust costs on average less than $2.00, and makes one large pizza or 3 personal pan sized pizzas.
Here’s how we make pizza crust in no time:
Combine 2 cups flour, 1 package of active dry yeast, 1 tsp. sugar and 1/2 tsp. salt in a small or medium mixing bowl.
Add in your warm water and mix until a doughy consistency.
With your hands, press the dough together until a ball forms. Remove from the bowl and coat with a small amount of olive oil.
Let sit in a warm place for 1 hour until risen to almost double in size.
On a floured surface, roll out the dough to your desired size and thickness.
Hint: This will be really thick crust if you don’t roll it pretty thin! (Mine are usually about 1/8 inch thickness or so, but it’s totally up to you)
Top with your choice of sauce, whether it be white sauce or traditional pizza sauce, shredded cheese and whatever else you love.
Hint: Remember to leave some space around the edge of your dough to allow a crust, making it easier to eat!
Bake at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes and enjoy.
Don’t forget to save this recipe by pinning below….
Want to use sourdough for this Simple Homemade Pizza?
It’s simple. Instead of 2 cups of flour, back it down to about 1.5 cups, then add 1 cup of sourdough starter.
If the dough is still sticky, add another 1/4 cup flour until you can pinch the dough without it sticking to your fingers. It’s that simple.
Simple Homemade Pizza
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 pkg. active dry yeast
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2/3 cup warm water (105-115 degrees F)
- 1 tsp olive oil
- nonstick cooking spray
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, yeast, sugar and salt.
- Add 2/3 cup warm water, mixing until a crumbly dough consistency.
- Using your hands, press the dough together to form a ball. Cover with a tea towel and sit in a warm place for 1 hour.
- After dough has risen some, roll out on a flour surface into your desired size and thickness. (This will get very thick if you don't roll it thin!)
- Top with your desired sauce and toppings, leaving a thin perimeter around the dough circle to form a crust. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until bottom of crust is golden brown. Enjoy!
Looking for a low carb option to get rid of that pizza craving??
Make this awesome substitute for carb-filled pizza with this simple, healthy zucchini pizza bake.
Another quick option: Pizza doesn’t have to have crust.
Another alternative when you just want pepperoni and cheesy goodness?? Try a pizza wrap. Using a flour tortilla, coat both sides with the garlic-butter sauce above, stuff the inside with your favorite toppings by lining the middle of the tortilla, wrap up and grill or put in your panini press for a lunch that is just as good as the pizza the traditional way. You can put sauce in the pizza wrap itself or serve it with your favorite sauce warmed up on the side. Sooooo good.
Hopefully these tips and different versions save your budget by skipping the pizza shop and fill your pizza cravings the cheap and easy way.
From my home to yours,
