Homemade Pizza Night: Everything You Need

Homemade pizza night is such a fun way to bake with your family. These are the best doughs for pizza crust, breadsticks, focaccia, and more. Just pick your favorite toppings and let's get baking!

The photo collage shows a pair of pizza crusts ready to be topped and baked next to 3 more photos of pizzas and focaccia.

My family gets SO excited when they see me pulling homemade pizza dough out of the fridge for homemade pizza night.

This has been one of my favorite family dinners to treat the kids over the years. I love to play with various pizza toppings and flavors and mix up the crusts with different options. They never know what I might be making next.

What they do know is that there is always a fun variety at the dinner table and no one leaves this meal hungry!

Take a few minutes to prep ahead these easy homemade pizza recipes for pizza crust doughs, easy breadsticks, and even a focaccia or two. Who needs that pricey pizzeria bill when you can have all this at home??

Pizza Doughs

Obviously the first order of business for a homemade pizza night is to have ready-to-go pizza dough.

You can prep the dough days in advance and keep it stashed in your fridge. This makes your Friday night baking so much more fun.

These core dough recipes can also be used beyond the pizza crust. Slice them and portion out into garlic knots, breadsticks, calzones, and more!

Bread Machine Pizza Dough

The original is a classic for good reason. My bread machine pizza dough is the recipe I turn to most often. It is reliable, easy, and bakes up beatuifully.

Bread Machine Pizza Dough

Homemade pizzas made with this bread machine pizza dough will beat your delivery pizza by miles. This recipe yields two 12-inch pizzas with a crust that is crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.

5 from 59 votes

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Pizza dough from the bread machine has been rolled out into a circle and is ready for toppings.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

When you're ready to mix things up, give my bread machine whole wheat pizza dough a try.

This is an excellent place to start when you want to experiment with baking with whole wheat because the dough rises up so pillowy soft and adds the perfect flavor and texture to a pizza.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Make this easy whole wheat pizza dough right in your bread machine and use it to form 2 12-inch, 4 8-inch, or 1 17x11-inch pizza that you can bake right in your oven. Whole wheat gives the pizza crust an amazing chewy texture with fantastic crispy edges.

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The risen pizza dough is inside the bread maker.

Sourdough Pizza Dough

If you're looking for a fun new sourdough discard recipe, look no further than this easy bread machine sourdough pizza crust!

That awesome tang from the starter tastes amazing but the real magic happens in the texture. The crust bakes up golden brown and so crispy. YUM.

Sourdough Discard Pizza Crust

This sourdough discard pizza dough bakes a beautifully crisp crust and can be paired with endless topping options. It's a budget-friendly dinner using your sourdough starter that the whole family will love.

4 from 1 vote

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A plain cheese pizza with tomato sauce has been baked with a sourdough discard crust that is now golden brown.

Focaccia Crusts for Deep Dish Pizza

Looking for a deep dish pizza or want one you can bake right inside a pan?

Why not use a focaccia dough for the pizza crust??

You can prep this dough and then when it's risen and ready spread the marinara pizza sauce and toppings right over the top. SO delicious.

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Focaccia Crust

My fluffy bread machine focaccia is the perfect herby base for a deep dish pizza.

Or go more rustic and skip the sauce! Just layer on fresh tomatoes and sliced vegetables for an olive-oil base pizza.

Fluffy Focaccia

If making dough in your bread machine and baking it in the oven worries you, this is the perfect recipe to start with because you simply pat the focaccia dough out into a pan and bake it -- no roll forming required! This recipe is featured in The Ultimate Bread Machine Cookbook.

4.82 from 11 votes

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A focaccia bread on parchment paper with several squares cut and scattered.

Sourdough Focaccia

Another awesome sourdough discard recipe, try this sourdough focaccia for a thick pizza crust.

If you've got the patience, prep the dough at least the day before and let it rest in the fridge overnight. It will develop that signature sourdough tang!

Sourdough Focaccia

Homemade sourdough focaccia starts in the bread maker with a push of a button and ends up golden brown and crispy baked in your oven. With just a few minutes of hands-on time, you get all the benefits of sourdough with a fraction of the effort. If you load your bread machine today at 5pm, you can let the dough rest overnight and have fresh baked bread for lunchtime tomorrow.

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Squares of fresh baked sourdough focaccia are scattered over the baking pan.

Breadsticks for Pizza Night

My family would be content with an entire buffet table of just pizzas but for a truly memorable evening you can bake up a batch of breadsticks as a side dish with almost no additional effort.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Pokey Sticks

My pizza dough makes enough for two pizzas. Use one half for the main dish and the other half to make these cheesy pokey sticks! This is always a huge hit with the kids.

Homemade Pokey Sticks

These copycat pokey sticks are inspired by the college delivery service Gumby's Pizza. Make your own cheesy garlic breadsticks for pizza night in just minutes using your bread machine. Don't forget to serve it with cups of ranch dressing!

4.72 from 7 votes

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Homemade pokey sticks have been baked and cut into breadsticks.

Whole Wheat Breadsticks

Or use the other half of my whole wheat pizza dough to shape these whole wheat breadsticks dusted with parmesan cheese and buttery herb topping. I think these give Olive Garden a run for their money.

Whole Wheat Breadsticks

These buttery whole wheat breadsticks taste like the delicious garlic breadsticks from Olive Garden. Brush melted butter over the tops and add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese just before serving warm with dinner.

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A white platter has a pile of fluffy whole wheat breadsticks dusted with grated parmesan cheese over the top.

Garlic Bread

Here's my greatest tip: When you're having fun in the kitchen with your family, not everything needs to be totally from scratch.

I would not hesitate for one moment to grab a loaf of fresh bread from the bakery to turn it into this amazing homemade garlic bread for pizza night.

Homemade Garlic Bread

Easy homemade garlic bread is the perfect quick side dish for a busy weeknight dinner.

5 from 1 vote

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The baked garlic bread is on a cutting board and has been cut into wedges for serving.

Homemade Pizza Sauces

For most traditional pizza toppings I will stir up a bowl of my marinara pizza sauce in just a minute. We also warm it and use it as a dip for the breadsticks.

For funkier pizza toppings, you might also enjoy using a white garlic pizza sauce, an alfredo sauce, or even a homemade BBQ sauce. These can all be prepped in advance and stored in the fridge.