6 Tips for Throwing a Great Pizza Party

If you’ve always wanted to throw a pizza party but don’t know what to make, or how they’ll turn out, just remember these words from The New York Times food columnist, chef and award-winning author, J. Kenji López-Alt; “The great thing about pizza is that even when it looks like crap, it still tastes great.”

A pizza party should, at its essence, be a fun affair and we’ve put together a list of our top 6 tips to get you on your way to a wonderful (and unforgettably tasty) fête.

1. Have a pizza rehearsal before the party:

There’s nothing worse than having your guests over with the oven fired up and ready to go only to discover that the dough isn’t proofed enough, or you didn't buy basil for the pesto. If you’ve never made dough before, we’ve got a slew of recipes to choose from, and recommend starting with our Classic Pizza Dough. Give yourself the gift of time and spend a day experimenting with different pizza toppings and dough styles. If that already sounds overwhelming, you can also turn to our Quick Pizza Dough, or buy some of our premade, frozen dough balls a week or two ahead of your shindig.

2. Tools are your friends:

Having an oven is one thing, but having the right tools for pizza-making will ensure that you avoid unnecessary hiccups. At a minimum, you’ll need an infrared thermometer, a pizza peel for launching and a nice cutter wheel. (If you have two ovens you expect to use at the same time, you’ll probably need two launching peels.) 

Outside of these basics, it's also handy to have a pizza topping station for ingredients, and a digital scale makes it much easier for prepping dough, especially if you’re making yours from scratch. Find yourself out of time to order a topping station or don't have the space? Lining up a bunch of containers, recycled takeout containers or cups will also do the trick. And a good chef's knife and even a pair of kitchen shears can step in for a pizza cutter.