The Secret to a Low-Stress DIY Pizza Night, According to an Allrecipes Allstar

Name: Ashley Schuering
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
The Reason to Gather: Pizza Party
Number of People at the Party: 4

To someone looking on, it might seem like Allrecipes Allstar Ashley Schuering is simply kneading pizza dough. But if you ask her, it’s a moving meditation. “I love the process of making sourdough-based doughs. The way I feel about handling dough is the way my Mom feels about putting her hands in the dirt—it’s grounding,” she says.

A writer and recipe developer by day, Schuering has been kneading her way to delicious pies for 20 years. You could say it’s practically baked into her home life: Her husband, Joe, worked at a parlor during high school, and these days, “It’s the only meal we consistently make together,” she says. In the past five years, though, Schuering has really been dialing in her homemade pizza game. She now knows her 00 Flour Pizza Dough with Sourdough Starter recipe by heart. 

This Allstar is just the expert we need when it comes to prepping and hosting a low-stress DIY Pizza Night party for a small group of 2-6 people. “This party is meant to be fun and fancy free, not stuffy,” she says, and the real party begins when guests gather at the table to customize their pies.  A build-your-own pizza bar sparks conversation—and sometimes a bit of controversy! 

But how best to set the stage for the perfect pizza party? We asked Schuering to dish up her best tips for hosting, plus the secret ingredient she swears by. 

What makes pizza such a great option for entertaining?

For a wallflower like myself, going to parties can be overwhelming unless I have a role to play: host, cook, server, cleanup crew, or otherwise. By giving your guests an opportunity to participate in a group activity, you’re welcoming everyone into the fold. Plus, as my husband would say, “Who doesn’t like pizza?!” Bonus: When you serve something that’s eaten by hand, there are fewer dishes to clean up after. 

Can you tell us about how you keep pizza parties affordable?

The cost of hosting can add up quickly. Starting with a starchy base like homemade pizza dough is a great way to keep expenses low. Even if I make enough pizza dough to feed a football team, the fact that it’s made of basically just flour and water makes it affordable. Toppings can admittedly be expensive—cheese and meat in particular—but you don’t need a ton to make a hearty pie. And if times are tight, this is a fun prompt for potluck attendees: You provide the dough, sauce, and mozzarella, and maybe a few extras like red pepper flakes and dried herbs, then ask your guests to bring their favorite or most creative toppers. 

What is your number one trick to cut costs on pizza night, whether you’re hosting a crowd or having a quiet night in with Joe?

Use leftovers! Pizza is a great way to stretch those odds and ends. When we inevitably end up with 1/4 cup of extra meat or beans and a single tomato or potato, I can transform that into something that will feed and satisfy us both (when those components on their own never would). Remember that pizza dough is essentially bread. If something tastes good in a sandwich, taco, wrap, bagel, or naan, it will taste good as a pizza. Don’t be afraid to go outside the bounds of what you think is "acceptable." We’ve put everything from leftover spaghetti and meatballs to tuna salad on our pizzas. While we like some better than others, we’ve never had one that was bad. Some are just good, while others are great!

What is the most unexpected topping combo you've tried that actually worked?

We’ve made so many that we love, so it’s tough to narrow it down! So I’ll turn to a recent win. I used salsa as the sauce, then topped that with refried black beans, shredded Cheddar cheese, roasted sweet potato chunks, and pickled red onions. Just before serving, I garnished it with fresh cilantro and Greek yogurt.

How does pizza night work once everyone arrives at your place?

It depends on the size of the group. For smaller groups of 6 or fewer, I usually have a grazing board out for people to nosh on throughout the night, then let everyone grab a round of dough and make their own pies. For larger groups, I have a two-stage strategy. First, I make a few pizzas ahead so that folks can eat a slice or two when they arrive (I try to plan for eating preferences so there’s something for everyone coming).

Then, because the group size is too large for everyone to make their own pie, I like to split people into smaller groups and have each group come up with their own pizza as a friendly competition. After folks sample a slice of each, they vote for their favorite. The members of the winning group each score a homemade food gift. A round of pizza dough, a jar of marinara sauce, or homemade pickled onions all make for great prizes.

We’re already dreaming of combos for our competition pizza! What sets DIY pizza apart from delivery or reheated frozen pies, in your opinion?

Aside from the pride that comes from mastering a new recipe, homemade pizza just tastes so fresh. Even if you get delivery from your favorite pizza joint, by the time it gets to you, it’s been sitting in a box and has probably steamed a bit. Not only does this mean a less crisp-on-the-bottom crust, but also means any fresh toppings have wilted.

My DIY dough is based on Roberta’s Pizza (a popular restaurant that started in Brooklyn, and now has outposts in Nashville, Denver, and the L.A. area). By making it from scratch, I get the taste of eating at my favorite spot without having to shell out the big bucks or get out of my jammies. I did the math, and a homemade pie for 2 to 3 people costs as little as $2 to $3, depending on the toppings.

True confessions time: What was your biggest pizza fail?

I got my video game-loving husband a new two-player game for Valentine’s Day this year so we could play together. We tried conquering a mission while the pizza was baking outside, but lost track of time. It burned. Bad. Pizza mission: far from accomplished. I ended up eating leftovers from the night before, but Joe muscled his way through and ate the whole thing. He said, “Eating burnt pizza is better than not eating pizza." Ha! 

If you could only share a single parting tip with home cooks to help them take their homemade pizza game to the next level, what might it be?

Can I share two? Start with as hot a pizza stone and oven as possible for the best results. And stretch the dough, rather than roll it. You want to keep all the bubbles. (Joe is way better at shaping pizza dough than I am, so that’s his job on pizza night!)