Make Homemade Pizza with Store Bought Dough

Learn how to make homemade pizza with store-bought dough. If you love a delicious homemade pizza, this recipe is a great alternative to making pizza dough from scratch. All you need is about 30 minutes, your favorite toppings, and store-bought pizza dough.

We love a good pizza night! And this homemade pizza is always a top request in our house. It’s a super easy recipe to make and customize to everyone’s tastes. Perfect for those picky eaters!

The great thing about this recipe is that it doesn’t require any special equipment or tools. You don’t need a pizza stone, pizza pan, or even a rolling pin. You can even get away with using a regular cookie sheet to bake the pizza.

What’s the Best Store-Bought Pizza Dough?

Convenience is super ideal when it comes to dinnertime. So, why spend all that time making homemade pizza dough when you can use the store-bought version for a faster, easier meal? This shortcut trims the work down from 2+ hours to only 30 minutes from start to finish!

Don’t get me wrong, there are some great recipes to make your own dough. But, if you’re anything like me, the premade dough just does the trick!

It’s super easy to roll out and make to your preferred thickness and shape. Small, large, thick, thin, round, square… you can do a LOT of variations with this dough.

Alternatively, most grocery stores have small, individual pizza dough disks that are prebaked and ready to use. This would be a great idea for each family member to have their own pizza.

How to Make Homemade Pizza

Your directions for preparing the dough may vary depending on the brand. Follow the rolling and baking instructions on the packaging for your dough. I’ve listed the basic process for our version below.

First, unroll your refrigerated pizza dough. Mold the dough according to the thickness desired on your pizza stone or baking sheet. It’s optional, but consider brushing the crust with a little olive oil for extra crispiness!

You can also roll the dough out on your countertop. Just be sure to clean your counters before and after. Also, lightly dust your work surface with a little flour if you plan to roll out the dough.

Tip: Let the kids help you mold the dough! We aren’t striving for the perfect pizza, but we are making sure to incorporate fun and learning during the cooking process.

Next, spoon the pizza sauce onto the middle of the pizza dough, and spread it around with the back of a spoon or spatula. 

Add shredded Mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle it all around, about an inch from the edges.

Top with your favorite meats and veggies. Follow the directions for baking on the pizza dough packaging.

We like to turn on the broiler at the end of the cooking time to get an even crispier crust and brown the cheese slightly. But, this is optional.

Pre-baking pizza dough before adding toppings

There may be some differences between dough, but prebaking the pizza crust is always a good move. Prebaking usually takes only 5 minutes or so. Then, add the sauce and toppings and return to the oven to finish baking.

If you don’t bake the raw dough before adding on the rest of the toppings, you could end up with a soggy crust that’s under-cooked toward the center. 

You’ll need to reference the packaging instructions to see what the manufacturer recommends.

Pizza Toppings Ideas

The sky is the limit for pizza toppings! Add fruits, vegetables, different sauces, fresh herbs, Italian seasoning, and more for your own unique creation. 

The key is not to go overboard with too many toppings. Start with a base or sauce, choose a cheese, and then meats and/or other toppings. Make sure your toppings “match” the flavors you are going for.

For example: If you use olive oil and garlic as a base, mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, spinach, and Italian sausage would be delicious flavors that would work well together.

What kind of sauce goes on pizza?

Classic red tomato sauce is always a winner! Alternatively, you could also use BBQ sauce, Alfredo sauce, garlic and olive oil, or pesto as a base for pizza.

If you’re really in a pinch, try using leftover spaghetti sauce.

What’s the best cheese for pizza?

Mozzarella cheese is the most traditional cheese for pizza. It’s easy to melt and mild in flavor. Other cheeses you might consider include goat cheese, fontina, smoked gouda, cheddar, or even parmesan cheese.

What vegetables go well on a pizza?

Leftover veggies would work really well on a pizza because they are already precooked and tender. Try caramelized onions, pickled red onions, fresh spinach, mushrooms, canned artichokes, sundried tomatoes, red peppers, bell peppers, and more.

What meats go well on a pizza?

For meats, try crumbled sausage, chicken, bacon, pepperoni, diced ham, and more.

What are the 3 best pizza topping combinations?

Need some “pre-built” ideas? Here are combination ideas for a 3 topping pizza:

• Pepperoni, Mushrooms, and Banana Peppers
• Sausage, Mushrooms, and Green Olives
• Pepperoni, Green Olives and Bacon
• Pepperoni, Sausage, and Banana Peppers
• Bacon, Pineapple, and Mushroom
• Pepperoni, Mushroom, and Green Pepper
• Ham, Jalapenos, and Pineapple
• Italian Sausage, Black Olives, and Artichoke Hearts
• Pepperoni, Onion, and Green Pepper
• Ham, Mushroom, and Green Pepper
• Mushroom, sausage, and pepperoni

3 Ways to Reheat Pizza: Oven, Air Fryer, and Skillet

1. Air Fryer: Reheating pizza in the Air Fryer is a game-changer. The slice of pizza will taste super fresh with a crispy crust that’s not chewy! Follow those directions here.
2. Oven: To reheat in the oven, place the slice(s) on a piece of foil directly on the oven’s rack. Bake in a 350-degree preheated oven for about 10 minutes or until warmed through.
3. Skillet: To reheat in a skillet, place the slice(s) of pizza in a skillet and place the lid on. Cook on low to medium heat for about 10-15 minutes.