It’s a bit more work than ordering delivery, but you can make it healthier by choosing whole wheat crust, plenty of veggies and other healthy toppings. Plus, the kids love unleashing their creativity on their pizza designs.
Basics: Pizza Shells, Sauce and Cheese
You can always make your own crust and pizza sauce from scratch, but we’re using the pre-made stuff. Having a house full of kids is enough work, so let’s keep it simple! Choose from a variety of flat breads or thicker pizza shells. Traditional tomato-based sauce is great or go for extra flavor with pesto.
When it comes to cheese, you can also go for variety. Whether it’s mozzarella or extra flavour with a melted slice of Havarti or some feta, you can’t go wrong. Personally, we’re using cheddar and mozzarella. We just shred it and make a nice blend of it.
Toppings: Anything Goes
If you think it might taste good, it probably will. Just about anything goes with pizza toppings. Here, we’ve sliced up tomato, red pepper, mushrooms, broccoli, pepperoni, ham and pineapple. We’ve also included the cheese blend for easy access.
Let Their Creative Juices Flow
Once you’re ready, set everything out on a table and let the kids at it. You may want to let them in one at a time to prevent any battles over pepperoni.
If the kids are younger, you may want to put the sauce on for them, to avoid any messes or if you’re brave, let them just go for it.
Each child will want to do something different. Some are more artistic and just want to make the toppings look like a picture. Others will just pile it on. They key is to let them have fun. Even if they don’t want any sauce or if they don’t want any cheese…it’s still their masterpiece.
TIP: Make sure everyone’s pizza looks just a little different or has some kind of marker (ex.a mushroom piece, their initial, etc.) to distinguish them.
Get Ready to Bake
When everyone is ready, you can start baking. How long you’ll bake will depend on the crust you use and the amount of topping, but a good rule of thumb is to bake 350 degrees for about 12 minute. If you want the cheese to brown on top, broil for a minute or two after that.
Let stand for a few minutes, so it cools off and will be easier to cut. Cut into slices and serve.
