Make and Freeze Pizza on Sunday for the Easiest Pizza Friday

One of the best things my husband and I have done for ourselves and our family is declaring Friday nights be pizza nights. We started scheduling a weekly Pizza Friday a few years ago and it’s now not only something we find ourselves looking forward to, but it also saves us from figuring out what’s for dinner at the end of a busy week.

Sometimes the pizza we dig into on Friday night is from our favorite takeout spot; other times, we spend the evening making it from scratch. But one of my new favorite discoveries offers the best of both worlds: We prep and freeze pizza over the weekend to make our Pizza Friday as unfussy as ordering takeout, but with the delicious perk of it being our own creation.

There are so many benefits to making and freezing your own pizza: It’s cheaper than takeout and store-bought frozen pizzas, it’s more wholesome since you know exactly what is going into it, and your topping possibilities are near endless. Plus, you don’t have to mess up the kitchen on Friday night when you’re worn out after a long week.

Take your pick between making the pizza dough and pizza sauce or starting with a store-bought ball of dough and jarred tomato sauce to make prep as simple as possible. All you need to do is roll out the dough, then par-bake it for a few minutes. This ensures you’ll get a crisp crust without any sogginess when you go to bake it the night you plan to serve. After letting it par-bake and cool completely, you’ll pile on the sauce, cheese, and toppings. Any of your favorite toppings, like pepperoni, cooked sausage, and veggies, work well — just be sure to cook any veggies that release water, like mushrooms and zucchini, to also prevent sogginess.

Then you’ll freeze the pizza on a baking sheet until completely solid before wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. When Friday night rolls around, all you’ll have to do is unwrap the pizza and slide it into the hot oven to bake.

Get the recipe: How to Make Frozen Pizzas at Home

That’s okay! You can still get ahead on Pizza Friday by prepping some of the components ahead of time. Go ahead and make your own pizza dough, for instance. Let the dough rise for an hour or two while you go about your other Sunday meal prep, then form it into balls, place them in freezer bags, and freeze for up to three months. Or make your own pizza sauce: It can be stored in the fridge for a full week or also frozen for up to three months.

If you’d rather just buy the dough and sauce, try prepping some of the toppings. Both raw vegetables, like sliced peppers and onions, as well as cooked vegetables, like sautéed mushrooms and spinach, can be refrigerated in an airtight container for a week or frozen for a couple of months. Cooked sausage or chicken shouldn’t be kept in the fridge for more than a few days, but can definitely be frozen too. You can even get a jump-start by simply shredding your cheese and refrigerating it until Friday or freezing it for longer! For anything you toss in the freezer, just let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight before assembling your pie.