Pizza may be the quintessential party food, especially if you’re planning an event on short notice. In most cases, you can have a number of steaming hot pies delivered to your house or venue, along with plates and napkins. Because it’s a handheld food, cleanup is a breeze.
But how do you know what to order for your guests? Are you responsible for catering to each invitee’s personal preferences? Are there any dos and don’ts that can make your pizza party a success? We will give you the answers to these questions and more in this article.
Pizza Party Considerations
Before we get started, you’re going to want to put a little thought into your pizza party. Here are some things that are helpful to know.
- Do you know that your pizza place is going to be able to deliver the pies at the specified time? If you’ve never ordered a large number of pizzas or you’ve just found the pizzeria by searching “party pizzas near me,” just make sure they say they can deliver.
- Do any of your guests have dietary restrictions? It’s always a good idea to have a few cheese pizzas for vegetarians or people who require lower-sodium foods. Some restaurants also have a gluten-free crust option.
- How many people will be attending? This is a huge one. You’re going to want to make sure you have enough food. It’s better to overestimate than have someone go hungry. Leftover pizza is great, anyway.
- Are your guests children or adults? Children have different taste preferences than adults. For a kids’ party, stick with the staples: cheese, pepperoni, and sausage.
If you don’t know all of this information, don’t worry. We will give you some tips for sticking the landing either way.
What Are the 5 Most Popular Pizza Toppings?
If you’re buying five pizzas for a party, what are you getting? It’s kind of a trick question since one should be a plain cheese. So, let’s rephrase: If you’re buying six pies for a pizza party, which toppings are you getting on the other five? Let’s break down the five most popular toppings:
Pepperoni
Pepperoni may be the perfect complement to the cheese, sauce, and dough that comprise a pizza. Over a third of all pies consumed in the United States have pepperoni topping. Americans consume 125,000 tons of pepperoni every year — most of it on pizzas.
Mushrooms
We realize that not everyone loves mushrooms, but they are extremely popular, especially as an alternative to meat. Mushrooms evoke strong feelings in pizza lovers, so by all means, order a mushroom pizza, but don’t order only mushroom pizzas.
Onions
Are you surprised? This can be a little tricky because onions are among the most popular pizza toppings, but research indicates that they are more common in combination with other items, like sausage or mushrooms.
Sausage
While this meat topping is nowhere near as popular as pepperoni, it’s certainly no slouch. Sausage is popular because it tastes delicious as the sole pizza topping but also pairs well with most other toppings. Don’t believe us? Think of different pizza toppings and how they would taste with sausage. Amazing, right?
Black Olives
This may have some of you scratching your heads, and we get it. Olives are definitely more common on multiple-topping pizzas than they are as stand-alones. If you’re going to “go rogue” with a pizza on your list, this is the one you might want to add a second topping to.
What are Some Popular Topping Combinations for Pizzas?
If you don’t like the idea of picking five pizzas with single ingredients, combine them or add a few others to them: sausage and peppers, mushroom and onions, pepperoni and sausage, or whatever you can think of. Here are some of the most popular combos, and we highly recommend these pies for your party:
- Veggie Pizza – Many places have their own versions of veggie pizzas, or you can build your own with mushrooms, onions, peppers, black olives, etc.
- Meat Lovers Pizza – Combine pepperoni, sausage, ham, ground beef, and/or meatballs, and you have a pizza your carnivore guests will rave about.
- Pineapple and Ham – No one is saying that you have to embrace this controversial trend but trust us, you’re going to have a guest or two that will compliment your ordering skills over this one.
- The Works – Some places call this a supreme pizza or a deluxe pizza, but the idea is that they combine many popular toppings. Check the list of ingredients if you’re concerned about getting an ingredient you truly don’t like, but tasting all of the ingredients together is the whole point.
- Speciality Pizzas – Many restaurants have their own specialty pizzas where they combine their ingredients in creative ways. Like, for instance, our Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza has chicken breast, bacon, mozzarella, and ranch dressing. It’s a fan favorite.
How to Make a Pizza Party Fancy
Pizza has an earned reputation as a casual food, but it doesn’t have to be. You can order a few pies to round out your menu. If you request a party-cut pizza, the restaurant will cut smaller slices so it can be eaten like finger food. Many people have come to recognize that pizza compliments wine famously. Instead of cutting up cheese, bread, and meats to serve as a side, order some pizzas that will pair with the vintages you’re serving.
How Many Pizzas for 20 People?
Here’s a quiz. You’re hosting a pizza party for 20 adults. How many pies do you need? Most people would like to eat one or two slices from a large pie (large pie slices are bigger due to the radius). Some will have three or four, though. 2.5 slices per guest is a safe estimate, so if you have 20 people attending your pizza party, you should have about 50 slices. With eight slices per pizza, you can probably get away with six pies (6 x 8 = 48).
What Do You Do if You Don’t Order Enough?
If you notice that you’re getting low on pizza because you’ve got some real pizza lovers on your hands, just order another pie or two. Hungry Howies can get one to your party ASAP.