For those of you who are up for an extra challenge, you can make the pizza crust from scratch using this recipe from the blog. A few have mentioned Smitten Kitchen’s recipe which is quicker. This is best to make in advance, and make sure you read through all the notes before starting to avoid any baking related fails. If you do have a kitchen disaster, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods both have some great fresh and frozen options to pinch hit for a quicker weeknight meal.

The white sauce can be made in advance and re-used countless ways throughout the summer. This is a riff off Bon Appetit’s White Pesto, and would be great stirred into warm pasta with a big splash of pasta water, spooned into a pasta bake with roasted tomatoes, stuffed into a chicken breast, etc.