Butternut Squash Pizza

Brimming with the colors of autumn, my butternut squash pizza is a fantastic pick for a pizza night at home when vibrant squash is abundant in the markets. Made very simply using soft French bread as the crust, this recipe is topped with a savory parsley-sage pesto, tender cubes of roasted butternut squash, caramelized fennel and sweet Italian chicken sausage, plus creamy Gruyere cheese!

The perfect homemade pizza fit for the autumn season

Friends, I love everything about the fall season, from the cooler temps with chilly breezes in the evenings, the abundant golden-orange hues, the cozy desserts, the savory soups and stews, to all the delicious squash that comes available in the markets.

Autumn is definitely my season!

I also love to incorporate into my recipes lots of that deliciously sweet and earthy squash whenever I can, using them in as tasty a way as possible to create easy, healthy meals for us to enjoy and be warmed by.

While my hubby and I love my recipe for succulent turkey meatballs in pumpkin sage sauce, sweet and savory butternut squash casserole, creamy spaghetti squash casserole, spaghetti squash with sautéed veggies, or my recipe for stuffed acorn squash, for a little taste of autumn, sometimes we crave a simple homemade pizza to get comfy-cozy with...

For that, I enjoy preparing this butternut squash pizza, made with soft, thick French bread as the base, along with my homemade and super savory parsley-sage pesto, roasted cubes of butternut squash, caramelized fennel and sweet Italian chicken sausage, plus creamy and nutty Gruyere cheese.

Finished off with a sprinkle of sage and parsley, this butternut squash pizza recipe is a favorite fall-inspired meal in our household, one replete with all those green and golden-orange colors we adore in the autumn season!

My recipe for butternut squash pizza

One of things I love about this recipe is that there's no need to prepare (or even purchase) dough, because I'm substituting a soft, chewy and thick loaf of French bread as the pizza crust here—talk about easy!

Instead, I like to take the time to prep a quick and savory parsley-sage pesto to use as the sauce for this pizza, then drizzle any leftover pesto over top of the baked pizza for even more flavor.

For the toppings, I quickly caramelize some fennel and some sweet Italian chicken sausage, and I also roast off some cubed butternut squash as well. (Pre-cubed squash is a huge time saver!)

If you're not partial to fennel, you can skip it and sub sliced onions instead, but the caramelized fennel is super mild here, and becomes nice and sweet, especially with that sausage.

My butternut squash pizza makes for a festive, fall-inspired pizza night at home, and the flavor? It's out of this world delicious and savory, made with fresh and whole ingredients that are not only a mosaic for the eyes, but for the tastebuds as well.

Here's a glance at my butternut squash pizza recipe: (or just jump to the full recipe...)

1. To get started, I roast my cubed butternut squash to have ready as a topping.
2. While the squash roasts, I caramelize my fennel and my sweet Italian chicken sausage to have ready as well.
3. Next, I prep my parsley-sage pesto using my food processor (very quick and easy!), and set that aside to have ready as my pizza sauce, and to drizzle lightly over top of the pizza once baked.
4. Then, I toast the two halves of my French bread for just a few minutes for some golden color and toasted texture.
5. Next, I assemble the pizza halves, then bake for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese is completely melted.
6. Once baked, I cut the butternut squash pizza into 8 equal wedges or slices, then drizzle with a touch more pesto and sprinkle with sage and/or parsley, and then serve.

Recipe

Butternut Squash Pizza

by Ingrid Beer

Print Recipe

This butternut squash pizza is topped with roasted butternut squash, caramelized fennel and sweet sausage, plus a savory parsley-sage pesto!

Category: Entree
Cuisine: American

Yield: Serves 4 (2 slices of pizza per person)

Nutrition Info: 539 calories (per slice of pizza)

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Total time: 1 hour

Butternut Squash Pizza Ingredients:

• 12 ounces (about 2 ½ cups) bite-size, cubed butternut squash (pre-packaged is great)
• Olive oil
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of black pepper
• 1 (14 to 16 ounce) loaf soft French bread (not a baguette, but a thicker, crustier loaf), cut in half length-wise
• 2 sweet Italian chicken sausage links, casing removed
• ½ fennel bulb, cored and sliced very thinly
• 3 cups grated Gruyere cheese
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley and/or sage, for garnish

Parsley-Sage Pesto Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon walnuts
• 1 large garlic clove, smashed
• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 8 large, fresh sage leaves
• ¾ cup fresh parsley leaves
• ½ (generous) teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• Pinch black pepper
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• ½ cup olive oil

Preparation:

1. Begin by gathering and prepping all of your butternut squash pizza ingredients according to the ingredient list above to have ready and organized for use.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and line 2 baking sheets with foil.
3. Toss the cubed butternut squash with a couple of drizzles of olive oil and a pinch or two of the salt and black pepper, and turn out onto one of the prepared baking sheets to roast in the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until tender. Remove and set aside to cool slightly.
4. While the butternut squash roasts, place a skillet over medium high heat, and drizzle in a touch of olive oil. Once hot, add in the sweet Italian chicken sausage, and using a wooden spoon, break it up into a small crumble. Cook until browned and mostly cooked through.
5. To the sausage add the sliced fennel, and cook it with the sausage until caramelized and softened, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the fennel and sausage to a bowl using a spoon, and set aside.
6. Next, gather and prep all of your parsley-sage pesto ingredients according to the ingredient list above to have ready and organized for use.
7. To make the pesto, place all of the ingredients up to and including the lemon juice into the bowl of a food processor, and pulse a few times to combine the ingredients. Then, with the processor running, drizzle in the olive oil, and process until well blended and emulsified. Set aside.
8. To prep the pizza, drizzle about 1 tablespoons worth of olive oil on each half of the French loaf, and place the two halves onto the other prepared baking sheet and toast the loaves for about 8 minutes, or just until a very pale golden (this is just to pre-toast the bread a bit), then remove from the oven.
9. Then, add about ¼ cup of the parsley-sage pesto sauce to each half of the toasted French loaf, and about 1 cup worth of the Gruyere cheese to each half. Next, add your roasted butternut squash chunks equally between the two halves, along with the browned, crumbled sweet Italian chicken sausage and the caramelized fennel, then sprinkle equally over top the remaining 1 cup of cheese.
10. Place the two halves side by side on the other baking sheet to bake for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and gooey.
11. Carefully remove the butternut squash pizza from oven, and place on a cutting board. Cut each half into 4, thick slices or wedges (for a total of 8 pieces), and garnish with the chopped parsley and/or sage, and a drizzle over any remaining parsley-sage pesto before serving.

Tips & Tidbits for my butternut squash pizza recipe:

• Soft loaf of French bread as the pizza base: For the pizza base, I opt for a fresh loaf of soft and chewy French bread, which I cut in half lengthwise, to keep things nice and easy. It's so delicious and holds the rich toppings in my recipe really well.
• Pre-cut butternut squash as a time saver: It's pretty easy to find pre-cut butternut squash in the markets these days, so if you can find it, it's a terrific time savor. This way, you won't have to peel, seed and cut the squash. I opt for organic butternut squash, and perhaps even cut some of the cubes into smaller pieces if they were pre-cut on the larger side. You want them bite-size, and easy to eat as a topping.
• Sweet Italian chicken sausage, or spicy sausage: I love using sweet Italian chicken sausage here, because they compliment the sweet butternut squash and fennel here. I have also used both sweet and spicy Italian pork sausage as a substitution, and we loved those as well. (I purchase the sausage in link form, and love the ones from Trader Joe's.)
• Creamy, nutty Gruyere, or your favorite meltable cheese: Gruyere works deliciously with the butternut squash, fennel and sweet sausage, because it has a naturally sweet, nutty, and creamy flavor. You could also use a white cheddar, mozzarella, or even Gouda instead.

Craving more scrumptious recipes like this one? Check out my recipe for spicy and savory French Bread Pizza, my Cast Iron Pizza, BBQ Chicken Pizza, Flatbread Pizza, Mexican Pizza, or even my recipe for Naan Pizza!