Butternut Squash Sausage Pizza | The Recipe ReDux
Homemade pizza - including crust - in about an hour ~ by Serena Ball, MS, RD
I timed it: The flour for homemade pizza crust came out of my kitchen cabinet at 4:13 PM...and at 5:16 PM golden, cheesy Sausage Butternut Squash Pizza came out of my oven.
1 hour and 3 minutes: Start to finish.
That's probably not as fast as calling for pizza pick-up on your way home from work; but it's pretty darn close.
And, THIS is homemade, whole grain crust: Crispy around the edges and chewy, soft in the center. The speedy trick is adding baking powder instead of yeast as the leavener. And since yeast would normally add rich flavor to the crust, whole wheat flour was used for hearty, nutty flavor and aroma.
Throughout the prep process, I tried to think of other ways to streamline and speed you on your way to homemade pizza in about an hour: For example, butternut squash slices and sweet onions were roasted on a sheet pan - which when removed from the oven, was immediately covered with cornmeal and the pizza crust was placed on the hot pan. Placing the crust on a hot pan helped it cook faster and crisp up the bottom nicely.
The butternut squash sliced thinly so to roast quickly - just 15 minutes - the time it takes you to whip up the crust. Speaking of the crust, don't overload it with toppings, otherwise it will be doughy in the center - not nice and chewy like this one.
Feel free to customize the toppings as you chose, but I gotta tell you, the sweet and earthy squash with the savory, fennel-herb sausage is a winner...especially with the oregano and fruity olive oil! And keep this crust recipe handy! It's so quick you could try it with any of the following fab flavor combos from other Recipe ReDuxers - and have pizza on the table in no time.
Print
Sausage & Butternut Squash Pizza
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
Description
Simple homemade whole wheat pizza dough without yeast. Top with sweet, savory flavors of butternut squash and sausage.
Ingredients
- TOPPINGS
- ½ large onion, thinly sliced
- ½ medium butternut squash, peeled, thinly sliced in ⅛-inch thick slices
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 cooked lean sausage links, thinly sliced
- ⅛ cup green olives
- 2 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
- CRUST
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup milk
- 2 ½ tablespoons olive oil, divided
- Cornmeal
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In a large bowl, toss onion and squash with ½ tablespoon oil and salt; scrape onto large sheet pan. Roast for about 15-20 minutes until barely tender.
- While vegetables roast, mix up crust: In a large bowl, mix together flours, baking powder, salt; pour in milk and 2 tablespoons oil and mix until dough leaves the side of the bowl. Gather the dough together with your hands and 'knead' right in the bowl about 10 times. Cover bowl and let rest 15 minutes. Roll into a 12-inch circle (flour on counter generally not necessary.)
- Remove vegetables from oven when done and scrape onto a plate. Immediately sprinkle sheet pan with cornmeal. Fold dough circle in half (to make transporting dough to sheet pan easier.) Transport dough onto hot sheet pan and brush with ½ tablespoon olive oil; sprinkle with oregano and garlic. Arrange squash around dough in overlapping circular pattern. Top with sausage slices and olives.
- Place in oven and bake about 15 minutes until crust begins to turn golden. Remove pizza from oven and sprinkle with cheese. Bake about 5 minutes more until cheese begins to turn golden.
Do you make homemade pizza?
I am really glad you timed this Serena as it helps people to see that it doesn't require much more effort to cook from scratch. I have a pizza stone that I cook my pizzas on - it sits in the oven heating up as the oven does and helps give the crust some crunch.
Butternut squash is an all time favorite! I can't believe I never thought to use it as a pizza topping. Yum!
Love the idea of putting the crust on the hot pan to get a crispier crust. I admit that I usually buy my pizza crust but I just may have to try this crust recipe!
Good to know about this quick healthy pizza crust! I love how fast it comes together.
I love that you used squash! I love the flavor winter squashes bring to the table.
I love fennel-herb sausage- and this pizza looks fabulous!! I will definitely be trying this crust, but I always have issues overloading the crust... 🙂
Love the thinness of the crust and the addition of butternut squash in a savory setting. Looks too good
This looks tasty!! I can see why you used squash and sausage together. I bet those flavors work really well together.
Yum! I bet the squash would've been good pureed as a sauce too!
Great idea. Butternut squash is so delish. I can see this being the talk of the Superbowl party.
It's me again 🙂 I just wanted to say thank you for the opportunity to be a part of RR! Great recipes and finding so many new {amazing} blogs 🙂
I have to admit, sausage is my favorite pizza topping ever. I love the addition of butternut squash slices. What a great way to get more veggies in.
I have never tried squash on pizza - so unique. It looks delicious!
I never thought of baking powder! Love the topping combo. Can't wait to try it 🙂
I am amazed it only took a little longer than an hour to make this pizza when you made the dough from scratch! I can't say the same for my pizzas (posting tomorrow), and that's with pre-made dough!
Serena, I never thought of putting squash on a pizza before, but why not? I know my kids would love the sausage, and my husband and I would enjoy the sweet potato, so it's got something foe everyone!
Now that is unique! Love it!
Thanks my friend!
HELLO YUM! I would put these toppings on cabbage or portobello mushrooms or on spinach - make it a SALAD! So good! You had me at butternut squash! 😉
The thin butternut slices look fantastic, what a nice, different way to serve it!
Can I tell you how fancy-pants I felt fanning the squash out like that?! It was so fun (and so easy!)
A healthy and delicious meal ready in just an hour! Fantastic! Serena, you're so full of kitchen wisdom..wish we were neighbors…seriously. I usually take the shortcut and use a pre made whole wheat pizza dough but I'm def going to try your recipe. I shall let you know very soon ;). Hope you're having a wonderful week!
Oh, I WISH we were neighbors too Min! I'd gladly taste test every single one of your recipes! Let me know how you like this crust!