Sheet Pan Pizza with Butternut Squash and Balsamic Red Onion
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Whenever I'm doing a pizza night, I try to have a vegetarian option or two, and this is one of my go-to meatless pizza versions. The sauce can be made up to 5 days in advance and freezes really well, too - so with a little planning ahead dinner is seriously a breeze.
The key is to remember to take your pizza dough out of the fridge to come up to room temperature at least an hour before you want to make it (if not two hours before). If you forget or are a little short on time, you can still make it work - it just may not stretch as easily. If I remember to take the dough out early enough, I find I don't even have to use a rolling pin, I just gently stretch the dough with my hands and fit it into an olive oil greased quarter sheet pan. It also helps to dust a cutting board with flour and remove the dough from its packaging to the floured cutting board, as it will expand as it warms up.
Serves 2.
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat your oven to 425 F and make sure you have a rack positioned as close to the bottom of the oven as you can. Toss your cubed butternut squash with 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, a few grinds of black pepper on a rimmed quarter sheet pan (if you only have a regular / half sheet pan, you can use that too).
Roast the squash for ~10 minutes, until it can easily be pierced through with a fork. It doesn't have to be completely soft, as it will cook further on top of the pizza. While the squash roasts, place the diced red onion in a small bowl and toss it with the balsamic vinegar and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Prepare and set aside your remaining toppings.
Remove the roast squash from the pan to a small bowl, leaving the olive oil on the pan (you'll use the same pan to bake the pizza). If the squash has absorbed most of the oil, you can add up to an additional 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan (this helps keep the dough from sticking to the pan and makes the bottom of the pizza crispy). Raise the oven temperature to 500F.
Gently stretch the room temperature pizza dough with your hands until it's roughly the size of the quarter sheet pan. Place the stretched dough on top of the oiled pan and continue to press the dough out to the edges.
Using a spoon or small ladle, spread the tomato sauce around the top of the dough, leaving a ~1/2 inch border for the crust.
Add all but a tablespoon worth of the shredded mozzarella to the pizza, spreading it out evenly over the sauce.
Scatter the roast butternut squash over the top of the mozzarella, followed by the red onions that have been soaking in the balsamic vinegar. (You want to avoid pouring all the vinegar over the pizza - just scatter the onions).
Top with the grated parmesan, the remaining mozzarella, and thyme leaves.
Bake your pizza! Place it on the lower-most rack in the oven, and bake at 500F until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbling, ~8-10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack. Using one or two large spatulas, carefully transfer the pizza to a cutting board. Slice & Serve!
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