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Happy first day of October!!
I think it is safe to say that I am pretty into fall. Lucky for us, for every season there are multiple pizzas to accompany it. Pizza is just that kind of food, an all the time, every season, kind of meal. It’s adaptable, and can be topped in more ways than I can count.
Plus, pizza cures all. Like when your mother tells you that she thinks it would be best if she worked as the General Contractor on your new home. Meaning – my mom is now overseeing everything that is going on down at the barn…
Oh yeah, did I forget to tell you guys this?
It’s probably because it freaks the heck out of me and I just do not want to admit it yet. To you, to me, to anyone.
Well, it is true, my amazing, and apparently super multi talented, mother became the general contractor a few weeks ago. At first I pretty much freaked because I mean, she knows not a thing about how to do a remodel like this or how to build a thing. But now I am ok with it. She works way harder than anyone (especially our previous contractor), so I have to trust that she’ll get it done on time. Although, I did just hear that something got pushed back a week.
Oh no. I need more pizza. This barn is going to drive me insane. Who would have thought that remodeling a small barn to be a home would be such a process. Not me. The whole Thanksgiving deadline that is pretty important that we meet? Yeah, well that has now become the first week of December and to be totally honest that will SO be pushing it. Send help. No literally, if you know good workers please send them because they seem to be a little hard to come by up in my mountain town. I think everybody is just too excited about the snow or something.
Anyway, my point is that pizza makes all the stress better. Especially when it’s a fall pizza. I think fall pizzas may just be my favorite. Actually, butternut squash is my favorite and I think that you will quickly realize this over the coming weeks. So many squash recipes flying through my head.
This pizza is all things fall, but not in an overpowering way, where you are like, “eew, this just tastes like a fall candle… and not a good one”. I have actually had that response once, not fun.
Over the years, I have made a lot of fall inspired pizzas and they all seem to have a sweet and spicy theme to them. I’m pretty sure it is because my family loves spicy… and I love the combos of sweet and spicy… plus heavy on the cheesy!
That is this Butternut Squash Pizza. It’s got a spicy oil based sauce, savory cider caramelized onions, super thin slices of apple for sweetness, tons of sharp cheddar, blue cheese, roasted butternut and bacon (of course feel free to lose the bacon and keep this a vegetarian pizza if needed) to tie it all together. What could you not like about these flavors? So flippin delicious.
Really though, look at all that gooey, melty cheese.
Maybe it is the cheese that cures all actually? Not sure, but whatever, it’s good stuff. And on a Wednesday when you just need a way to get over that hump!
Sweet ‘n’ Spicy Fall Harvest Pizza w/Roasted Butternut, Cider Caramelized Onions + Bacon.
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 1113 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Pizza Dough
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Toppings
- 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 4 cups cubed butternut squash or pumpkin
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon chili powder divided
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 slices thick cut bacon chopped
- 2 sweet onions sliced thin
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1 in large chipotle chile adobo minced
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 small apple thinly sliced
- 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 2-4 ounces blue cheese crumbled
- 1 large bunch fresh sage
- roasted pumpkin seeds for topping
Instructions
Pizza Dough
- In a large bowl, combine water, yeast and honey. Mix with a spoon, then let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add in 1 cup flour, salt and olive oil stirring with a spoon until the dough comes together but is still sticky. Using your hands, on a floured surface, form the dough into a ball and work the additional 1/2 cup flour into the dough if needed. All of the mixing and kneading can also be done in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. Next, rub the same bowl with olive oil, then place the dough inside, turning to coat. Cover with a towel and place in a warm place to rise for about 1 1/2 hours.
To assemble
- About 40 minutes before the dough is done rising, start assembling the pizza. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.*
- In a small bowl whisk together 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, cinnamon, honey and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Spread the veggies out in a single layer on one or two baking sheets. Drizzle the olive oil mixture over the veggies and toss well to coat. Roast until vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes, stirring the veggies halfway through. Remove and set aside.
- While the veggies roast, caramelize the onions. Heat a large skillet with high sides over medium-high heat and cook bacon until crispy. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate. Remove all but one tablespoon of bacon fat from the pan and then add the butter. Add the onions and cook about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened. At this point you want to slowly add the cider, let it cook into the onions, add more and let it cook some more. Do this until the 1 cup of cider is gone or the onions are caramelized to your liking and the cider has evaporated.
- In a bowl whisk together the remaining 1/3 cup olive oil, chipotle chile pepper in adobo, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, cumin and a good pinch of salt + pepper.
- Once the pizza dough is ready, lightly flour a counter. Use your hands or a rolling pin to roll the dough out until you have a flattened disk. Place the pizzas on a greased baking sheet and then use your hands to gently tug, pull and push the pizza dough into your desired shape. Spread the chipotle olive oil mixture over the dough. Add the caramelized onions and half the roasted butternut squash. You may not want to use all onions if you feel like there is just too many. I used probably about 3/4 of the onions. Add the cheddar cheese and then the sliced apples and remaining butternut. Sprinkle with the blue cheese.
- Bake the pizza for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese is all melty and gooey. Remove from the oven and top with crispy sage (below) and roasted pumpkin seeds. EAT while melty and delicious!
Sage
- Heat a small skillet over medium heat and add about 1/2 inch of olive oil. Once hot, add the sage leaves and cook 30 seconds per side. Remove from the pan and set aside. Serve over the pizza.
Notes
*Double this dough recipe to make two pizzas, there is enough toppings for two smaller, thicker crust pizzas if desired. **Feel free to cook this pizza which ever way you please. Sometimes I use a baking stone and cook the pizza at 500 degrees F. for about 15 minutes. Or sometimes I use a cast iron skillet like I did [here | https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/green-olive-pesto-pizza-with-roasted-red-peppers-and-feta-stuffed-crust/].
Leaning tower of cheesy pizza awesomeness right there. Dig in.
This recipe was a lot of work, but definitely delicious. I would have given it 5 stars except that 1) it was a bit oily even though I reduced the amount of oil in the chipotle mix and 2) the recipe doesn’t say when to add the salt to the dough, when to top the pizza with bacon, or what temperature to bake the pizza (all can be assumed, so the absence of specificity is not disastrous). I added a bit of cinnamon to the dough just for fun and used red onions. Next time I might use pre-made dough, pre-cut squash, and/or pre-shredded cheese to make it easier. Regardless, I am recommending this recipe to my CSA!
I am so glad this turned out so well for you Cindy! Thank you so much!! xTieghan
I made this recipe a few years back and it was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever made. Screams fall and the flavors are so perfectly balanced: rich, spiced, sweet, savory. We ate the leftovers the next morning topped with sunny side up fried eggs – adding that oozy yolk to every bite was heaven. Making it again this weekend for guests and can’t wait to enjoy it all over again. Thank you for your incredible recipes!
Yes yes yes! So glad you loved this Rachel and I hope your guests do as well! Thank you so much! xTieghan
I plan to make this for our Halloween Hocus Pocus poolside party! I may sub the butternut squash for roasted pumpkin. Stay tuned for the finished out come!!
I hope it turns out amazing for you Jenna! Thank you so much! xTieghan
This was so unusual but delicious, those caramelized onions though, I wanted to eat them just on their own. Thanks for the unique recipe.
Thank you Dulce! xTieghan
This pizza is by far the most delicious homemade pizza I’ve had! I am such a fruit nut, so the sweetness of the cider and apple slices, topped with blue cheese which is one of my favorite combos, really hit the spot. I’ll definitely make this one again.
Thank you Lacey! xTieghan
Thanks for posting the recipe. I agree with all of the comments that it looks amazing, and the flavors go very well together. However, I did just try the recipe, and wanted to share some feedback and suggestions. All in all, it took about 3 hours to prep the ingredients and cook the pizza, and unfortunately the result was not worth the time. We noticed that the instructions don’t mention when to add salt to the pizza dough or bacon to the pizza. The apples were quite dry, so we’d recommend putting them under the cheese. Also, using a rolling pin for the pizza dough produced a very thin crust that did not rise in the oven and tasted more like a cracker. We fried the sage as instructed, and it seemed to have lost its flavor and tasted like oil. We would recommend using chopped fresh sage instead. Good luck!
Hi Vanessa! I apologize that this did not turn out as well as you expected. Is there anything I can help you with? I hope you love some other recipes on my blog!
I made this pizza, and it is incredible! I can’t get over the mix of flavors that keep coming through as you are chewing. Thank you SO much for this amazing recipe. It took a while to make, and I used store-bought prepared dough, all worth the time!
Thank you so much Liesl! I am so glad you loved this!
OMG This looks so delicious! The idea of putting the squash on pizza is genius! Plus Pizza is my all time favorite food so I will be making this on for sure!
Thank you so much Amy! I am so glad you like this and I hope you try it!
Delicious pizza! Added the bacon to the pizza with the apples. Not a huge blue cheese fan, but wow it makes it soooooo good. This recipe takes time, be patient with caramelizing the onions. It is totally worth it.
I am so glad you loved this Mia! Thank you!
This recipe is amazing! I’ve made it both as a pizza and as a side dish ( same recipe for the pizza topping, just no crust). Love it!
Thank you Jackie!
Amazing recipe! I made it yesterday (with a few minor alterations) and my guests raved about it. So full of flavors that mix and match perfectly. Definitely a keeper, thank you!
Thank you so much Gabi! I am so glad you loved this recipe and it turned out amazing for you!
I was so so excited to make this. I’m pretty sure I made a huge mistake, and used the whole can of chillies as I’ve never used them before and didn’t know if I was to use the whole can or what. The pizza was SO spicy, and I have good heat tolerance. Needless to say my husband and I are a bit sick from it this morning. I could tell it was a yummy recipe but my own mistake ruined it for me.
Hi Robin! I am so sorry to hear that! I hope you and your husband try this again with less chillies or enjoy some other recipes on my blog. I will link some pizza recipes that are not spicy for you! I hope you try them!
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/charred-brussels-sprout-pizza-with-browned-sage-butter-video/#bo-recipe
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/butternut-squash-pizza/#bo-recipe
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/french-fry-cheese-pizza/
We made this pizza for our friends over the weekend and omg, it’s so good! We made five different pizzas and this was the crowd favorite! We did do our own dough recipe, but I would be curious to try hers next time.
I am so glad you and your friends loved this pizza, Breana! Thank you so much!
This was delicious. I didn’t have the apple cider so I just added a bit of balsalmic vinegar to the onions and it was delicious! Thanks for giving me a recipe to make me feel like fall has begun here in Florida where it’s still 90 degrees!
Wow that is so warm! Kind of loving Fall… kind of wishing it was still warm! I am so glad you loved this recipe, Kate! Thank you!
Loved it! I kind of combined two of your recipes! We used prosciutto instead (because I felt lazy) and skipped the bleu because we both don’t care for it. Thank you for making it such an easy process to follow! I am not the best in the kitchen but I was very proud that it turned out delicious!