Main Course/ Recipes

Butternut Squash Pizza with Gruyere and Arugula

Butternut squash is totally out of season and I know it.

But that ain’t stopping me now. And it shouldn’t stop you either! One bite of this light, cheesy and butternutty pizza and you’ll be convinced. Convinced to run to your nearest Trader Joe’s and buy two of those incredibly handy but not very economical bags of pre-cubed butternut squash.

You’ll also need some cheese—lots of cheese, in fact.

I got inspired to make this pizza after trying something like it at a little restaurant in Carmel on Sunday when we were driving back from Big Sur. The pizza I tried was very thin and had a layer of pureed butternut squash on the crust, followed by a layer of gruyere cheese, more butternut squash, salty prosciutto and fresh arugula. It was lovely and I don’t even typically like thin crust.

Warning: this crust is not thin…it’s very thick….and very delicious.

I brought this pizza over to a friend’s house the other night for dinner. Our yoga teacher small group was meeting for a night of practice teaching and good eats. I figured this was the perfect thing to balance out all those chatarungas…or something like that.

Well, I won’t tell you how many chatarungas we did (or did not) do because I don’t want to get anyone in trouble here (and by anyone, I clearly mean me) but I will say we all vastly enjoyed this pizza along with some wine and leftover chocolate spice cake, which I’ve determined only gets better as it sits.Remember though, this isn’t your traditional-heavy-on-the-sauce-and-cheese pizza. It’s light. It’s sauce-less. It’s wonderfully paired with cheap white wine and chocolate cake. If you’re all about the sauce, try this instead, which I promise is as saucy as it comes.

Personally though, I love the combination of pureed butternut squash and melted Gruyere cheese. The sweet and savory factor is out full force and it tastes different in the best sort of way.

PS– thank you guys SO MUCH for all your sweet comments on my last post. I truly, truly appreciate each one of you. Thank you for just being awesome!

Butternut Squash Pizza with Gruyere and Arugula

serves 4-6

Print this recipe!

Ingredients:

1 recipe Best Pizza Dough

24 oz peeled and cubed butternut squash (from about one 3lb squash), roasted at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until very tender

6 oz freshly grated Gruyere cheese

sea salt

red pepper flakes

1 bunch arugula

Directions:

Prepare dough according to recipe directions.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Take half of the butternut squash cubes and puree them in either a food processor or high speed blender until smooth.

Roll dough out into a large circular or rectangular shape (I always go the rectangular route!). Top dough with pureed squash, then sprinkle on cheese. Top with the remaining butternut squash cubes, a sprinkle of sea salt and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.

Bake pizza for 15 minutes until bubbly and crust is done. Immediately top with arugula and another sprinkle of sea salt. Let cool before slicing.

Time:

30 minutes (not including time to make and prepare dough)

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  • Kathryn
    April 13, 2012 at 3:03 am

    What an interesting pizza, I love gruyere so I will definitely have to try this.

  • Molly @ RDexposed
    April 13, 2012 at 4:22 am

    I’m making pizza tonight but no squash on hand. May save this for a fall event!

  • Heather @ Health, Happiness, and Hope
    April 13, 2012 at 4:22 am

    I love homemade pizza! And gruyere is probably my favorite cheese. Looks so good! 🙂

  • Katrina
    April 13, 2012 at 4:23 am

    Oh wow! This is full of so many yummy ingredients! Love it!

  • Katie
    April 13, 2012 at 4:31 am

    That pizza looks amazing! I am so lazy though. Making pizza dough and cooking the butternut squash is probably more than I can do right now. Maybe when the kids are slightly older we can do it together. I’ll have to save the recipe!

  • Blog is the New Black
    April 13, 2012 at 4:41 am

    Need this pizza on my table, now!

  • Cait's Plate
    April 13, 2012 at 4:44 am

    I love this as a lighter option for pizza. Especially with summer coming it’s nice to have those options that don’t leave you feeling completely weighed down.

  • Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat
    April 13, 2012 at 4:49 am

    Sounds like a very fun yoga night! I adore butternut squash way too much to just have it in the fall – this recipe sounds perfect!

  • rebecca
    April 13, 2012 at 4:52 am

    Hey Jenna or other ELR readers – My husband is going on a two-month all vegan diet. Whole grains are fine. Do you have any recommendations of blogs I should follow to get recipe ideas? Thanks!

    • Jen
      April 13, 2012 at 7:14 am

      I’m not vegan but I think Oh She Glows (OSG) is a popular one.

    • Emily
      April 13, 2012 at 8:37 am

      Daily Garnish is good-Oh She Glows is great too but Daily Garnish has more entree items than Oh She Glows, which tends to be more focused on desserts.

  • Mary
    April 13, 2012 at 4:54 am

    What a coincidence! I just pureed a bunch of butternut squash for my baby yesterday and have a hunk of gruyere in my fridge looking for a purpose. Now, if I can get over my fear of making homemade pizza dough I should be able to bang out a Friday night pizza!

  • Jen
    April 13, 2012 at 5:24 am

    I love those pre-cut bags of butternut squash – so convenient, but yeah expensive! This looks great but you don’t add the arugula to wilt before going in the oven? Arugula seems harder to chew, more like grass 🙂

  • shelly (cookies and cups)
    April 13, 2012 at 5:28 am

    I am having a love affair with butternut squash right now? Is that weird?
    This looks amazing 🙂

  • Brittany @ Brittany Cooks
    April 13, 2012 at 5:43 am

    Seasonal smeasonal…that pizza looks good! 🙂

  • Kristen @ notsodomesticated
    April 13, 2012 at 5:53 am

    Yum! I think this pizza would be for just me b/c my husband would find it to be too healthy … even with all of the cheese haha! But that’s OK … I never mind having a whole pizza to myself! 😉

  • Faith @ For the Health of It
    April 13, 2012 at 6:10 am

    Out of season, out of schmeason. Butternut squash is amazing whenever you make it. And then top it with gruyere? I dont think anything can get better.

  • Danielle
    April 13, 2012 at 6:11 am

    Wish we had Trader Joe’s in Ontario! Pre-cubed butternut squash. Sounds amazing… The pizza looks pretty good too 😛

  • joelle (on a pink typewriter)
    April 13, 2012 at 6:12 am

    You just reminded me how I need to make more pizza in my life.

  • Craig Aden
    April 13, 2012 at 6:27 am

    Butternut Squash Pizza with Gruyere and Arugula is my favorite and I’m a big poke of it. Have not any week I was not tasted it. Thanks dude. 🙂

    pizzeria houston

  • The Mrs @ Success Along the Weigh
    April 13, 2012 at 6:44 am

    Must make grocery list!

  • Lori @ RecipeGirl
    April 13, 2012 at 6:44 am

    I love everything about this pizza- and arugula on pizza… totally rocks!

  • Averie @ Averie Cooks
    April 13, 2012 at 6:56 am

    Oh that pizza looks so good, Jenna! The gruyere and the butternut look so melty and tender and perfect. Yum!

  • Kristen @ Popcorn on the Stove
    April 13, 2012 at 7:01 am

    This. Looks. Amazing.

    Can’t wait to try it!

  • Margarita
    April 13, 2012 at 7:02 am

    I just cooked with butternut squash two weeks ago! I would not change a thing about this pizza… Delish! I will do 20 chaturangas for this.

  • Lauren
    April 13, 2012 at 7:16 am

    Gruyere IS for lovers!! Mmmm….

  • BinomialBaker
    April 13, 2012 at 7:25 am

    I just discovered your blog and I absolutely love it! I am also a food-lover and runner. I love that your recipes are for active lifestyles and this pizza looks fantastic! I love all the flavors 🙂 Thanks for sharing!!!

  • Karen
    April 13, 2012 at 8:03 am

    Looks great. So you roast the squash first? That part is not in the recipe.

  • Emily
    April 13, 2012 at 8:07 am

    Thanks again for the post! This is a great quick and simple recipe for an impromptu party or when I’m too tired to make a fancy dinner but I want something fun anyway.

    Plus, I’m with you on out-of-season butternut squash. I (finally) fell in love with it the first time this fall, and those TJ’s pre-cut bags are saving my life!

  • Carrie
    April 13, 2012 at 8:11 am

    I love butternut squash! I can’t wait until fall until it is once again plentiful and cheap.

  • Kim
    April 13, 2012 at 8:39 am

    I never thought about putting butternut squash on a pizza but with the gruyere that would be amazing!

  • Kim @ The Family Practice
    April 13, 2012 at 9:07 am

    oooh this is so unique and yet so incredibly appealing! can’t wait to try this

  • Heather
    April 13, 2012 at 9:13 am

    This looks amazing! I’m all about the thin crust, but find that when I layer on the toppings I need something a little sturdier. Have you ever tried TJ’s pizza dough? I’ve been meaning to try your dough for a while, I’m just afraid of attempting yeast!

  • Caitlin
    April 13, 2012 at 9:36 am

    Just bought all the ingredients to make this tonight!

  • Maria
    April 13, 2012 at 10:27 am

    Gruyere + butternut squash pizza literally sounds like heaven.

  • Angela @ Happy Fit Mama
    April 13, 2012 at 12:18 pm

    I wish you had posted this yesterday! We had Butternut Squash Soup last night. If I knew a recipe like this existed, we would have been dining on pizza instead! Next week! And yes, I don’t care if butternut squash is out of season. It still tastes delicious!

  • Butternut Squash Pizza Recipe — Eat, Live, Run – Fine Food Recipes
    April 13, 2012 at 12:25 pm

    […] more entree items than Oh She Glows, which tends to be more focused on desserts. … More: Butternut Squash Pizza Recipe — Eat, Live, Run ← Braised Pork Cheeks Recipe – Cheek by Jowl | Hunter Angler […]

  • erin @WELL in L.A.
    April 13, 2012 at 12:52 pm

    The TJs pre-chopped Butternut squash is genius. I’ve made a similar pizza with goat cheese + spicy red pepper flakes. I think red pepper flakes go into 90% of what I make on that thought… Love the Gruyere, but no can do cow dairy over heeeerrrrre. Cheers!

  • Shari @ The Daily Dish
    April 13, 2012 at 1:01 pm

    This looks great! I’m big on sauceless pizzas.

  • amy walters, aDESIGNdock
    April 13, 2012 at 2:21 pm

    This sounds sooooo different….and looks sooooo good. mmmm…

  • Moni Meals
    April 13, 2012 at 2:32 pm

    I hear ya, it just DON’T Matter if butternut is out of season! This looks fantastic. I have made a similiar pizza and added lots of sage too. it was AMAAAZING. Yum on this one for sure. Everyone would like this, and if not, their loss! ha.

  • Sara
    April 13, 2012 at 2:33 pm

    Gonna try this. Pizza with arugula is my favorite thing. This also reminds me of a wonderful Barefoot Contessa salad w/ similar basic ingredients. Yum!

  • Shannon @ Books. Food. Fun.
    April 13, 2012 at 6:22 pm

    Wow – this looks fabulous. I love butternut squash and it looks like a great combination with the cheese!

  • Aggie
    April 13, 2012 at 6:59 pm

    I experimented with some butternut squash on a ricotta pizza w prosciutto years ago – it was so good!! I have such a crush on gruyere, I want this pizza!

  • Kiran @ KiranTarun.com
    April 13, 2012 at 7:20 pm

    Yummers! I wish we love cheese as much. Haven’t tried gruyere before — hopefully it’s not too strong 🙂

  • Shelby
    April 13, 2012 at 7:23 pm

    From your chaturanga partner,,, the pizza party was awesome,, and the left overs were amazing!

  • Urban Wife
    April 13, 2012 at 8:04 pm

    I don’t care if butternut squash is officially out of season (although I saw some last week at our farmer’s market)…..this pizza is calling my name, loudly. Thanks for sharing!

  • Sarah | the Cyclist's Wife
    April 13, 2012 at 10:19 pm

    Ohhh! Great combo of flavors!

  • Amber with Slim Pickin's Kitchen
    April 14, 2012 at 8:33 am

    OH.MY.YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM!!!!! Love looks delicious!!! I’m so going to try this ASAP! Good thing we have a brand spanking new Trader Joes in town! Cutting up butternut squash can be a pain sometimes!

  • sahrish
    April 14, 2012 at 11:44 pm

    YUM! I just made this for my family and they loved it! They are not very adventurous with food but this was a hit!! I was in a rush so I accidentally only bought one bag of precubed butternut squash, so I did not put the extra cubes ones on top, but it was still delicious. Also used TJ’s pizza dough for a shortcut. Once again Jenna, awesome recipe with a unique twist on flavors and ingredients!!!

  • Caitlin Murphy
    April 15, 2012 at 2:01 am

    I made this tonight! total hit with my friends. I kind of want to roast some garlic with the butternut and puree it with the squash as the base of the pizza. So good! definitely crowd pleaser. thanks!

  • Lea @ iCooklea
    April 15, 2012 at 5:10 am

    Any ideas to replace the butternut? Can’t eat squash…

  • Colleen @ MissPetiteSweets
    April 15, 2012 at 8:43 am

    I LOVE butternut squash! This looks awesome.