Pizza night is always a favourite around here. And there's something about making your own pizza at home that just feels right. Choosing fun and original toppings is something I personally love doing. So when I thought about making a winter pizza, I knew I wanted to use squash. This squash pizza uses delicata squash, red onion and hearty radicchio for the toppings. Using both fontina and taleggio cheeses add even more flavour. I love drizzling this delicata squash pizza with a drizzle of hot honey on top.

When I was thinking about making this pizza, I wanted it to be hearty, vegetarian and winter friendly. Squash and sage were an obvious choice. But I didn't want to go the traditional brown butter, squash and sage route. I thought that would be too heavy and so I went with using two cheeses (fontina and taleggio) and adding radicchio. The radicchio may be surprising, but it's hearty and can withstand the heat from the oven, so it's a great addition to this delicata squash pizza. And speaking of squash, delicata was my first choice because of how easy they are to prepare, no peeling required. If you don't have delicata on hand, feel free to use butternut squash instead and just peel and slice super thin just the same as the delicata.

I love making my own pizza dough for cast iron pizza. I always use this recipe from Serious Eats. It's easy and delicious. However, it does require thinking ahead, so if you didn't plan ahead, just use your favourite store bought pizza dough instead.

Ingredients

• pizza dough
• delicata squash
• red onion
• garlic
• extra virgin olive oil
• fontina cheese
• taleggio cheese
• mixed radicchio blend: I used a blend I picked up at the farmers market which included some beautiful pink radicchio called radicchio rosa.
• sage leaves
• hot honey

How to Make Delicata Squash Pizza

Once you have your dough situation sorted, this squash pizza recipe takes minimal time to put together.

Preheat the oven to 500ºF.

Place the pizza dough in an oiled cast iron skillet and shape the dough and crust.

Using a mandolin (or a sharp knife), thinly slice the squash into 1/8" thick slices and place in a bowl. You should have about 3/4 - 1 cup of squash slices. Thinly slice the red onion using a mandolin (or sharp knife) and transfer to the bowl with the squash. Add the smashed garlic to the bowl and toss with 2 tsps of the oil and season with salt and pepper.

Scatter the fontina on the base of the pizza and brush the crust with some olive oil. Top with the squash, red onion and garlic. Place the squares of taleggio around the pizza.

Transfer the cast iron to the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile add the chopped radicchio and sage leaves to the bowl that had the squash and toss with the remaining 1 tsp of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. If it looks too dry, add a drizzle more olive oil.

Remove the pizza from the oven and top with the radicchio and sage. Return to the oven and bake for 6 to 8 minutes more, until bubbly and cooked through.

Use a thin spatula to look at the bottom. If it's not browned enough, place the pan over a burner and cook on medium heat for a few minutes.

Transfer the pizza to a cutting board and let cool for a minute or so and then slice.

Serve with a drizzle of hot honey and enjoy!

Tips

• Preheat the oven: always be sure to preheat your oven so it's super hot when you're ready to cook your pizza. Ideally, if your oven goes higher than 500ºF do that, 550ºF would be the best option.
• No cast iron: if you want to use a baking sheet, a pizza stone or whatever else to cook your pizza, go for it. The type and amount of dough you use can change depending on the size of the pan/dish you are using, so keep that in mind.
• Thin slices: I highly recommend using a mandolin to slice the delicata squash and red onion. Not only will this get thin slices, but they will all be uniform and cook similarly.
• Toss things in oil: to avoid anything burning, be sure to toss the veggies in oil and season with salt and pepper before topping your pizza with them.
• Smashed garlic: to ensure that the garlic cooks, be sure to smash it very well with the back of a knife so it's fairly flat. Alternatively, roast a head of garlic and squeeze out the cloves and add to the pizza instead.
• Shred the cheese yourself: no matter what cheese you use, it's best to shred the cheese yourself at home rather than buying pre-shredded cheese. Pre shredded cheese won't melt the same.

Substitutions

• Cheese: use a high moisture mozzarella cheese instead of fontina. Taleggio can be substituted with brie or gorgonzola.
• Gluten-free: use your favourite gluten-free pizza dough recipe.
• Radicchio: use another type of hearty green such as endive instead. Or top the pizza with a handful of arugula at the end of cooking. Be sure to toss the arugula in olive oil, salt and pepper before topping.
• Delicata squash: use butternut squash instead. Peel and slice thinly using the same method used to slice the delicata.

Ingredients & Products I Recommend:

Kosher salt:

I exclusively use Diamond Crystal kosher salt for all of my recipes. I prefer the texture, taste and consistency of this brand and highly recommend it for everyday cooking.

Mandolin:

I find using a mandolin the best and easiest way to efficiently slice things thin in the kitchen. This is the one I use and love.

More Recipes to Try

Looking for more weeknight dinner ideas? Try these

• Creamy Gochujang Pasta
• Spaghetti Squash with Ground Turkey & Brown Butter
• Slow Roasted Salmon with Citrus & Fennel
• Air Fryer Chicken Schnitzel
• Crispy Pan Fried Chicken Thighs with easy Pan Sauce
• Moroccan Chicken Meatballs
• Chipotle Ground Chicken Tacos
• Ravioli with Creamy Spinach Pesto & Peas
• Pan Fried Gnocchi with Sage & Brown Butter
• Easy Gouda Mac & Cheese
• Honey Lime Chicken Thighs & Sweet Potatoes
• Thai Red Curry Turkey Meatballs

Ready to make this? Let's go!

If you make this delicata squash pizza, please let me know by tagging me on Instagram, or leave a comment and/or review below!

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only share products and services I have personally used and love. Disclosure here.