This focaccia is the perfect appetizer for fall! Fluffy flatbread is topped with roasted butternut squash, onion, rosemary, and balsamic glaze.

Butternut Squash Focaccia Piece Drizzled with Balsamic Glaze

This is my kind of Halloween food. Something orange and black to look festive, but nothing creepy-looking.

When I was a little girl, I remember one day at class we had a creepy food see-and-touch, where we spent the afternoon plunging our arms into vats of spaghetti that were labeled “brains,” and we peered into jars of captured “newts,” which I realized later on were really sun-dried tomatoes (but at the time, I totally thought they were newts).

It took me years to start enjoying sun-dried tomatoes because all I could think was that there were newts on my plate. To this day, I’m not into the whole creepy food thing. These “creepy-cute” mummy cupcakes are the furthest I can go.

Let me show you how to make this butternut squash focaccia, which I think would be really fun for Halloween (or really, any other fall day)!

Butternut Squash Focaccia Square Drizzled with Balsamic

Start out by getting your dough going, and let some yeast, water, and sugar sit in a bowl for 10 minutes until it’s foamy. This tells us the yeast is active and ready to go:

Focaccia Dough in Mixing Bowl

Mix in flour, olive oil, and salt, and stir until roughly combined with either a wooden spoon or the dough hook:

Foccacia Dough in Bowl with Dough Hook

Knead for 10 minutes, then let the focaccia rise until it has doubled in size, and has beautiful dough strands like this:

Risen and Webby Focaccia Dough Close Up View

Seriously, dough strands are my favorite thing ever.

Cook down some onions with a few sprigs of rosemary until soft:

Softened Onions and Herbs in Skillet

Then cook some butternut squash cubes. I recommend following my roasted butternut squash recipe post, but you could also saute it in a pan.

Butternut Squash Cubes in Bowl

Stretch your focaccia dough out onto a sheet pan, and top with the caramelized onions and butternut squash:

Butternut Squash Cubes and Rosemary on Raw Focaccia Dough

Of course, add cheese too:

Grating Cheese on Top of Butternut Squash Focaccia

Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted:

Cubes of Butternut Squash Baked onto Focaccia

And enjoy!

Pinterest Icon

Butternut Squash Focaccia Square Drizzled with Balsamic

Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Focaccia

Servings: 18
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
 This focaccia is the perfect appetizer for fall! Fluffy flatbread is topped with roasted butternut squash, onion, rosemary, and balsamic glaze.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
4
reviews
Leave a Review »

Ingredients

  • 2.25 tsp instant yeast
  • 1.25 cups warm water 110 degrees F
  • 1.5 tbsp sugar
  • 17.5 oz all purpose flour, by weight (3.5 cups, measured)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup + 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 softball sized yellow onions sliced
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 3 lb butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cut into cubes
  • 2 oz gruyere cheese add more if you like
  • salt and pepper
  • balsamic glaze for drizzling

Instructions 

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the yeast, warm water, and sugar, and give it a stir. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes until the liquid is foamy. Add the flour, salt, and 1/4 cup olive oil, and use a wooden spoon or the dough hook to stir and roughly combine. Fit the mixer with the dough hook and knead for 10 minutes on medium low speed. Cover the dough for one hour to let it rise and double in size.
  • While the dough rises, prepare the caramelized onions and butternut squash. Heat up a large skillet over medium heat and add 2 tbsp olive oil. Add the onions, fresh rosemary, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of pepper. Cook for 20-30 minutes until soft and caramelized. Remove the rosemary stems (but leave the leaves).
  • To cook the butternut squash, you can either saute the cubes in the same skillet you used for the onions for about 20 minutes until tender, or roast in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. Make sure to season the butternut squash cubes with salt, pepper, and a little oil before cooking.
  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, and pour the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil onto a sheet pan. Spread the dough out onto the sheet pan, using your fingertips to stretch the dough. Top with the cooked butternut squash cubes and the caramelized onions, and sprinkle the top with salt and pepper. Add the cheese, and bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese has melted and the focaccia has finished cooking (either break apart a piece, or check with a thermometer that the interior has reached 200 degrees F). Cut the focaccia into pieces and drizzle with balsamic glaze, if desired. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 184kcal, Carbohydrates: 32g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 3mg, Sodium: 144mg, Potassium: 320mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 8065IU, Vitamin C: 16.7mg, Calcium: 75mg, Iron: 1.9mg

Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.

Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Italian
Author: Fifteen Spatulas