This Sausage and Butternut Squash Flatbread is the ultimate appetizer to serve this holiday season! It is loaded with creamy white sauce, sweet roasted squash and spicy Italian sausage. YUM!
Happy appetizer season, friends! Does anyone else feel like they enjoy snacking on appetizers and drinking a cocktail almost more than the actual main meal itself during the holiday season? I know I do!
If you are like me then you will absolutely love this recipe! It’s super simple to whip up and a total crowd pleaser! White sauce + extra cheese?! C’mon!!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
It’s simple! Seriously, all it requires is a handful of ingredients and you’re set.
You can eat it as an appetizer OR if you’re just totally over making a four course dinner on the weeknight for your family – make these easy pizzas! Let the kiddos decorate their own for extra fun!
It has the BEST balance of flavor – you have the savory and spicy Italian sausage, the slight crunch of the red onion, the sweet caramelized roasted butternut squash and of course, the ultra savory and CREAMY white sauce.
And all of that is loaded onto a crunchy piece of garlic naan. YES PLEASE.
It’s truly the perfect blend of sweet, savory and seasonal!
So let’s get into exactly what you need to make it.
Ingredients You Need:
- Garlic Naan Bread – you can also get flatbread or use store bought pizza crust for this recipe 🙂 just adjust baking times according to the package
- Italian Sausage – I used spicy but you can use mild, sweet etc.
- Butternut Squash – buy the pre cubed at the store for extra simplicity!
- Salted Butter – the base for our white sauce
- All Purpose Flour – used to make the roux for the sauce!
- Whole Milk – an essential roux ingredient!
- Parmesan Cheese – use freshly grated!
- Fresh garlic – you can use garlic powder for this, but I enjoyed the fresh garlic in the white sauce.
- Red onion – topping for the pizza!
- Salt and Pepper To Taste – of course!
- Olive oil – to toss the butternut squash in.
- Garlic Powder – used for the butternut squash!
- Fresh basil or herbs – used to garnish the flatbread
How to Make Flatbread in 5 Simple Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 400 and add the chopped butternut squash to a large baking sheet. Add a drizzle of olive oil, pinch of salt and garlic powder and toss to combine. Roast for 30 minutes – flipping halfway. It should be fork tender when it’s done. Keep the oven on when it’s done.
- While the butternut squash is roasting, make everything else! Cook the Italian sausage – breaking it up while in the pan on medium heat until it’s fully cooked through – around 7-10 minutes.
- Make the white sauce by making a roux (combining melted butter and flour and whisking) and then slowly adding the milk until it’s thickened. Add in the freshly grated parmesan cheese and minced garlic and taste to see if it needs additional seasoning.
- Assemble the pizzas! Add a generous portion of white sauce followed by the crumbled sausage, roasted butternut squash and sliced red onion. Top with additional parmesan cheese.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes and enjoy! Garnish with fresh herbs and serve with extra white sauce on the side for dipping if desired!
Best Tips for Success:
To make the most delicious smooth and creamy white sauce, you really have to make the decision to stay by the stove and whisk! I promise it will be worth it in the end. You might just have had a short arm workout, ha!
Start roasting the butternut squash FIRST – that way it will be done by the time you’re ready to assemble your pizzas and the oven will be hot and ready to go. Win win!
While the squash is roasting, get everything else done! Cook the sausage, slice the onions, etc. This will make assembling the pizzas SO easy.
Be sure to keep an eye on the naan while it bakes – don’t get the edges of it become too crispy!
Ingredient Variations:
If you’re not a fan of spicy Italian sausage, use mild or even sweet!
If you don’t have time to make your own white sauce…which I still highly recommend you do 😉 … you can always buy store bought!
Feel free to use acorn squash or delicata squash for this recipe if you don’t have butternut on hand.
Storing Leftovers:
Simply store these in a tightly sealed tupperware container and reheat until your desired temperature is reached. Enjoy!
Did you enjoy this recipe? Here are a few others you might like:
Buffalo Chicken Flatbread Pizza
Cheesy Roasted Red Pepper Flatbread
Grilled Chicken Sausage Flatbread Pizza
Thank you so much for following along here, friends! Want to see more? Be sure to follow ourbalancedbowl on Instagram and tag me with your photo if you end up making a recipe! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the Our Balanced Bowl Facebook page! Like a recipe that you saw? Follow me on Pinterest here! I always love to see your re-creations! If you do make a recipe, it would make my whole day if you were to rate and comment so I can get your feedback! Lots of love! – Haylie
Sausage and Butternut Squash Flatbread
This Sausage and Butternut Squash Flatbread is the ultimate appetizer to serve this holiday season! It is loaded with creamy white sauce, sweet roasted squash and spicy Italian sausage. YUM!
Ingredients
White Sauce Ingredients:
- 6 tbsp salted butter
- 4-5 tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Flatbread Ingredients:
- 4 pieces of garlic naan
- 1 lb. Spicy Italian Sausage
- 2 cups diced butternut squash
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 medium red onion, diced long and thin
- fresh herbs to garnish
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel the butternut squash and dice it into bite size pieces. (Use pre-diced butternut squash to save time!)
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Add butternut squash to a large sheet pan. Toss with olive oil, garlic powder, and a pinch of salt. Toss to combine. Roast for 30 minutes, flipping halfway. Begin making other ingredients while the butternut squash is roasting (see below)
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Once the squash is done, it should be fork tender. Remove from the oven but keep the oven ON.
Make White Sauce
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Shred about 1 and 1/2 cups of parmesan cheese. Finely mince 3 medium cloves of garlic. Set this aside.
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In a small pot, melt the butter on medium heat. Once melted, add flour and whisk to combine. Continue whisking this for around 1 minute to cook the flour through.
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Slowly add in the milk a little at a time, whisking it in as you go. Whisk continuously for 5-6 minutes until sauce has thickened, turning the heat up if needed.
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Once the sauce has thickened, add in the garlic and whisk in. Turn off the heat but leave the pot on the stove eye.
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Add in 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese and whisk it in until it’s fully melted/incorporated. Once fully melted, remove from the heat and set aside. Taste for salt and pepper and add if necessary. This should yield around 2 cups of sauce.
Cooking Sausage
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Heat a large skillet on medium to high heat. Add the Italian sausage and break it up into crumbles and begin cooking, stirring occasionally. Cook for 7-10 minutes or until fully cooked. While the sausage is cooking, slice the red onions into long thin strips.
Flatbread Assembly
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Once all of the ingredients are ready, grab the naan bread. Add a generous amount of white sauce, followed by the cooked sausage and a handful of the roasted squash. Divide it all between 4 pieces of naan bread. Add the additional 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese on top.
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Bake (either on a sheet pan or directly on the oven rack) for 8-10 minutes or so - be sure to make sure the naan edges don't get too crispy!
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When the flatbreads are ready, garnish with fresh herbs, red pepper flakes if desired and slice and eat! If you have any leftover white sauce, use it as a dipping sauce! Enjoy!