Pizza night will never be the same with a Savory Pumpkin Pizza that is the perfect match for a grown up movie night by a hot fire! You know the nights when you want to eat something different and you are tired of eating out. This 15 Minute meal completely changes the old Friday night take out.
This pizza is definitely geared for the grown up in all of us. The only thing traditional here is the pizza dough and there is cheese…but not mozzarella!
If you have kids, you probably know how tiring it can be to eat cheese pizza. I am a huge pizza lover, but I really want to have it made with grown up toppings now and again. Can you relate?
So that is how Savory Pumpkin Pizza came about! Grown up pizza night is ready for the cool evenings in Autumn. Pumpkin Palooza brings several creative pumpkin recipes your way, just like this one!
🎃 Why This Recipe Works
15 Minute Meal is all I have to say here! This recipe nails it when you want a take out option at home that takes virtually no time! Seriously, just 15 minutes to make this one is less time than you can go pick up pizza or have it delivered.
Grown up flavors offer a sophisticated twist on a classic so you won’t ever get bored with this one. The kids can have their generic cheese pizza while you can step it up a notch to make a pizza that tastes like you were at a restaurant.
🍕 Ingredients
Don’t you just love pizza? I know I sure do, and this pumpkin pizza is a real show stopper. These ingredients are so easy to grab at the local grocery store and since the number of ingredients are minimal, this can become a quick, last minute meal that you won’t need to remember the recipe care for.
Pumpkin Puree: The pumpkin is not only where you get lots of flavors, but you also get Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Potassium, Fiber, Vitamin E, Iron, and more. Pumpkin puree is not the same as canned pumpkin. You are looking for pumpkin puree here and that will have all pumpkin in it. Strangely enough, canned pumpkin does not have pumpkin in it at all. It is filled with Dickinson squash. You can also pick up 100% pure pumpkin by Libby’s if you aren’t sure.
Cheese: We use a combination of grated Parmesan and Havarti cheese for this pizza. The variety of the two types of cheese is wonderful. Havarti is a semi soft cow’s milk cheese so it is also a mild cheese. You will get the punch of flavor from the Parmesan cheese. If you use the block of Parmesan (which is what we recommend) then the flavor is even deeper. Additionally, you could swap the cheeses for mozzarella too.
Arugula: Using fresh arugula will add some vibrance to the already beautiful pizza. It’s nutritious, delicious, and an excellent pizza topping. It does have a little bit of a pepper taste so this is the other area that is going to give you a boost of flavor that you aren’t expecting.
🍽️ Instructions
This pizza is quick to make. I bet you’ll be able to make it faster than the time it takes to go pick up take out. The ready made dough helps it come together so fast!
Step One: Start off with a small pan to saute the half of the onions. You can cook them just 2-3 minutes or spend 10-15 minutes and fully caramelize them. I prefer the flavor of the caramelized version. Both work and both are incredible!
Step Two: While that is cooking, combine the pumpkin, shallots, thyme and the other half of the onions in a bowl and stir. Add the parmesan cheese and salt and pepper and stir.
Step Three: Prep the dough according to the instructions provided on the packaging and form it into a circle. Top the dough with the pumpkin mixture, onions and arugula. Sprinkle with havarti cheese and cook according to the directions on the dough packaging.
🍴 Substitutions
Since Havarti tastes mild like a white American Cheese, you can substitute white American or even Mozzarella. The great part of that is those cheeses are very easy to find in the normal cheese section of the grocery store or we may have them in our dairy drawer already. Don’t be afraid to substitute for almost similar flavor.
🍕 Expert Tips
Don’t overcook the onions. There is a balance of cooking them to get a nice golden brown and even to caramelize them. What you don’t want is to burn them so they are black on the edges and taste crispy and not in a good way.
Meal Prep this one for an even faster Friday night meal. You can shred the cheeses and make the sauce early on. I would also recommend washing and allowing the arugula to dry so you don’t take the moisture onto your pizza.
Make your own dough by whipping up a batch in your bread machine or making it by hand earlier in the day if you won’t like the store bought dough. This adds a bit of time but not enough to cause concern. You can even add in some herbs to your dough or Parmesan cheese to take it up a couple notches.
🧀 FAQ
Absolutely! You can make this earlier in the day and simply reheat in the microwave or the toaster oven.
Yes, although canned pumpkin can have other squashes in it, the taste is very close. You just don’t want to accidentally pick up Pumpkin Pie Puree which will have all the fall spices in it like you are prepped to make Grandma’s famous pie, which you are not.
I always suggest readers use what they like best. There are dough options at all grocery stores so start looking where the pepperoni is located at your store and there is the Boboli. Move on to the refrigerated area and check on the pizza dough options there besides the one in the tube. Cruise over to the frozen section and find where the rolls are located and you will find frozen pizza dough there. Then if you have a Wegmans, Whole Foods or Trader Joes, look at their specialty areas as I have found freshly made dough there as well.
Savory Pumpkin Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 1./2 cups pumpkin puree
- 1 ready to bake pizza dough
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tbsp garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp thyme fresh
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 2 cups Havarti cheese grated
- 1 cup arugula rinsed
- olive oil as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven according to what your pizza dough package suggests.
- In a medium frying pan over medium low heat, cook about half of the onions with a splash of olive oil.
- Cook for 2 minutes, or until fragrant and soft. You can cook longer and carmelize them, as desired.
- Sprinkle sugar over onions, stir and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- In a mixing bowl, stir together pumpkin puree, garlic, shallot, thyme, and remaining onion until combined.
- Stir in parmesan cheese, salt and pepper until incorporated.
- Prepare and shape dough to be flat and circular.
- Spread pumpkin mixture evenly over dough and top with arugula and cooked onions.
- Sprinkle with havarti cheese and cook pizza according to dough package/recipe instructions.
Notes
Nutrition
Hi!
Ginny Collins is a passionate foodie and recipe creator of Savor and Savvy and Kitchenlaughter. Indoors she focuses on easy, quick recipes for busy families and kitchen basics. Outdoors, she focuses on backyard grilling and smoking to bring family and friends together. She is a lifelong learner who is always taking cooking classes on her travels overseas and stateside. Her work has been featured on MSN, Parade, Fox News, Yahoo, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and many local news outlets. She lives in Florida where you will find her outside on the water in her kayak, riding her bike on trails, and planning her next overseas adventure.
How smart is this recipe!