Butternut Squash Rolls

My butternut squash pizza in cinnamon roll form! Soft bread layered with savory squash filling and cheese, baked to perfection.

Course Main Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword butternut squash bread, butternut squash dinner ideas, butternut squash rolls

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 20

Servings rolls

Calories 325kcal

Author Lindsay Moe

Ingredients

1 butternut squash skin and seeds removed, cubed
1 tablespoon olive oil
Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup minced shallot
¼ cup parmesan cheese divided
1 pound pizza dough
8 ounces fontina cheese shredded
6 leaves of fresh sage plus more for garnishing if desired

Instructions

If you’re making your own pizza dough, begin by preparing that.
Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss butternut squash cubes with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake, stirring once or twice, until soft and beginning to brown, about 20-30 minutes.
Add the shallots to the baking sheet and stir to coat in oil. Return to the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the shallots are softened.
Transfer the squash and shallots to a food processor along with half of the parmesan cheese. Process until smooth, adding a little water or olive oil if needed to smooth it out. If the squash is hot, leave the feeding tube open on the lid to allow steam to escape while running the food processor.
Stretch and roll the pizza dough until it is thin and roughly 16 inches by 12 inches.
Spread the squash puree evenly over the dough, leaving about 1 inch on all sides. Sprinkle with most of the fontina, leaving some to top the rolls with. Tear the sage into pieces and sprinkle evenly over everything.
Starting on a long edge, fold the edge up about 1 inch all the way across. Continue to roll and tuck tightly until the dough is completely rolled into a long log.
Roll the log back and forth gently a few times to seal the edge, then work your hands all the way along it to make sure it’s all about the same size. You can also press the ends in towards the middle a little bit if they go too thin.
Using a sharp, serrated knife, slice off the ends that are mostly dough without filling. Next, cut the log into 8 even rolls by first cutting it in half, then each half in half, and cutting each of those in half again.
Line a baking sheet or baking dish with parchment paper. Arrange the rolls on the parchment, slightly touching.
Top the rolls with the remaining fontina and parmesan cheese.
Bake 15 minutes or until the bread dough is cooked all the way through. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

Tips for customizing butternut squash rolls

Make them sweet by swapping the fontina and parmesan for mascarpone or ricotta and flavoring the squash with cinnamon before or after cooking
Make it spicy by drizzling with spicy chili crisp or sprinkling with crushed red pepper flakes
Add a few dollops of your favorite pesto such as classic pesto, pistachio pesto, or sage pesto
Use more or less squash to taste
Swap the fontina for your other favorite cheese, such as mozzarella

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