Chef notes

When I think of sheet pan pizza, I’m excited for its simplicity, crowd-friendly nature and well, the fact that it’s pizza! This recipe makes enough for a family of four to enjoy leftovers. Plus, I love that everything happens on the sheet pan, from resting the dough to serving the pie.

The combination of sausage, squash and sage hits all the fall flavor notes we crave as soon as there's a hint of chill in the air. The creamy, savory sauce is a simplified mornay sauce (aka creamy cheese sauce) that comes together in just a few minutes on the stovetop. Store-bought pizza dough works well here and is a great time-saver. Delicata squash adds sweetness to the pie that pairs nicely with the sausage and red onion, resulting in a perfectly balanced bite. Serve this alongside a simply dressed arugula salad for a weeknight dinner that feels like a treat.

Since this recipe calls for store-bought pizza dough, you’ll need to bring it to room temperature before topping and baking. To speed up this process, place the dough on a sheet pan and rest on top of the preheating oven. While the dough is warming, prepare and cool the sauce, and measure and cut your toppings. This way, you can assemble and cook the pizza as soon as the dough is ready.

Technique Tip: To serve quickly and without making a mess, use kitchen shears to cut the pizza into squares directly from the sheet pan.

Swap Option: Swap peeled and thinly sliced butternut squash in place of delicata if that’s what you have on hand. If spicy is more your style, use hot Italian sausage instead of sweet or add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes for some added heat.