Smoky garlic, delicata squash, and bacon pizza

I love delicata squash because not only are they delicious, but they are so pretty and very quick cooking. I've been thinking about putting winter squash on a pizza for a while now and finally decided that delicata would be the winner. 

Posts may contain affiliate links. If you purchase an item from these links, a small percentage goes to support the work of this blog. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The sweet, creamy squash pairs so nicely with the salty, smoky, and crispy bacon. To up the smoky deliciousness of the pizza, I used smoked mozzarella.

For my pizza crust, I almost always use this recipe. For this pizza I used this crust which I find usually makes two pizzas that are about 10-11 inches in diameter (this depends on how much flour your dough takes that day given the humidity, etc.) 

This recipe is for two pizzas about that size. We make pizzas probably about once a week or every two weeks. We love pizza and now that I've discovered these simple dough recipes, it's so simple to make at home. Plus, you can try out all sorts of toppings and combinations!

Smoky garlic, delicata squash, and bacon pizza
prepared pizza dough
4 large cloves of garlic, pressed (or very finely minced)
about 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 small-medium delicata squash
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 lb. smoked mozzarella cheese, shredded
dried oregano for topping

Prepare your dough/pizzas on parchment paper and you can use it to pick easily them up and on/off the pizza stone (or an upside down baking sheet). To make the best pizza at home, you'll need to crank the oven full force and use the very bottom rack. So if you use a pizza stone, you'll only be able to fit one in the oven at a time (you may be able to fit both if using baking sheets.) Then swap - you can eat the first while the second one bakes.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Halve the delicata squash lengthwise and remove the seeds/strings. Then slice into about 1/4 inch pieces, tossing the stem ends. Place on a baking sheet with a drizzle of olive oil and roast in the oven until the squash just starts to become tender and brown, about 6 minutes. Remove and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the garlic with the olive oil and set on the top of your stove to warm up slightly.

Roll out your crust to about 10 inches in diameter on the parchment. Top each pizza with half of the garlic-olive oil mixture, leaving about a half-inch of crust along the edge. Then top with half of the cheese, half of the bacon, half of the red onions, and half of the squash. Sprinkle with a bit of dried oregano.

Place the pizza on the stone and onto the bottom rack of the preheated oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes - until the pizza crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.