Butternut Squash Mini Pizzas

These are delicious. For real. They are so yummy, I texted my niece a picture of them with the hashtag #imagenius. Ok, so I'm not really genius, but I felt like one when I bit into one of these delicious mini pizzas!

The crust is very simply roasted butternut squash. DELICIOUS. Roasting the squash is so simple. It makes it crisp on the outside and tender and sweet on the inside.

I use parchment paper to line my cookie sheet - this will keep your squash from sticking to the pan without using any fat at all. You don't even need to spray it with cooking spray. Parchment paper is magic. If magic was a paper, seriously, it would be parchment. 

One thing I love about this recipe - super simple. There is no need to make or buy a pizza sauce. I took a few ripe tomatoes, chopped them up and added a few fresh basil leaves. So basically, if you can cut up some herbs and veggies without chopping your hand off - you can make this pizza. 

I think peppers should be in everything. Even cake. One day, I will figure out how to make the perfect pepper cupcake. (It won't make it onto a clean eating blog though.) Use any veggies that you want, but I love peppers (and I had some great shallots fresh from my friend, Jenny's garden. Yum!! If you aren't familiar with them, shallots are like onions, but look like a giant purple-y garlic clove. They are more mild than onion, but still have that great onion family flavor. Plus they roast AMAZINGLY. If you have a friend who will grow and give you free shallots - take her up on that. Your pizza will thank you.

After I had roasted my squash I added BBQ seasoning. Use your favorite kind. This is not technically clean because mine did have the teensiest bit of sugar in it. Worth. It. BBQ needs sweetness, and this little bit added almost no calories, but really added to the flavor, and it brings out the sweetness in the squash.

Piling on the toppings is just adding one delicious flavor layer on top of another. I used parmesan cheese, finely shredded. I know that here you're probably tempted to use a gooier cheese, but DON'T. Parmesan will not melt right away, so it gives your shallots, peppers, tomato, and basil time to roast. Plus it's LOADED with flavor, far more than any soft cheese. These pizzas are mini. MINI. So there isn't room for tons of gooey cheese. You can use the parmesan instead, and because it's so flavorful you don't need nearly as much.

Here is the exact recipe, for the detailed oriented:

8 slices of butternut squash, sliced thin
3 ripe campri tomatoes chopped
3 large fresh basil leaves chopped
3 sweet mini red peppers chopped
3 sweet mini yellow peppers chopped
1 shallot chopped
4 tablespoons finely shredded parmesan

1. Heat oven to 450.
2. Slice squash into slices and lay on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast for 20 minutes or until the edges and sides begin to crisp, and the middle is tender. Flip once halfway during cooking.
3. While the squash is roasting, chop remaining ingredients.
4. Mix together the tomatoes and basil and let sit while the squash cooks.
5. Once squash is done, remove from oven and top each one with tomatoes & basil mixture, then peppers and shallots, and finish with the cheese.
6. Return pizzas to the oven and let them roast an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is well cooked.

Enjoy!!