A savory, fall-inspired roasted butternut squash and sausage pizza with garlicky sautéed mushrooms and fresh herbs. And, in partnership with OXO, ideas for smarter meal prep, ingredient storage, and better on-the-go-lunches.
Admittedly, I’m late to the meal planning game, and really, really late to meal prep. My family usually rolls into the week with a solid meal plan and occasionally, I do a bit of prep like making beans, pizza dough, or a couple hardy salads that will last a few days. But lately I’ve seen the wisdom of a more complete meal prep situation.
Versatile Meal Prep
For one thing, prepped foods transition seamlessly from lunches to dinners, allowing me to mix and match ingredients for everything from salads to pizza toppings – specifically salads and pizza toppings, actually.
To get ready for the week ahead this week, I prepped a batch of quinoa, a big massaged kale salad (like this one), roasted butternut squash, garlicky sautéed mushrooms, pizza dough, sliced red onions, and a simple lemon dressing. With these ingredients, I was able to pull together a couple days worth of knockout lunch salads and crisp thin crust pizzas topped with sautéed mushrooms, roasted butternut squash, and sausage.
Great Meal Prep Lunches
Prepping complementary ingredients like mushrooms, winter squash, and kale is a great way to embrace the season and ensure there are always prepped vegetables on hand. Of course, if you’re going to all the trouble of prepping vegetables and bringing your lunch, it’s wise to have the right containers for the job. I recently transitioned from a mishmash of plastic and glass containers, to a wonderfully practical, impeccably designed set of OXO Smart Seal Glass Storage Containers. They stack perfectly and come in graduated sizes, meaning I always have the right-sized container. They’re freezer- and oven-friendly, too, so I can prep and store ingredients and then warm them right in the container.
I also picked up OXO’s On-the-Go Salad Container and instantly fell in love. For starters, there’s a wide, deep bowl that leaves plenty of room for enormous salads. There’s also a separate tray for toppings and dressing, or even a sandwich. It all fits together with a leak-proof lid. The On-the-Go Salad Container is seriously a lunch packing dream.
If you’re interested in bringing meal prep and planning together, I’ve listed both the butternut squash and sausage pizza and salad recipes below. Happy prepping, friends!
Note that the pizza recipe can easily be made vegetarian. Just double the amount of mushrooms for maximum umami goodness. I’ve linked to my favorite homemade pizza dough recipe below; for best results, allow dough to rise in the fridge overnight.
- 1 small butternut squash peeled, seeded, and sliced into 1/2-inch triangle
- 1 tablespoon grapeseed, or other heat-tolerant oil, plus more as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more as needed
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 8 ounces shiitake or other mushrooms, stemmed, brushed dry, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled, and minced
- 12 ounces sweet Italian sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds
- 1 pound pizza dough, divided in 2 equal halves (use store bought or this recipe)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt
- 12 ounces low-moisture mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 2 tablespoons minced parsley
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To prep the squash, preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
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Toss squash with grapeseed oil, sea salt, and red pepper flakes. Arrange on a rimmed baking sheet with plenty of room. Roasted 20 minutes, then carefully flip each slice, and roast 10 - 15 minutes more, or until both sides are crisp and golden. Set aside to cool. Squash can be roasted ahead, cooled, and kept covered in the fridge.
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Set a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil. When hot, add half of the mushrooms and sprinkle with sea salt. Sauté 4 minutes, then add garlic, turn, and sauté 3 minutes more, or until mushrooms are crisp and golden. Set aside to cool; wipe pan clean. Mushrooms can be sautéed ahead, cooled, and kept covered in the fridge.
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Heat the same skillet over medium/medium-high heat. If needed, add a drizzle of grapeseed oil. Add half the sausage and sear untouched 4 minutes. Flip sausage and sear 4 minutes more. (Note that if using uncooked sausage, cook time will be longer.) Set sausage in a paper towel-lined bowl and set aside to cool.
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To make the pizzas, preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
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Working one at a time, stretch pizza dough out to cover each of two pizza pans. If dough becomes hard to work with, let it rest 5 minutes at room temperature.
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Make the pizzas one a time time. Drizzle dough with olive oil; use a brush to distribute. Sprinkle with sea salt. Sprinkle with half the cheese. Scatter pizza with roasted squash, sautéed mushrooms, and half the sausage. Bake 8 - 10 minutes or until pizza is golden and cheese is melted and bubbling. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon minced parsley.
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Repeat for second pizza.
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Cool pizza briefly, then slice, and serve.
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1 cup massaged kale salad (recipe here)
- 1 cup roasted butternut squash slices, see above
- 1/4 cup sautéed mushrooms, see above
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onions
- 2 tablespoons shaved Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons lemon dressing (recipe here)
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Spoon the kale and quinoa into the base of an OXO On-the-Go Salad Container, or the container of your choice. To the top tray (or a separate container), add mushrooms, red onions, and Parmesan, and a small container of vinaigrette.
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To eat, toss ingredients together and enjoy!
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