With the holidays right around the corner, I’ve started testing a few fall-inspired recipes for Thanksgiving. And since the weather is FINALLY offering a little reprieve, I’m cranking the oven up–way up–for this post!

Since many of my friends are gluten-intolerant, I’m always researching gluten-free dishes that don’t compromise on flavor or texture. Pamela’s sent me their Gluten-free All-purpose Flour to experiment with, so I made a gluten-free flatbread. You can pretty much substitute regular ol’ flour for Pamela’s at a 1:1 ratio in your favorite recipes, which makes it a math-less, snap!

I’m particularly drawn to the squashes and root vegetables popping up at the farmer’s market these days. Gnarly, gnarled, prickly, bumpy and rough on the outside. Yet all it takes is a little love and heat to transform them into sweet, creamy vegetable goodness. For this recipe, I’ve paired together caramelized onions and roasted butternut squash with herbaceous fried sage. The sage balances the sweetness of the butternut squash and caramelized onions. I finished the flatbreads with a balsamic glaze, parmesan, parsley and pine nuts.

I’m very happy to report that the crust, with a little par-baking, was just as crisp, flavorful, and most importantly DELICIOUS as my regular flatbread recipe. I’m definitely making this appetizer for friendsgiving this year and I hope you will too!

Butternut Squash, Sage, and Caramelized Onion Flatbread with Balsamic Glaze

Dough:

2 cups Pamela’s All-Purpose Flour Artisan Blend

1 cup filtered water

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp instant yeast

Toppings:

1 small butternut squash, peeled and sliced into 1/4″ half moons

4 tsp thyme, chopped

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tbsp parsley, chopped + additional for garnish

2 sweet onions, sliced into 1/4″ half moons

8 fried sage leaves

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

3 tbsp cane sugar

1/2 c shaved parmesan cheese

1/4 c pine nuts, toasted

For the dough: In a large mixing bowl, mix together dry ingredients and then add the water and olive oil. Mix until combined. Dough will be tacky. Transfer dough to clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour.

For the caramelized onions: In a wide saute pan, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and turn heat to low. Season with salt. Be careful the onions don’t burn by stirring often. Cook until caramelized and brown, about 20-30 minutes.

For the balsamic glaze: Heat the balsamic and sugar over medium heat. Reduce the vinegar until it reaches a syrup-like consistency.

For the butternut squash: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss the butternut squash with 1 tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper flakes,and 2 tsp chopped sage. Roast squash, flipping halfway, until cooked through, about 20 minutes.

To assemble the flatbreads: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Separate the dough into two pieces. On parchment, roll out dough to 1/4″ thick. Repeat with second piece of dough. Leaving the dough on the parchment paper, transfer to a pizza stone and parbake crusts for 8 minutes. Remove from oven. Spread caramelized onions, roasted butternut squash, chopped thyme and parmesan cheese. Return to oven and bake until crisp and golden brown, about 6-8 minutes. Remove from oven and top with additional parmesan cheese, parsley, pine nuts, sage leaves and a drizzle of balsamic glaze. Serve immediately.

Serves 4-6 as an appetizer

Note: This post was brought to you in partnership with Pamela’s Products, though all thoughts, opinions, recipes and photographs are my own. Thanks so much for supporting our sponsors that help keep Julie’s Kitchen going!