• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Our Salty Kitchen
  • Browse All Recipes
  • Season
    • Fall Recipes
    • Spring Recipes
    • Summer Recipes
    • Winter Recipes
    • Holiday Recipes
  • Diet
    • Gluten Free
    • Grain Free
    • Keto
    • Paleo
    • Vegan
    • Vegetarian
    • Whole30 Recipes
  • Course
    • 30 Minute Meals
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Condiments and Sauces
    • Desserts
    • Cocktails
    • Main Dishes
    • Pasta
    • Salads
    • Side Dishes
    • Soups and Stews
  • Method
    • Instant Pot Recipes
    • Air Fryer
    • Slow Cooker
    • Grilling Recipes
    • Stir Fry
  • About
    • Let’s Collaborate!
    • Recipe Photography for Food Bloggers
    • Photography Portfolio
    • License Images
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Bloglovin
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
  • All Recipes
  • Main Dishes
  • Side Dishes
  • Salads
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×
    You are here: Home » Meal Type » Appetizers » Mini Butternut Squash Tarts with Caramelized Onions and Ricotta

    Mini Butternut Squash Tarts with Caramelized Onions and Ricotta

    December 7, 2017 By Danielle Esposti 5 Comments

    May contain affiliate links.See our Privacy Policy and disclosure.

    Go to Recipe
    Baked mini butternut squash tart with ricotta cheese and caramelized onions on a baking sheet.

    It’s day 4 of appetizer week and we’re rounding out the menu with a warm, rich canapé (I feel so fancy saying canapé…ooh, I just said it again!). These Mini Butternut Squash Tarts are the perfect vegetarian two-bite holiday party appetizer offering. They look so chic and elegant, but thanks to the magic of puff pastry, they’re a snap to pull together.

    Jump to:
    • Mini Butternut Squash Tarts Recipe Notes
    • Recipe

    One of my favorite things about the holidays is that I feel free to indulge in foods that I don’t eat any other time of the year. And one of those foods is puff pastry. Puff pastry is magical. It can transform a handful of basic ingredients into an elegant canapé with minimal effort. You can certainly make your own, but I don’t. Who needs the fuss? Plus it’s okay to let go of scratch cooking just a little during the mayhem of the holiday season.

    For day 4 of the OSK holiday appetizer party blitz, we’re celebrating the magic of puff pastry with these mini butternut squash tarts. These take a bit of prep work, but it can be done in advance; once you’re done prepping, you can tuck these guys (uncooked) into the fridge until just before party time. A short bake later and you have these adorable, colorful mini butternut squash tarts.

    Mini Butternut Squash Tarts Recipe Notes

    The flavor base of these tarts is a combination of caramelized onions and roasted butternut squash, with some fresh sage sprinkle throughout.

    The onions take a bit of time to cook down properly, so you’ll get those guys started in an equal combination of olive or avocado oil and butter and let them slowly sweat it out on the stove. Towards the end, deglaze with a splash of balsamic, reduce it down for a few minutes, and then toss in a bit of fresh sage.

    Meanwhile, peel and seed the squash, dice it into tiny pieces, toss it with oil, salt, and pepper and pop into the oven for about 20 minutes. By the time the squash is finished, the onions are just about done.

    Next you’ll need two sheets of defrosted puff pastry. The most foolproof way to defrost puff pastry is by popping it into the fridge overnight. If you forget, you can set it out at room temperature for about an hour, but make sure it doesn’t get too warm. You want it to be cool and firm, but pliable, and it can go to soft and mushy pretty quickly. Just keep an eye on it if you go the room temp route.

    Dust your work surface with a little flour, and then carefully unfold the puff pastry. Use a rolling pin to gently roll out any fold marks. Don’t use too much pressure or you’ll tear the sheets. Using a pastry wheel, pizza cutter, or sharp knife, divide the puff pastry into 16 equal squares. I use a ruler because I’m…special…but you can eye-ball it. Even with a ruler my squares are a little uneven, but it all shakes out fine in the end. Puff pastry is pretty darn forgiving (like I said, miracle food).

    Transfer the squares to a parchment lined baking sheet, spacing them about ½″ apart. I put 12 on each sheet, but I could have easily squeezed in 15 (five rows of 3 each). The squares will puff up, not expand out, so there’s little chance they’ll bleed together, but I still leave a little room between each just to be safe. Score around the edges with your pastry wheel or knife, and then dock the centers. This will help the filling stay in the squares, instead of getting pushed out. Lastly, brush each square with an egg wash.

    Now comes the fun part – filling time! My obsession with butternut squash runs deep, so this particular filling was a super easy decision for me. While Cameron isn’t such a fan and totally gave me the look when I expressed my intent for butternut squash tarts, even he admitted that these were the shit. You can fill these guys with anything, going along with the general rule that less is more. If you overfill the squares, they’ll explode. I went with roughly 2 tablespoons of filling in total. Start by adding a teaspoon of ricotta cheese to the center of each square (if you’re feeling brave, go ahead and make your own ricotta cheese – it only takes 15 minutes!). Then top with a few slices of caramelized onions and about a tablespoon of butternut squash cubes. You want to press the onions and squash into the cheese a bit, but try not to push too much filling outside of the score lines.

    And with that, the prep work is done! Transfer the baking sheets to the fridge and let them hang out for at least 15 minutes or up to overnight. Chilling the tarts has the added bonus of ensuring the puff pastry is cool when it hits the oven, which will guarantee maximum puffiness (warm puff pastry will come out much flatter). I fit two trays into the fridge by setting a wire rack on top of one of the trays as a makeshift shelf, and then set the other tray on top of that. Then I carefully covered the tray stack with aluminum foil. This will depress the filling down just a little further, but take a deep breath and just do it. They’ll puff up beautifully once they’ve been cooked.

    When you’re ready to bake the tarts, preheat the oven to 400*. Pop ’em in for 12-14 minutes, or until they’re golden brown and puffed. Sprinkle a little more fresh sage over the finished tarts, and voila. You’re done! I’m warning ya, these butternut squash tarts are addictive. For a cocktail party, plan on at least two per person.

    Mini butternut squash cocktail party hors d'oeuvres on a wood board.

    Did you make these Mini Butternut Squash Tarts? I’d love to know how they turned out! Leave a comment and a rating below.

    While you’re at it, let’s be friends – follow me on Pinterest and Instagram for the latest and greatest.

    Recipe

    Baked mini butternut squash tart with ricotta cheese and caramelized onions on a baking sheet.

    Mini Butternut Squash Tarts

    5 from 1 vote
    Author: Danielle Esposti
    Print Recipe Rate this Recipe Pin Recipe
    These mini butternut squash tarts are the perfect vegetarian two-bite holiday party appetizer offering. They look so chic and elegant, but thanks to the magic of puff pastry, they're a snap to pull together.
    Prep Time: 40 mins
    Cook Time: 45 mins
    Total Time: 1 hr 25 mins
    Servings : 16
    Calories: 213

    Recommended Equipment

    • 3 Baking Sheets
    • Parchment Paper
    • Cast Iron Skillet
    • Rolling Pin
    • Pastry Wheel

    Ingredients

    • 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
    • 1 tbsp butter
    • 1 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
    • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
    • 2 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
    • 1 2.5-3 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced into ½″ cubes
    • ⅔ c ricotta cheese
    • 2 sheets puff pastry, defrosted in the fridge overnight
    • 1 egg
    • sea salt, to taste
    • cracked black pepper, to taste

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 400*. Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil or parchment paper. 
    • Start the caramelized onions. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add one tablespoon olive oil and butter, and heat until the butter foams and subsides. Add the onions and a pinch of salt, stir to coat the onions in the fat, and saute over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are a deep golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and stir continuously until the vinegar stops bubbling. Add 1 tbsp fresh sage, stir, and cook 1 minute longer. Turn off the burner and remove the onions from heat.
    • While the onions are caramelizing, prepare and roast the butternut squash. Trim the ends from the squash, then peel and seed. Dice the squash into ½” cubes. Keep the size small so that multiple pieces can fit into the tarts. Toss the butternut squash with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Spread the squash over the baking sheet and roast in the oven until golden brown and tender, 15-17 minutes. 
    • Line two fresh baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk the egg with 1 tsp water and set aside. 
    • Dust a work surface with flour. Remove the puff pastry sheets from the fridge. Unroll one sheet and lay on the flour dusted work surface. Using a rolling pin, gently roll out any fold marks. Then, using a pastry wheel, pizza cutter, or a sharp knife, divide the puff pastry sheet into 16 even squares. Transfer the squares to the parchment lined baking sheets, spacing them about ½” apart (you can easily fit 15 on a sheet, and might end up with a spare square or two depending on the size of your sheets). 
    • Use your pastry wheel or the tip of a sharp knife knife to score a square about ½” an inch from the edges of the pastry squares, then use the tines of a fork to dock the center. Brush each square with the egg wash. 
    • Place a teaspoon of ricotta cheese into the center of each square. Top the cheese with a few slices of onions, and approximately 1 tablespoon of butternut squash cubes. Chill 15 minutes or up to 24 hours (see notes). 
    • When you’re ready to serve, preheat the oven to 400*. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of fresh sage. Serve hot or room temperature. Makes 32 squares. For a cocktail party, plan on two squares per person.

    Notes

    You can condense the trays for fridge storage by stacking them on top of each other. To do so, set a wire rack on top of one of the trays to create a makeshift shelf, and then set the other tray on top of that. Carefully cover the tray stack with aluminum foil, then transfer to the fridge. 

    Nutrition Information

    Calories: 213kcal (11%)
    Did you make this recipe?Mention @oursaltykitchen or tag #oursaltykitchen!
    « Gingerbread Spiced Nuts (Paleo/Refined Sugar Free)
    Muhammara Dip Party Cups »

    Disclaimer: This post and the recipe card may contain affiliate links, which means we receive a small commission (at no cost to you!) if you make a purchase using these links. Rest assured, we only endorse products we own and truly love!

    5 Comments
    Filed Under: Appetizers, Fall Recipes, Holiday Recipes, Vegetarian, Winter Recipes Tagged With: butternut squash, canape, cocktail party, puff pastry, tart

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Adele Aiken

      November 05, 2019 at 9:06 am

      5 stars
      This looks wonderful. Can they be baked and frozen?

      Reply
      • Danielle

        November 06, 2019 at 1:09 pm

        I wouldn’t – ricotta is very watery and I think the results would be unpredictable. You could freeze in pieces – make the butternut squash and onions, and freeze those. Then prep the puff pastry and freeze (lay parchment in-between the cut pieces so they don’t freeze together). Then defrost everything in the fridge overnight the day before you want to make them, and you can assemble, bake, and serve pretty quickly.

        Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. How to Make Ricotta Cheese (15 Minutes!) | Our Salty Kitchen says:
      May 30, 2019 at 10:55 am

      […] Mini Butternut Squash Tarts […]

      Reply
    2. Cranberry Brie Bites on Crostini | Our Salty Kitchen says:
      December 20, 2019 at 10:55 am

      […] Mini Butternut Squash Tarts […]

      Reply
    3. Baked Brie with Fig Jam and Pecans - Our Salty Kitchen says:
      December 24, 2021 at 9:54 am

      […] Mini Butternut Squash Tarts […]

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Welcome to Our Salty Kitchen! We create real food for real people. Our whole foods recipes are seasonal, locally sourced, and simply prepared. Learn More! 

    Footer

    ABOUT US      CONTACT US      PRIVACY POLICY 

    A collage of publication logos that have featured recipes and photography from Our Salty Kitchen.

    Footer

    Privacy

    Privacy Policy

    Let's ConnecT

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest

    About Us

    Contact

    Copyright © 2023 Our Salty Kitchen

    2.2K shares