This Savory Butternut Squash Pie with caramelized onions and feta is bursting with flavor! It's the perfect combination of savory, sweet, and salty, and it should be your next baking project!

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Savory Squash Pie

This Savory Butternut Squash Pie recipe was a beloved staple at my former micro-bakery, Shoofly Pie Baking Co. The pie has a distinctive flavor profile, with a subtle sweetness from the butternut squash and caramelized onions that is perfectly balanced by all of the savory elements. I truly adore the sweet and savory combination (see: Goat Cheese and Fig Puff Pastry Tarts, Cream Cheese and Pepper Jelly Puff Pastry Bites, and Caramelized Onion Quiche) because I love the new flavor they create when combined.

I'll say upfront that this pie is a project. When I was making dozens of these at a time, the workload was a bit different than when making just one for your family. To assemble this pie, you'll need to roast butternut squash, caramelize onions, make and blind-bake pie dough, assemble the filling, and bake the pie.

Are you still with me? Please...still be with me, it's worth it!

Just like I did in my micro-bakery days, it's best to break down these steps and complete them over a few days, and I'll share the best ways to do that below.

So, let's get to making it, shall we? The article below details all the information you need to know to make this successfully, concluding with the recipe at the end. You can jump around using the menu below, or skip to the end of the article for the full recipe.

Jump to:

Savory Squash Pie
Ingredients Needed and Substitutions
Options for Pie Crust
Why You Need to Blind-Bake
Step-By-Step Recipe Overview
How to Tell When It's Done
Make-Ahead Suggestions
More Savory Pies
Full Recipe

Ingredients Needed and Substitutions

Here is a brief overview of the ingredients needed. The recipe card lists the full recipe with quantities and detailed instructions (located below this article).

prepared pie crust (see below for options)
butternut squash (honeynut squash is the new kid on the block and would be equally as delicious in this pie, and you can even leave the skin on those for an additional textural component)
feta cheese (feta is so great in this, but goat cheese would also be a delicious addition)
onions (use yellow onions, red onions or sweet onions)
coarse kosher salt (This recipe was tested using Diamond Crystal coarse kosher salt. If you use Morton's kosher salt or fine salt, decrease the volume by half.)
balsamic vinegar
eggs
whole milk
heavy cream
olive oil
apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)
green onions (this is an onion pie, but the green onions add another savory onion element which is a welcome addition)
fresh thyme leaves (or dried if you are in a pinch)

Options for Pie Crust

I love baking with whole grains, and I especially love whole-grain pie crusts with savory pies. Included in the recipe is a link to my favorite Spelt Pie Crust, which is what I typically use when I make this pie. A Whole Wheat Pie Crust would also be great here. If you want something a little more classic, you could use my Butter Pie Crust (which you can make by hand, in the food processor or in a standmixer), Flaky Pie Crust, or my 3-ingredient Sour Cream Pie Crust.

One of the most feared outcomes for pie bakers is a "soggy bottom" pie. This can happen when the pie is baked at too low a temperature for the pie crust to be fully baked.

For this Butternut Squash Pie, the pie crust must be partially blind baked at a higher temperature of 425ºF to properly cook the pie crust before cooking the filling, which is baked at 375º.

Many people are intimidated by blind-baking a pie crust, but it's actually quite simple to do if you follow a few easy tips and tricks. The recipe includes instructions on how to do it below, but if you are new to blind baking, check out this Blind Baking Tutorial for a deeper dive into this subject.

Step-By-Step Recipe Overview

This is a quick visual overview of the steps needed to make this recipe. This is not the actual recipe, which is located at the end of this article and has much greater detail to ensure success.

Step 1: Make the pie crust and chill it.

Step 2: Make the caramelized onions.

Step 3: Dice and roast the butternut squash.

Step 4: Roll out and blind-bake the pie crust.

Savory squash filling ingredients being mixed together in a bowl.

Step 5: Mix the filling together.

An assembled but unbaked savory butternut squash with feta pie.

Step 6: Fill the blind-baked pie shell and bake.

How to Tell When It's Done

This savory pie includes an egg custard as part of the filling, so it's technically a quiche. Baking a quiche well requires ensuring that the eggs are fully cooked and set without crossing the line and becoming overbaked, which can lead to a tough, rubbery texture in the filling.

For a perfectly cooked quiche, look for the filling to be puffed almost entirely across the pie with a slight golden hue along the edges. The middle of the pie should reach an internal temperature of around 180°F.

The quiche should cool for about 10 minutes before serving, at this point, the filling will deflate slightly to form a flat surface.

Make-Ahead Suggestions

Many of the steps needed to complete this pie can be done several days ahead. The pie dough, roasted butternut squash, and caramelized onions can all be done up to 3 days ahead, if not more. But, the easiest way to make this recipe is to do it in two stages:

Day 1:

make pie dough (see note below for what type of pie crust works here)
caramelize onions
roast squash

Day 2:

roll out dough
blind-bake pie dough
assemble and bake the pie

More Savory Pies

I am so honored when you make a recipe from my site! If you make this Savory Butternut Squash Pie, please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating with your experience! If you have any questions about this recipe, feel free to comment here, and tag me on Instagram!

Full Recipe

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5 from 13 reviews

Savory Butternut Squash Pie

Recipe by Kelli Avila

This Savory Butternut Squash Pie with Caramelized Onions and Feta is bursting with flavor! It's one of those pies that you take a bite out of and just marvel at how flavorful it is! It's sweet, it's savory, and salty and should be your next baking project!

Print Recipe

Total Time1 hour 50 minutes
Yield8 servings

Ingredients

1 medium (about 2 pounds) butternut squash, peeled and diced to ¼” pieces (about 2-½ cups prepped)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
coarse kosher salt (see note)
3 large onions (about 3 pounds), peeled, halved and sliced
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 (9-inch) Spelt Pie Crust or Butter Pie Crust, prepared
2 large eggs
½ cup (115 grams) whole milk
¼ cup (55 grams) heavy cream
2 teaspoons (15 grams) apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)
1 teaspoon (3 grams) coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
½ cup (60 grams) crumbled feta cheese
2 green onions, sliced thin
1 teaspoon fresh picked thyme leaves

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Instructions

Prepare the Onions and the Squash:

Preheat the oven to 400ºF and set racks in the lower and middle parts of the oven.
On a rimmed baking sheet, toss together the butternut squash, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and a big pinch of salt. Roast in the preheated oven on the middle rack for 30 minutes, tossing halfway through, until the squash is tender with some caramelized bits. Remove and let cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, In a wide, heavy-bottomed pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil on medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 10 minutes, stirring a few times to make sure all of the onions get contact with the pan and start to soften.
Add a pinch of salt and stir to combine. Lower the heat to medium-low and let the onions sit undisturbed for 20 minutes.
Continue to cook for 15 more minutes, stirring the onions every 5 minutes at this point, a total of 3 times.
Stir in the balsamic vinegar and cook for about 5 more minutes. This is the point where the onions have the optimum texture and taste.
If you’d like your onions to be completely reduced and jammy, cook, stirring often, for another 10-15 minutes, but this is optional! Set aside to cool.

Prepare the Pastry:

Roll out the pie dough to an 11-inch circle. Fit the pastry into a 9-inch pie plate, making sure to press the pastry into the sides and the bottom. Crimp the edges as desired. Prick the bottom of the dough all over with a fork. Place the pie shell in the freezer for 15 minutes.
Increase the oven temperature to 425ºF.
Once chilled, line the pie shell with a round piece of parchment paper, then add pie weights (I recommend dry rice or beans or lentils), making sure to push the pie weights to the edges.
Bake on the lower rack for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and carefully remove the parchment and pie weights. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.

Assemble and Bake:

Lower the oven temperature to 375ºF.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper. Mix in the roasted squash, 1 cup of the caramelized onions, feta cheese, green onions, and thyme. Pour the filling into the parbaked crust.
Bake on the middle rack for 35-40 minutes or until the filling is completely set. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Let the pie cool for at least 5-10 minutes before slicing.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

You will only need 1 cup of the caramelized onions for the filling. Use any leftover for another use.

This recipe was tested using Diamond Crystal coarse kosher salt. If you use Morton's kosher salt or fine salt, decrease by half for volume.

You can complete many of the steps to this pie ahead of time. You can make the pie dough up to 3 days ahead of time (or longer if you freeze it, read more about that here) and caramelize the onions and roast the squash 3-5 days ahead of time. The entire pie can be made up to 1 day ahead of time and reheated in 350ºF until warm.

Prep Time: 00:30
Cook Time: 01:20
Category: Savory Pie
Method: Bake
Cuisine: American

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