In today’s sheet pan dinner recipe, beautifully caramelized pieces of butternut squash pair with juicy oven-roasted chicken thighs. Sweet & Spicy Chicken with Butternut Squash has it all!
Today’s Sweet & Spicy Chicken with Butternut Squash recipe is a whole mood, isn’t it? The same sweet & spicy flavors carry through from the squash to the chicken, but play out differently on each. Since butternut squash is fairly sweet to begin with, we’re just playing up that flavor with a little brown sugar, then balancing it out with some smoky/spicy/savory seasonings. As for the chicken, it ends up juicy delicious with its sweet & spicy thing going on, and everything just works together beautifully.
Look at all of that warm goodness from but one single pan. (You might want to add a simple green veggie to balance things out, and then you’ll have yourself a complete comfort food meal.) Bone-in thighs stay juicier in the oven, too, making them a good choice for this recipe where the squash needs to cook for a while to caramelize.
Sweet & Spicy Chicken with Butternut Squash
Ingredients
2.5-3 lbs bone-in chicken thighs
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter, melted
3 Tbsp packed brown sugar
2 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne (reduce or omit if sensitive to spice)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a rimmed baking pan with cooking spray.
Trim the chicken. Peel and cube your squash.
Place the chicken & squash in a large bowl, and combine the olive oil, melted butter, brown sugar, and seasonings in a small bowl.
Pour the seasoning mixture over the chicken & squash, then toss gently until everything is nicely coated.
Arrange the chicken & squash in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet, keeping the chicken skin-side up.
Roast at 400 degrees for 40 minutes, or until chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees, stirring the squash halfway through.
Serve your sweet & spicy chicken alongside the totally delectable, melt-in-your-mouth, deliciously caramelized butternut squash! (I topped mine with a bit of dried parsley for the photos, but that’s optional.)
Note: You can add another veggie to the sheet pan, too, if you’d like a bit more variety or to get some green in there. You could also line your baking sheet with foil for easier cleanup, although mine came clean with just a bit of scrubbing.
You have to taste this squash…
The chicken here is quite good, but the squash is something else entirely! Its soft, almost creamy interior contrasts with the slightly chewy, caramelized outside, while the spices add a welcome heat that brings a little bite to its sweetness. The flavor is out of this world, and I could just eat it all day… but, alas, I had to share this meal with others.
When you pair that lovely squash with the satisfying chicken, this recipe makes for a happy little comfort food meal — and, it’s naturally gluten free.
Sweet & Spicy Chicken with Butternut Squash, printable recipe
Sweet & Spicy Chicken with Butternut Squash
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2.5-3 lbs bone-in chicken thighs
- 1 medium butternut squash peeled and cubed
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp butter melted
- 3 Tbsp packed brown sugar
- 2 tsp Kosher salt
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne reduce or omit if sensitive to spice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a rimmed baking pan with cooking spray.
- Trim the chicken. Peel and cube your squash.
- Place the chicken & squash in a large bowl, and combine the olive oil, melted butter, brown sugar, and seasonings in a small bowl.
- Pour the seasoning mixture over the chicken & squash, then toss gently until everything is nicely coated.
- Arrange the chicken & squash in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet, keeping the chicken skin-side up.
- Roast at 400 degrees for 40 minutes, or until chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees, stirring the squash halfway through.
- Serve your sweet & spicy chicken alongside the totally delectable, melt-in-your-mouth, deliciously caramelized butternut squash! (I topped mine with a bit of dried parsley for the photos, but that’s optional.)
Notes
Butternut squash fan?
Looking for more butternut squash recipes? Well, why not try:
These are two more solid options for your harvest veggie fall & winter dinner rotation.
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