Sweet & Spicy Chicken with Butternut Squash

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!

plate of chicken and butternut squash

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.

chicken and squash piled on a pretty plate

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

chicken and butternut squash ingredients

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.

cut up butternut squash

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 seasonings on chicken and squash

Pour the seasoning mixture over the chicken & squash, then toss gently until everything is nicely coated.

chicken and squash on the baking pan

Arrange the chicken & squash in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet, keeping the chicken skin-side up.

cooked chicken and squash on the baking pan

Roast at 400 degrees for 40 minutes, or until chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees, stirring the squash halfway through.

plate of chicken and squash

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…

sweet & spicy chicken with butternut 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

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Sweet & Spicy Chicken with Butternut Squash

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!
Course dinner
Cuisine sheet pan
Keyword butternut squash, chicken, one pan meal, sheet pan, sheet pan dinner
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 4
Author Rachel Singer

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

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.

Butternut squash fan?

butternut squash

Looking for more butternut squash recipes? Well, why not try:

These are two more solid options for your harvest veggie fall & winter dinner rotation.

Recipes in the real world

weekly ALDI meal plans from Mashup Mom -- six complete dinners for four, $60 out the door! MashupMom.com, every Wednesday.

Be sure not to miss the free weekly ALDI meal plans, which show you how to use these easy family recipes to meal plan affordably and realistically for your family. Or, find more recipe ideas with the Recipe Search!


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