Best Baked Chicken and Squash

If you're in the mood for chicken and seasonal veggies, our Baked Chicken and Squash recipe won't disappoint! This ONE PAN dish is simple, quick and full of our favorite fall veggies and flavors.

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A SIMPLE ONE PAN MEAL

Let's face it, one pan meals are amazing. For this dish, the majority of the work will be preparing the veggies. Thankfully, delicata squash is one of the easier squashes to cut…and it's on the smaller side. To make this dish you simply need to season and prep your chicken and chopped veggies and then toss them together in a sheet pan and bake. A delicious, healthy dinner in UNDER 30 minutes!

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Both Healthy and Delicious

Our Baked Chicken and Squash dish is definitely on the healthier side! Often in the late Fall/Winter, we get excited about comfort foods involving heavier fats, sauces, creamy things, etc. I'm talking chicken & mash with gravy, ya know. But here we have something equally hearty and belly-warming, but much cleaner. The ingredients are simple, there are no gravies or heavy sauces, and the chicken is baked. When roasted, the squash imparts so much flavor, as well. And the Brussels sprouts are best roasted (I think)!

I think sometimes we forget how the simple trio of salt-pepper-oil is all you need for flavor. FYI, we are big fans of Carapelli Olive Oil.

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Time Saving Tips & Tricks

• Choose chicken thighs. Because we were tailoring our baked chicken and squash recipe to a 28 minute timeline, we selected a cut that cooks fast. Note that if you are working with a bone-in cut or something thicker than thighs, like a chicken breast, you'll need a longer cook-time.
• Heat oven right away.  It's really important to heat your oven right away because we allot only 8 mins for prep and 20 mins for baking.
• Enlist little helpers. Also, because of the short time allotted, it's important to cut the veggies quickly. I got my daughter to rinse and pat dry the veggies. Then she cut the Brussels sprouts while I cut the squash and onion. This task allocation did save a little time, although the Brussels sprouts ended up very interestingly shaped. Lol!
• Use jarred garlic instead of fresh and refrigerated lemon juice instead of juicing a lemon. Buy a bag of pre-rinsed Brussels sprouts.

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How to Make this Dish

Ingredients

Notes on ingredients:

• Chicken thighs- use kitchen shears  to clip off the excess fat
• Delicata squash- on the smaller size
• Brussel Sprouts- halved or quartered depending on size
• Herbs-Rosemary OR Thyme sprigs add a wonderful flavor

Instructions

STEP 1: HEAT OVEN & SEASON CHICKEN

🥄 Kids Step: Measure salt and sugar! Cooking is a great chance to teach kids about measurements.

STEP 2: PREP VEGGIES

🥄 Kids Step: Your kids can rinse and dry the veggies while you prep the chicken. All they need is a colander (like the one in this Joseph Joseph Nesting Set), stool and towel. Then, your kids can help cut veggies. These are great knives for the task: Curious Chef Kids Knife and Opinel Le Petite Chef Knife (my kids' fave!). Note: We recommend that an adult cuts the squash. But your little can definitely get nice and messy scooping out the seeds!

STEP 3: COMBINE ALL, TOP WITH LEMON JUICE & HERBS, AND BAKE

🥄 Kids Step: Add rosemary. If you have a garden with rosemary, have your child snip some rosemary. We love these Kuhn Rikon Kids Snippers.

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FAQ

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Customize Baked Chicken & Squash

Here are some simple ways to change the vibe of our Best Baked Chicken and Squash Recipe:

🍅 Use different veggies. While we loved the flavor and texture of delicata squash, feel free to roast potatoes, carrots, parsnips, cauliflower or broccoli instead. Just try not to double up on flavor, i.e. potatoes + squash would be too starchy. Or try not to double up on the same nutrients. For instance, broccoli and Brussels sprouts are both cruciferous veggies, high in vitamin C and fiber. So, maybe just roast one of those. Just try to mix it up.

🍅 Decrease the salt. I think this baked chicken and squash recipe is great as is, but if you're looking to minimize your salt intake, cut a teaspoon out of the veggie prep and add in another seasoning, if you like.

🍅Add a side, like rice. I don't know why chicken and rice is such a surefire combo for kids. If you're not sure how the kids will take to squash and Brussels sprouts, maybe make some quick rice and frozen peas as a back up.

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Other One Pan Meals

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CRAFT FOR THIS  RECIPE:

The Most Adorable DIY Napkin Rings! Jazz up your table with these adorable DIY napkin rings! Easy to make, using your old toilet paper rolls. Let kids decorate the holiday table with this festive and sweet craft!

 

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