Butternut Squash, Apple + Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner {Paleo, Whole30, DF, GF}

Dairy-Free, Entrees, Gluten-Free, Paleo, Recipe, Whole30

November 9, 2019

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This Butternut Squash, Apple, + Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner is a quick + easy weeknight or any night dinner that is not only easy but you can feel good knowing you are serving a healthy delicious dinner! Only 5 ingredients + Salt and Pepper, all cooked on one sheet pan to not only make dinner easy but also dishes!! Perfect for your whole family but looks pretty enough to serve to your dinner guests!

Fall is such a fun season to cook in! I’m loving cooking with squash this year! I’m realizing I need to add it more into our lives all year round! It’s delicious, healthy and my husband likes it…bonus!!

I also love easy one-pan dinners that are easy to throw together on a weeknight! With only 5 main ingredients + using chicken thighs makes this an inexpensive meal as well! I have also made this recipe with chicken legs and sweet potato…also delicious!

It’s great when dinner is not only easy to prepare but also healthy! Anti-inflammatories from the butternut and apples, vitamins, and minerals from every ingredient of this recipe (see posts in next paragraph) + protein from the chicken and there’s even a little protein in the butternut:).

For some of the awesome nutritional benefits of the ingredients in this Butternut Squash, Apple + Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner check out my Creamy Chicken Acron Squash Bowl + Quinoa Salmon Bowl w/ Apple, Butternut Squash + Greens posts!

Chicken, Butternut Squash, Apple, Sage, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Sea Salt + Pepper and you have yourself a delicious healthy + inexpensive meal!

I hope you enjoy this recipe and remember to eat all the squash you can while it’s farm-fresh! The fresher it is the more vitamins + minerals and the closer you are the farmer the better for nutrient value + you are supporting your local farmers!

You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients. -Julia Child

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Butternut Squash, Apple + Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner {Paleo, Whole30, GF, DF}

This Quick + Easy Weeknight or any night dinner is a not only easy but you can feel good knowing you are serving a healthy delicious dinner to your family! Only 5 ingredients + Salt and Pepper, all cooked on one sheet pan to not only make dinner easy but also dishes!! Perfect for your whole family but also looks pretty enough to serve to your dinner guests!
You can use bone-in skin-on chicken thighs or drumsticks in this recipe. You could also sub the butternut squash for sweet potato {I have done both and they are also delicious!}.
4-6 Servings. This recipe is easily adaptable to add more or less chicken, butternut and/or apple.
Course: Dinner, Entree
Cuisine: dairy-free, gluten-free, paleo, whole30
Keyword: apple, butternut squash, chicken, chicken thighs, crispy sage, quick and easy dinner, savory apple, sheet pan dinner
Author: Alicia Raymond

Ingredients

  • 4-7 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. See note above.
  • 5 cups 3/4-1 inch peeled, seeded + diced butternut squash. See note above.
  • 1 large honeycrisp apple** about 3/4 to 1 inch diced (about 3 cups diced). See note above as well.
  • 1 cup fresh sage leaves
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt + pepper

Instructions

  • Preheat oven 450 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchament paper.
  • Wash and dry chicken well. Place on sheet pan.
  • Add cubed butternut + apple + sage leaves to the pan, leaving the chicken uncovered.
  • Drizzle evoo all over chicken + butternut and apples. Be generous, but not too generous (I got a little carried away;)).
  • Salt and pepper chicken and the rest of the pan, making sure everything is well seasoned.
  • Using your hand rub evoo, salt + pepper into chicken and mix butternut, apple + sage with the evoo, salt + pepper well. Really get it there!
  • Try to make sure all-most of the butternut and apples are touching the bottom of the pan, but no worries if it doesn't all fit. Place pan in preheated oven.
  • At about 30 minutes check the pan to see if you need to drain some of the juices (+ I was a little too generous with the evoo). I had to do this with this recipe; however, when I've made it before with drumsticks and sweet potatoes I did not need to do this, so just take a peek. If there's a lot of juice, very carefully drain the juices off and place back in the oven. The apple also helps contribute to all the juices.
  • Roast at 450 degrees for about 45 minutes. Cooking time will depend on the size and how much chicken you have. Cook until chicken is golden brown, has an internal temp of 165 degrees and the apples + butternut squash are fork-tender. The good news is that due to the fat content of bone-in, skin-in chicken it's a little more difficult to overcook:).
  • You can eat the crispy sage whole or crumble it on top of everything. Enjoy!!

Notes

*I haven’t used other apple varieties here. Honeycrips are pretty juicy so a less-juicy variety may be even better! I like that honeycrip aren’t too sweet. 

Resources:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-health-benefits-of-apples#section6

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/butternut-squash#nutrition

https://articles.extension.org/pages/19885/how-long-do-fruits-and-vegetables-retain-their-nutrients

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