An easy skillet chicken and butternut squash dinner that's ready in 30 minutes. Juicy chicken and butternut squash are flavored with honey, mustard and spices to make a wonderful meal.
If you're looking for an easy chicken dinner recipe with lots of flavor, you're in the right place. I'm going to show you how to make the most delicious skillet chicken and butternut squash! Just like our Italian skillet chicken and lemon butter chicken, this dish is a tasty combination of spices, vegetables and, of course, chicken.
This post is sponsored by iHerb. All opinions are mine.
Table Of Contents:
Skillet chicken with butternut squash
This is one of my favorite recipes for weeknight dinners in fall and winter. In addition to having bright colors and warm flavors, I love that this dish uses seasonal ingredients and comes together in such a short time.
The key to a good skillet dinner is high quality olive oil and a good combination of spices to make sure that everything is flavorful. You don't need many ingredients and certainly not many hours to put together a delicious meal. With just a few ingredients and about 30 minutes, you'll have a one pan chicken dinner that's packed with amazing flavors.
The ingredients
To make this one pan chicken and butternut squash recipe, you need the following ingredients:
- Chicken - I used chicken tenders for this recipe but it's also possible to use chicken breast or chicken thighs.
- Olive oil - A bottle of quality olive oil goes a long way. I used olive oil both for the quick marinade and for cooking.
- Spices - A combination of cinnamon, turmeric, salt and pepper would add so much flavor to this dish.
- Onion - Every delicious dinner starts with a large onion chopped and sautéed in some olive oil.
- Garlic - I use enough garlic to make sure the dish has some garlic flavor without being overpowering.
- Butternut squash - You can get store-bought pre cut butternut squash or you can cut your own. As I've mentioned in my roasted butternut squash recipe, to easily peel and dice the butternut squash, cut it in half and poke a few holes on the skin. Then microwave for about 3 minutes on high. Let it cool just a bit and then peel and cut into pieces.
- Honey - Since butternut squash has a tad bit of sweetness to it, I also added some raw honey to enhance that flavor.
- Dijon mustard - The combination of honey and Dijon mustard complements the chicken and butternut squash pretty well.
- Chicken broth - You can use chicken broth, chicken stock, vegetable stock or just water.
- Walnuts - For a little bit of crunch, add some walnuts to the chicken and butternut squash at the very end.
- Pomegranate - I love adding pomegranates to my dishes. Not only do they add such vibrant color, but they also add a burst of flavor to the chicken that you will love!
What did I get on iHerb?
It was such a fun experience to order groceries from iHerb. Easy and convenient is my jam and iHerb delivers those! iHerb offers over 30,000 items and ships to over 180 countries, meaning you can order and receive your products even if you're not in the US. (As a frequent traveler, I love this!) And if you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to them - iHerb offers customer service 24/7 in 10 languages.
I got so many goodies, including extra virgin olive oil, walnuts, honey and Dijon mustard for this recipe. I also went ahead and ordered some of my favorite treats such as extreme dark chocolate, espresso beans dark chocolate, pomegranate flavored pistachios (YUM!!), crackers, dark chocolate peanut butter, ghee and paprika (I can never have enough paprika!).
I had to wait only a couple of days to receive my order and everything arrived in the perfect condition thanks to iHerb shipping from climate-controlled distribution centers. The nuts were fresh and everything was high quality. I love that I could find everything I wanted on iHerb and didn't need to go from one supermarket to the other to find exactly what I was looking for.
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How to make skillet chicken with butternut squash
Sear the chicken
In a bowl mix the chicken tenders with olive oil, turmeric, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat and sear the tenders for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. You don't need to cook them completely at this stage. Take the chicken tenders out of the pan and onto a plate.
Cook the vegetables
Heat some olive oil in the same pan over medium heat. Sauté onion until golden and soft. Add the minced garlic and cook for a minute.
Add butternut squash to the skillet and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Uncover and give it a nice stir, then cover again and cook for 5 more minutes. Next, add the chicken, honey, Dijon mustard and chicken broth to the butternut squash and bring it to a simmer. Cover and let it cook for about 10 to 15 minutes until the butternut squash is soft and the sauce has thickened.
Final touches
Turn the heat off and add in the walnuts and pomegranate arils. Top with some parsley and serve warm.
Serving suggestions
You can serve this dish on its own because it has all the protein and vegetables in one skillet. However, you can also serve it with the following side dishes:
- Salads such as Mediterranean salad, cucumber tomato avocado salad or fattoush salad.
- Rice dishes such as white rice, brown rice, tomato rice or rice with vermicelli.
- Starchy sides such as Greek potatoes or Greek oven baked fries.
Notes and tips
- You can marinade the chicken tenders and keep in the fridge a few hours ahead of time and start cooking when you're ready.
- Instead of chicken tenders, you can use boneless skinless chicken breast cut into small pieces or chicken thighs. Cooking times might vary.
- If you like this dish to be a bit spicy, add ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper to the spice mix and olive oil.
- Store the leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Step-by-Step Recipe
Skillet Chicken and Butternut Squash Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb chicken tenders
- 4 tbsp olive oil divided
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 large onion diced
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lb butternut squash cut into small cubes
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ cup walnuts chopped
- ½ cup pomegranate arils
Instructions
- In a bowl mix chicken tenders, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, turmeric, cinnamon, salt and pepper.
- Heat the skillet over medium heat and sear the chicken for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. They don't need to be cooked completely. Take the chicken out of the skillet and onto a plate.
- Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the same pan over medium heat.
- Sauté onion until golden and soft. Add in minced garlic and cook for one minute.
- Add butternut squash and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Uncover and stir. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Place the chicken back in the skillet and add the honey and dijon mustard. Pour in the chicken broth and gently stir to combine.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes until the butternut squash is fully cooked and the sauce has thickened.
- Turn the heat off and add the walnuts and pomegranates.
Notes
- You can marinade the chicken tenders and keep in the fridge a few hours ahead of time and start cooking when you're ready.
- Instead of chicken tenders, you can use boneless skinless chicken breast cut into small pieces or chicken thighs. Cooking time might vary.
- If you like this dish to be a bit spicy, add ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper to the spice mix and olive oil.
- Store the leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Tracy Miller
This is a lovely recipe. I used a bit more broth than what is called for, and I added chickpeas. Just delicious!!!!
Shadi HasanzadeNemati
Thank you Tracy!
David Kerr
This is a genius recipe! What a delightful intercontinental combination of flavors. It took us more than 30 minutes, but well worth it - $$$ Restaurant quality! (If we added tenders at the very tail end to avoid overcooking.) Looking forward to explore your site for more recipes.