One Pan Butternut Squash, Chicken, and Rice Bake
One pan meals are my absolute favorite thing to make for weeknight dinners or a cozy Saturday night in. The thing is, one pan meals don’t need to be boring. This is a one pan meal have so many layers of flavor but also just feels so warm and cozy. It’s perfect for this time of year to warm up, eat something nourishing, and have a good meal with friends or family. This dish features some of my favorite ingredients, including lemons, butternut squash, chicken and rosemary. Definitely try this one out this season!
ONE PAN BUTTERNUT SQUASH, CHICKEN, & RICE BAKE
4
servings15
minutes45
minutesOne pan meals are my absolute favorite thing to make for weeknight dinners or a cozy Saturday night in. The thing is, one pan meals don’t need to be boring. This is a one pan meal have so many layers of flavor but also just feels so warm and cozy. It’s perfect for this time of year to warm up, eat something nourishing, and have a good meal with friends or family. This dish features some of my favorite ingredients, including lemons, butternut squash, chicken and rosemary. Definitely try this one out this season!
Keep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
2 tablespoons avocado or olive oil
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus additional to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 shallot, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed (about half of a medium butternut squash)
2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
3/4 cup canned coconut milk (half of a 13.5oz can)
juice of 1/2 lemon (~2 tbsp)
1 cup dry jasmine or basmati rice, rinsed
2 -4 sprigs of fresh rosemary, optional for topping
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, deep oven-safe skillet.
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then season on all sides with the salt, back pepper and smoked paprika.
- Add the chicken to the skillet and cook for about five minutes on each side, until crisp and just about fully cooked (note: if your chicken thighs are large or breasts are thicker than 1-inch, add at least 2 additional minutes per side of cook time). Remove from the skillet and set aside.
- In the same skillet, add the shallot and cook, stirring often, until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the garlic, dried thyme, and dried rosemary, and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, another 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the cubed butternut squash, mix to combine, and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly crisp but not fully cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add the rice and cook, stirring continuously until lightly toasted, 30 to 60 second. Season with a few pinches of salt. Pour in the broth, coconut milk, and lemon juice. Mix to incorporate. If the rice is not covered in liquid, add water 1/4 cup at a time until submerged.
- Place the chicken on top of the rice, top with the fresh rosemary sprigs, and bake until the rice has absorbed almost all of the liquid and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF, 23 to 28 minutes.
- For best results, let the skillet rest covered loosely with foil or a lid, for 10 minutes after removing from the oven.
Notes
- Storage: Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days.
- Reheating: Heat in a microwave safe dish for 2 to 4 minutes, until heated through.
- Swaps and substitutions Replace the coconut milk with light coconut milk or light cream.
RATE THIS RECIPE
Did you make this recipe?
Snap a photo & tag @jenneatsgoood on INSTAGRAM
If you try out this recipe, I want to know!
Leave a comment with a star rating below if you love it.
Suggestions for cooking this without a cast iron skillet? I have a ceramic dutch oven or a deep stainless steel sauté pan (oven safe).
Any oven safe skillet will work for this!
I made this dish tonight. Followed the recipe exactly. Worse thing I’ve ever eaten! Completely tasteless! My grown son agreed.
Absolutely loved this dinner! The perfect, cozy fall feast.
I used a deep, large stainless steel pan, worked GREAT!!! So delicious, everyone LOVED it, even my picky eaters!
Should the skillet be covered or uncovered when placed in the oven?
Uncovered!
Would there be any changes to timing or amount of liquids if using brown rice?
What can I substitute coconut milk for? We like dairy. Heavy cream?
Regular cream will work!
Do you soak your rice before using it ?
Should the butternut squash be cooked prior to making with the other ingredients?
This dish is so delicious! My husband and I have made it multiple times. Also easy and pretty quick! We don’t use cast iron and it still tastes great. The coconut milk adds just a hint of sweetness to the rice which is perfect but does not taste super coconut-y! I have also shared this recipe with many friends and family!
This was my first recipe of yours I made and it was a big hit with the whole family (including two mildly picky toddlers)! It’s so helpful to have the rice/liquid ratios and now I can’t wait to experiment with my own flavor/ingredient variations.
So flavorful, plus I love the easy cleanup on this recipe!
I made this recipe for tonight’s dinner and my husband and I loved it…followed recipe exactly and love the ease of only one pan to clean up…keep sharing your amazing recipes !!
Can I use frozen butternut squash? I’m so excited to try this tonight!
My husband requests this meal almost once a week! We love it and have made it again and again!!!
I tried making this without an ovenproof skillet by transferring everything to a metal pan just before placing in the oven, and it doesn’t really work. The rice never cooked through. The flavor was tasty though.
Delicious! I added the lemon zest (we love lemon) and it was wonderful! I will definitely make again and add to our rotation. I know I’ll have to share with my daughters! Thanks Jenn!
I made this for the first time tonight and it won’t be the last. Such great fall flavors. My squash had spoiled so I omitted that and served the chicken and rice with seasoned steamed broccoli on the side. Thanks for a quick, easy and super delicious dinner!
This was so delicious. I’m so happy to have leftovers and will definitely be making again. 👏
This recipe came together so easily and was absolutely DELICIOUS! Will definitely be making this again ! Thank you!
I was a little skeptical about this recipe. Even made a mistake and it still turned out great! Definitely a do over!
Made this and loved how it turned out, plus the clean up was super easy as I prepped the squash beforehand. My fiance who doesn’t really like veggies even said he liked the dish! Will be making again.
This is an amazing and absolute must to try. It’s become my favourite meal. Have changed it slightly in respect that we cube the chicken to fry and seal, set it to one side and add it back juices and all just before you add the rice. I
Thank you so much for this recipe! I love the flavors. I can’t figure out how to get the rice to evenly cook so I may adjust in the future, but this is still a go to recipe for me and my family!! (If anyone has tips on how to get the rice to cook, please share! I have about 1/4 of it still uncooked while the rest is cooked.)
Can I use quinoa instead of rice?
Yummy!
Do you know the nutritional contents of this dish?
This was delicious; great combination of flavors, as usual! The seasoning on the chicken was perfect- not overpowering and really infused savory smokiness into the entire dish. The coconut milk adds so much to the rice, don’t skip it. The one dish meal is a winner for clean up, and this one will definitely be in our fall rotation. I am always in a quandary on how to best use butternut squash this time of year, so am really loving these fall recipes to help me incorporate it more. Thank you for another excellent recipe!
I would recommend browning the chicken on one side. Cooking almost all the way and then an additional 20 minutes yielded nearly unchewable chicken. Should have followed my instincts. Ugh! A waste of ingredients.
Delicious and easy!
This was so easy and so delicious! Loved it!
So delicious.
It did take double the time for the rice to cook in the oven though.
Also next time will be doubling the amount of chicken – lots of squash and rice left over
Such a great fall dish!
This is the perfect Fall comfort meal, and the leftovers reheat so well.
Hi, do you happen to know the macros on this?
I had a butternut squash and some chicken and googled chicken and butternut squash recipes and this recipe came up. So glad I made this! Loved it!
This has become our go-to fall-winter dinner! So cozy, so good!
Myself and my husband and kids really enjoyed this dish. I served it with collard greens brazed in coconut milk. Rice is my nemesis and it came out perfectly.