It’s no secret by now that I LOVE Brussels sprouts. Whether they are roasted or shredded in a salad, they are one of my favorite vegetables. This time, Brussels sprouts are combined with butternut squash and chicken for an easy yet delicious main dish.
Sheet Pan Meal Prep
Have you tried sheet pan meals? Surely you have by now; they have been quite popular lately, and for good reason! I love the easy clean-up and fewer dishes to wash! To make this even easy to make on a week night, I personally will chop up the Brussels sprouts and butternut squash over the weekend; they will last for a couple days just fine in the fridge after they are cut up. I also will sometimes blend the maple Dijon sauce so everything is ready to throw on the sheet pan when I get home from work!
Maple Dijon Sauce
You may notice that the maple Dijon sauce looks quite similar to this recipe. I actually tried a couple different variations of marinades/sauces (including one with apple cider!) for this sheet pan at first, but wasn’t happy with any of them. So I went back to my tried and true sauce for these roasted Brussels sprouts, and made just a slight adjustment by adding 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and doubled the other ingredients since I had a larger quantity of food. Seriously, you guys…if you HAVE to try this sauce. Or should I call it a vinaigrette? Marinade? Not sure haha…but it is on point!
Recipe Testing
A quick note on the bacon. The first time I tested this recipe, I thought it would be a fun and creative idea to wrap the (uncooked) bacon around the chicken and then bake it all together on the same pan. It was disastrous!! The bacon did NOT get at all crispy, and made the vegetables soggy with all the fat that cooked off the bacon. I mean I still ate it and everything…but definitely not my favorite. So I highly recommend cooking the bacon on a separate sheet in the oven to get it nice and crispy, and then chopping it up and sprinkling it over the chicken and roasted veggies!
- 1 lb.(about 4 cups) diced butternut squash
- 1 lb. (about 4 cups) diced Brussels sprouts
- 1-1 ½ lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs (or breasts)
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons olive or sunflower oil
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- ½ lb bacon
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line two baking sheets with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- In a small bowl (or small food processor), blend the maple syrup, olive oil, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, garlic, and salt and pepper together until emulsified and combined.
- Place chicken, butternut squash, and Brussels sprouts on one of the prepared baking sheets and pour sauce ingredients over everything. Gently stir until everything is coated. Place bacon on second baking sheet.
- Bake at 400 degrees about 40 minutes, or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F and vegetables are cooked to your preference.
- Note the bacon will likely take less time to cook, probably about 25-30 minutes depending on your oven and how crispy you like it! Crumble bacon on top of chicken and veggies, and dig in! 🙂
Love, LOVE sheet pan dinners like this! All that fall goodness you piled into this chicken is making me drool! Definitely adding this one to the near-future dinner agenda. 🙂
yay! I know you’ll love it 🙂
Wow this combination of ingredients looks really delicious..Will try it soon definitely
So glad to hear it! Let me know how you like it 🙂
A lovely combination of flavors and textures.I love the Dijon and maple together. Perfect for this time of year.
Thank you! Yes it’s a delicious combination, and I love using seasonal produce!