Sheet-Pan Chicken With Squash, Fennel and Sesame

By Nik Sharma

Updated November 5, 2020

  • Nik Sharma for The New York Times (Photography and Styling)
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
40 minutes
Rating
4(519)
Comments
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This recipe, created with the convenience of sheet pans in mind, has an effortless charm. Crisp-skinned chicken thighs and caramelized butternut squash get smokiness from chipotle and nuttiness from sesame seeds. The sweet flavors of the fennel and squash play off each other, while a generous sprinkling of lime juice adds a hit of acid for contrast. Feel free to swap butternut squash with your favorite fall squash. You can peel it before you cook, but you can also leave the skin on. Once roasted until tender, it’ll release the squash easily when you eat it.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 1 large butternut squash, scrubbed (about 3 pounds)

  • 2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 6 to 8 thighs)

  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  • 2 tablespoons lime juice plus 1 lime, cut into wedges

  • 2 tablespoons ground coriander

  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

  • 1 tablespoon ground fennel

  • 1 teaspoon chipotle powder

  • Fine sea salt

  • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro or flat-leaf parsley

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

46 grams carbs; 331 milligrams cholesterol; 1032 calories; 32 grams monounsaturated fat; 14 grams polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams saturated fat; 69 grams fat; 9 grams fiber; 1685 milligrams sodium; 61 grams protein; 8 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 425 degrees. Trim and discard the ends of the squash, and halve the squash lengthwise. Scrape out and discard the seeds and pulp, then slice ¾-inch thick. Place slices in a large mixing bowl.

  2. Step 2

    Pat the chicken thighs dry with clean paper towels and add them to the squash.

  3. Step 3

    In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, lime juice, coriander, sesame, fennel and chipotle. Drizzle the mixture over the chicken and squash. Season with salt and toss to coat evenly.

  4. Step 4

    Spread the squash in a single layer on a large rimmed sheet pan. Place the chicken thighs skin-side up on top of the squash and roast until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees and the skin of the chicken and the squash turns golden brown, at least 30 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes.

  5. Step 5

    Transfer the chicken and squash to a serving dish. Sprinkle the cilantro on top and serve immediately with lime wedges on the side.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
519 user ratings
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Comments

Food Lover

A keeper! So easy and delicious. I made the recipe pretty much as is, except no fennel powder b/c I didn’t have. I did add sliced fennel and leeks to the mix. The spice combo was great. Lime is so wonderful with squash! Definitely roast the squash seeds while the chicken is cooking (olive oil, salt, cumin and chipotle. Shower them and chopped cilantro over everything when serving. Will be in the rotation for sure!

Kirsten

The butternut squash needed a little more time than the chicken. Suggest either starting it sooner, or peel the squash and cut it in to 1/2" cubes.

CarolM

Made this and think it should be cooked longer, more like 45- 50 mins. Broil for a few mins. as well to brown and crisp up chicken

Aaron

Excellent recipe! I altered the recipe somewhat using butternut squash from our garden (our first batch of the season and the first recipe we used it in!) and adjusted the wet mixture by adding maple syrup, zaatar, cumin, an additional tablespoon of fennel, garlic scapes and subbed the chipotle pepper with cayenne, ancho pepper, hot pepper flakes and ground all the dry ingredients together. I added more olive oil and lime juice because the mixture was a bit thicker than I wanted. I also added quartered citrus including lemons in the cast iron skillet last because citrus usually softens and enhances any poultry dish, (TG turkeys, too, if you add it to the cavity). The final result is soooooooooooo good. The skin is definitely tender enough to eat, as well. We’re enjoying some of the remnants from our summer garden tonight serving this with our own tomatoes and locally sourced sourdough. Thank you, NYT for such a wonderful recipe for butternut squash!!

Sarah

Better with boneless thighs!

CRL

Underrated recipe! 5 stars for sure. Really flavorful and easy...and so good I saved it to my dinner party recipe list. I was originally looking for something with whole fennel, so I just added thin slices to the sheet pan, which turned out great -- and (with other commenters' advice) made my squash slices skinnier to balance the cooking time with the chicken.

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