Butternut squash, chicken, shallots and sourdough bread combine to form a tasty fall Panzanella salad, all cooked on a single sheet pan it's an easy option for weeknight dinner!
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Cool, shorter days mean that cozy meals tend to be on the mind and having several everyday options on hand is essential when days get busy and you need to get something on the table quickly.
The inspiration for this recipe actually comes from one of the recipes I received from Plated. While I loved their ingredients and the idea of a fall/winter Panzanella dish, I wanted to make the preparation easier and make it a bit healthier. I ended up making a number of modifications to come up with this easy sheet-pan meal!
Maybe you're having a crazy week but with this easy sheet pan meal at least you've got dinner covered! Read on to learn more about how to make this Chicken and Butternut Sheet Pan Dinner, or jump straight to the recipe to start cooking!
Contents:
Recipe Highlights
- In addition to being easy, this Panzanella packs some great flavor too.
- The method is pretty simple - veggies, protein, carbs, toss with oil, bake and you've got a simple and relatively healthy meal.
- One-pan meals are a genius idea! They are a great way to reduce both hands-on cooking and clean-up time.
- A sheet pan meal is great for those days when you get home from work and don't really feel like cooking!
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken breast: You'll want one very large or two smaller boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
- Butternut squash: While you can use frozen butternut squash for this recipe, the result is not quite the same so I recommend using fresh squash. If you don't want to take the time to peel and cube fresh squash many grocery stores sell it already peeled and cubed. You'll need about half of a large squash.
- Bread: I like sourdough best for this recipe, but any crusty bread will work.
- Parmesan cheese: Freshly grated is the best option for this dish.
- Shallot: I recommend using fresh shallots in this recipe, however, you can use freeze dried if necessary
- Spices: dried thyme, sea salt, ground pepper
- Pantry staples: Olive oil, sherry vinegar, dijon mustard, garlic cloves
How to make this recipe
I love this dish because it’s a one-pan meal and really easy to make, which makes it ideal for a weeknight dinner.
Prepare the squash. You start this dish by chopping the squash. You can put the squash in the microwave for about 2 minutes to make it a bit easier to cut. Once it's chopped into cubes, you'll season it with thyme, salt, pepper and olive oil.
Prepare the bread cubes. Next, you'll toss the bread cubes with oil so they crisp up nicely when you bake them.
Season the chicken. Brush both sides of the chicken breast with olive oil and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.
Bake everything. Since it takes longer to cook, you give the squash a headstart by adding it to the baking pan first. Once it's been in the oven for 10 minutes, you'll remove the tray and add the bread cubes, garlic cloves and chicken. I like to put the chicken breasts on some parchment paper on one side of the baking tray. It helps to contain the juices from the chicken and makes clean-up even easier. Once all the components have been added to the tray, return it to the oven and let everything finish cooking.
Make the vinaigrette. While the squash and chicken are cooking, you can assemble the vinaigrette. A small bowl and whisk work for this step but I like to use a small mason jar when making dressings. You just add the ingredients to the jar and seal the lid tightly then shake until everything is combined. It's super easy and saves the step of whisking.
Tools you'll want for this recipe
Half sheet pan – Half sheet pans are a kitchen essential. The low sides make them ideal for baking things that have some juice. They work great for cooking bacon in the oven and baking cookies too!
Handheld Juicer – I love these juicers – you’ll see me mention them often in blog posts. They come in three sizes – lime, lemon, and orange
Serving Suggestions
You basically have all of your food groups covered in this one-pan meal. If you want some greens you can toss up a simple green salad to have on the side!
More easy weeknight recipes
If you are looking for other easy everyday meals check out these reader favorites:
- Baked Chicken Milanese. This baked chicken dish gets topped with salad to create an elegant weeknight meal.
- Deconstructed Skillet Lasagna. This Deconstructed Skillet Lasagna gives you that great lasagna taste without all the fuss of traditional lasagne, making it an easy weeknight meal for two!
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Sheet Pan Roasted Butternut Squash & Chicken Dinner
Ingredients
For the sheet pan:
- 3 cups cubed butternut squash, about half a squash
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced shallots
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups sourdough bread cubes
- 8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 4 whole garlic cloves, peeled
- salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese
For the vinaigrette:
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoon minced shallot
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Heat the oven. Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large bowl mix the squash, 1 tablespoon olive oil, shallots, thyme, pepper and salt. Toss to coat.
- Roast the squash. Cover ⅓ of the baking tray with parchment paper. Add the squash to the side of the tray not covered with parchment. Roast for 10 minutes.
- Prepare the bread cubes. While the squash is roasting, add the bread cubes to the bowl. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and toss to coat.
- Season the chicken. Brush both sides of the chicken breast with olive oil and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.
- Cook the chicken. After 10 minutes remove the baking tray from the oven. Add the bread cubes and garlic cloves to the squash. Place the chicken on the side of the tray covered with parchment paper. Return pan to the oven and bake for an additional 25 minutes.
- Make the vinaigrette. While the squash and chicken are cooking, make the vinaigrette by combining the sherry and dijon mustard in a small bowl. Whisk until well mixed. Add pepper, shallots and olive oil. Continue whisking until fully combined. Set aside until ready to serve.
- Chop the chicken. When the chicken and squash are done cooking, remove the tray from the oven. Slice or shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Remove the garlic cloves from the pan and set aside.
- Serve. Divide the squash and bread cubes between two salad-size bowls. Add half of the chicken to each bowl. Squeeze one roasted garlic clove into each bowl. Add the shallot vinaigrette and grated parmesan, and toss to combine. Serve immediately.
Notes
This post was originally published in December 2016. It was updated in December 2022 with some new information and photos. No changes were made to the original recipe.
Katrin says
We're all looking forward to eating lighter again in this house. This dish is the perfect start!
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way says
This sounds delicious! In our household, we are planning to eat lighter in the coming months. This is really a keeper.
FoodieGirlChicago says
Thanks Marisa!
Amy Nash says
I love one-pan meals as well but don't have one using butternut squash! This sounds really good! I'm starting a round of Whole 30 in January so I would have to leave out the sourdough bread cubes & parmesan. Maybe I could replace them with brussel sprouts? Or cubed potatoes?
FoodieGirlChicago says
Hi Amy - I'm impressed with you starting Whole30; I keep saying I need to do it! I think that either brussels or potatoes would work in this recipe. Let me know how it turns out with the substitution!
Sara says
I love the idea of a traybake! And the combination of flavors you've got in this recipe sound amazing together. Seems like a huge win with the ease of cleanup, but also sounds really delicious!
Christine says
Love meals like this - Definitely pinning this for later!
Anne says
Yum i love sheet pan meals.