This colorful and vibrant Autumn Chicken Dinner with Roasted Vegetables features smoked paprika chicken, cheese tortellini, and garlic butter sauce. The two main ingredients are amazing Fall veggies: roasted butternut squash and Brussels sprouts. This dinner might become your new family favorite recipe this Fall!
Autumn chicken dinner
Butternut squash and Brussels sprouts are two delicious Fall veggies that are often used on their own or in salads. Or as part of holiday side dishes, as in my very popular Thanksgiving side dish: roasted butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, cranberries, and pecans.
In this autumn chicken dinner, however, they are part of a much larger picture. Here, those two delicious roasted veggies are combined together with smoked paprika chicken, cheese tortellini, and garlic butter sauce. The end result is a beautiful, colorful, and vibrant dinner.
- The sliced skinless, boneless chicken thighs seasoned with smoked paprika and seared to perfection in a cast-iron skillet are so tasty!
- The roasted butternut squash and Brussels sprouts pair beautifully with the chicken.
- Cheese tortellini completes this colorful meal together with the garlic butter sauce. This dish is my new favorite Autumn comfort food!
Fall vegetables
What I love about this autumn chicken dinner is that includes two of my favorite Fall veggies: butternut squash and Brussels sprouts. They are delicious and so good for you! If you want a complete meal and dinner involving these two veggies, this is it!
This recipe requires a little bit more work than my usual recipes but it is so worth it! And the only extra work involved here is roasting the butternut squash and the Brussels sprouts. Peeling, seeding, and cutting the butternut squash in cubes does take time. Roasting the veggies also takes time. This is not a one-pan dinner. You will use a cast-iron skillet and 2 baking sheets. But, if you want to implement these 2 wonderful veggies into your menu, it's totally worth the effort!
What kind of chicken can you use?
- Skinless, boneless chicken thighs. This is what I use in this recipe. The dark meat of chicken thighs goes really well with all the other flavors.
- Skinless, boneless chicken breast. You can definitely use chicken breasts - slice them thinly similar to how I sliced the chicken here.
- Chicken Tenderloins or Tenders. This is another perfect meat to use here. It's already sliced, so you can use it as is, or slice it even thinner.
Fresh herbs
Fresh herms are so important in this recipe! They truly make or break it! I use fresh thyme, and it adds a lot of flavor to this Fall chicken dinner. I used ¼ of an ounce - or just a few sprigs of fresh thyme. The more, the better! I would not recommend using dried thyme. But if you do use it, use a much smaller quantity.
How to make autumn chicken dinner
First, make sure you have peeled, seeded, and cubed butternut squash. Toss it with olive oil, salt, and ground black pepper in a large bowl.
If you want to know everything about how to peel, seed, and cube butternut squash - check out my very detailed basic recipe for roasted butternut squash.
Next, roast the butternut squash in the oven until crispy.
Then, slice Brussels sprouts in half and toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Roast the Brussels sprouts in the oven at the same time you roast the butternut squash.
The skinless, boneless chicken thighs (sliced) are seasoned with smoked paprika, salt, and ground black pepper. They are then seared in a cast-iron skillet until the golden crust forms.
Next, the butter and the minced garlic are cooked together briefly with the chicken juices to create garlic butter sauce and then mixed with cooked cheese tortellini.
Finally, everything is combined together: cooked paprika chicken, cooked tortellini (both coated in garlic butter sauce), roasted butternut squash, and brussels sprouts.
How to store and reheat it
Because this autumn chicken dinner features only a simple garlic butter sauce, this recipe is perfect to make ahead. Reheating it is a breeze, and you can make this 2 or 3 days in advance.
- Fridge. You can store this dish in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freezer. This is a perfect meal to freeze. Freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
- How to reheat. You can reheat this in a microwave oven for 1 minute. Or, you can melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet and reheat this over medium heat for about 5 minutes. So easy! There is no cream sauce to deal with! Just reheat everything with butter!
What to serve with it
Since this recipe already has lots of veggies, you don't really need to serve a veggie side dish with it. A simple Fall salad will pair beautifully with this autumn dinner. Try one of these:
- Cranberry Spinach Salad with Cashews and Goat Cheese
- Arugula Salad with Pears and Apples
- Arugula Salad with Pine Nuts
Other Autumn recipes you might like
- Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta with Sausage and Spinach
- Maple Chicken with Sweet Potatoes
- Lemon Garlic Butter Chicken with Brussels Sprouts
Autumn Chicken Dinner with Roasted Vegetables
Ingredients
Roasted Butternut Squash
- 3 cups butternut squash peeled, seeded, cubed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper
Roasted Brussels sprouts
- 12 oz Brussels sprouts
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper
Chicken and Tortellini
- 9 oz cheese tortellini
- 1 lb chicken thighs skinless, boneless
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- black pepper freshly ground, to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- fresh thyme
Instructions
Roasted Butternut Squash
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Make sure the butternut squash is peeled, seeded, and cubed. Here is a very detailed recipe on how to peel, seed, cube, and roast butternut squash.
- In a large bowl, toss cubed butternut squash with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- Spread the squash on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet in one layer, without overcrowding.
- Roast on the middle rack in the preheated oven at 400 F for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven.
Roasted Brussels sprouts
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Trim ends of Brussels sprouts and remove yellow leaves. Slice all Brussels sprouts in half.
- In a medium bowl, toss Brussels sprouts with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- Spread the Brussels sprouts on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet in one layer, without overcrowding.
- Roast on the middle rack in the preheated oven at 400 F for 20 or 30 minutes. You can roast them at the same time you roast butternut squash. Remove from oven.
Chicken and tortellini
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add tortellini and cook according to the package instructions. Drain.
- Slice skinless, boneless chicken thighs into thin strips. Season generously with smoked paprika, salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
- Heat an empty large cast-iron skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes. This allows the cast-iron skillet to heat through. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add sliced chicken thighs in a single layer, without overcrowding. You might have to work in batches. Cook the chicken on medium heat for 4 minutes, without moving it at all so that it sears nicely.
- Flip the chicken slices over, reduce heat to low-medium, and cook for about 5 more minutes or longer until it's cooked through. Remove the chicken from the skillet to a plate.
- To the same, now empty, cast-iron skillet, add butter and minced garlic. Cook on low-medium heat for about 1 or 2 minutes or until the garlic softens.
- Add cooked tortellini and coat thoroughly with the garlic butter sauce on low-medium heat.
- Add back cooked chicken and stir to coat the chicken with the garlic butter sauce on low-medium heat. Remove from heat.
- Add roasted butternut squash and roasted Brussels sprouts to the skillet with cooked chicken and cooked tortellini. If you used a large skillet, everything should fit. If not, work in batches. Top with fresh thyme. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
So delicious & so easy !! Definitely at the top of my list
Sally, I am so glad you gave this recipe a try and loved it! 🙂
The thyme on the tortellini combined with the fall vegetables was delicious. I made it with edamame instead of chicken and it was amazing
K, thank you for trying the recipe - so glad you liked it! 🙂 Edamame sounds delish with these flavors!
This was so delicious and very easy to make! Can’t wait to have leftovers. I am doing the freezing method!
Marlo, thank you for trying the recipe and so glad it was a success! 🙂
I don’t have a cast iron skillet. Could I use a skillet?
Kelly, you can use any kind of large, high-sided skillet. And, actually, in this recipe, the veggies are roasted on a baking sheet in the oven, and the large skillet is used just for the final assembly!
I am in the middle of making this recipe. Being a person who's never been very good at cooking I was intimidated at first looking at this meal, but the instructions and the way this is written is so clear. I feel so much more confident in trying this recipe because of the precise and clear instructions, that some recipes leave out. I really appreciate the way you describe exactly what to do in such a simple way and wanted to comment on this more than anything. Most recipes leave my head spinning and for the first time I feel confident. Thank you!
Novice Momma, thank you so much for such a thoughtful comment - I am happy you find my recipes helpful and easy to make - that's the goal! 🙂
Love this recipe. I switch up the veggies based on what I have on hand. This will be on rotation for me for sure.
D, I am so glad you tried this recipe and enjoyed it! So many other kinds of veggies can be used here, too.
Julia,
WOW this was so good. I roasted the sprouts/squash on the sheet pan together and they got done at the same time. Love having just one pan meals, my cast iron skillet was perfect for this meal.
Thanks, Diane
Diane, I am so happy you loved this recipe! One-pan meals are the best! Thank you for taking the time to share such a positive comment! 🙂