Sheet-Pan Red Curry Chicken With Butternut Squash

Published Jan. 9, 2024

Sheet-Pan Red Curry Chicken With Butternut Squash
Kerri Brewer for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Total Time
1 hour
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
Rating
4(228)
Notes
Read community notes

In this sweet and spicy, sheet-pan chicken dinner, boneless chicken thighs are coated in Thai red curry paste and roasted in a hot oven so the paste’s blend of chiles and aromatics toast and char. Cubes of butternut squash caramelize alongside, and you might marvel that the results taste richer than expected. Both the chicken and squash are seasoned with fish sauce instead of salt, which doesn’t make them fishy but rather accentuates their savoriness and inherent deliciousness. Herbs, lime and fresh chile perk up the deeply roasted flavors; serve with rice, or a crunchy raw vegetable salad like this one.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • pounds butternut squash, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 6 loose cups)
  • 2tablespoons virgin coconut oil, melted, or extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2teaspoons fish sauce
  • 2tablespoons store-bought or homemade Thai red curry paste
  • 4garlic cloves, finely grated
  • pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, patted dry and cut in half crosswise
  • ½cup basil or cilantro leaves
  • 1lime, cut into wedges
  • 1bird’s eye chile (optional), thinly sliced
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

368 calories; 14 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 25 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 36 grams protein; 447 milligrams sodium

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 the oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, toss the squash with the oil and ½ teaspoon fish sauce until coated. Spread into an even layer on a sheet pan. In the same bowl (no need to clean it), stir together the red curry paste, garlic and remaining 1½ teaspoons fish sauce. Toss the chicken in the mixture until coated. Place the chicken among the squash on the sheet pan.

  2. Step 2

    Roast until the chicken is cooked through and charred in spots and the squash is tender, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve topped with basil leaves, a squeeze of lime and the sliced chile, if desired for more heat.

Ratings

4 out of 5
228 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

So easy and so tasty! The fish sauce with the sweetness of the squash was to die for. Ended up finishing off cold the next day. Kids loved this dish, though I didn't make with bird's eye chilli - the red curry paste was plenty spicy. Served with the also recommended (in the recipe) crunchy Thai salad.

Made just as instructed. Easy and delicious! My husband and I ate nearly the whole pan between the two of us.

I was worried this might be a bit bland with so few ingredients but it turned out excellent! I’m vegan so I subbed vegan fish sauce and seitan and it was outstanding and super easy to make. I served it over coconut rice which I highly recommend; it took the edge off of the red curry. Will make this one again!

@Tasty, but clean-up is a deal breaker - next time, use parchment instead of a silicone mat and clean-up will be done as soon as you serve the dish.

Such an easy and tasty recipe. I will add to my rotation of meals but next time, I will double the butternut squash as for me, there was not enough.

Excellent. Pre-cut squash made prep even speedier.

This was pretty good, I had some sausage on hand that needed using, but used the the curry sauce on the veggies. Delish and easy. Will be adding to the favorites list.

Super easy to make and my hubby, who doesn’t really like eating chicken thighs, loved it!

I didn’t enjoy this dish. Although I trimmed the thighs carefully, the squash was greasy and mushy by the time the meat was cooked. And I thought the fish sauce overpowered the squash. Now I need to figure out how to transform all that leftover chicken.

Fabulous recipe. Added a few mini peppers on the sheet pan. Used store-bought red curry paste; could have pumped up the heat. Perhaps next time, I'll make the paste from scratch. Loved the umami from the fish sauce. Served with the recommended salad and meyer lemon/orange margaritas.

This was great! I added brussel sprouts and served it over basmati rice cooked with chicken broth. Easy and delicious!

This is a perfect weeknight meal. So easy, so delicious and filling and healthy. Parchment on the sheet pan and there’s only one bowl to clean. 10 out of 10.

Read others' notes that it needed more salt, so I added more fishsauce (an extra 3/4 teaspoon). Oops. Too salty!

This was just fine. Next time I will add red onions and throw some red pepper flakes in the sauce. Agree with those who recommend using a silicon sheet or foil. This made quite a mess.

Made this exactly as written. Was good but could have used a little more heat, maybe more of the paste to coat the chicken more. The recommended salad was very good. Surprisingly, despite the fish sauce, it really needed more salt. Nice healthy tasty dinner.

So so easy and yummy! added widely sliced red onion to the mix and used basil as well. Used thinly sliced chicken breast which only took 30 min in the oven. Over farro which turned out perfect!

Delicious! My chili paste might have been oldish, causing less spiciness overall, but flavors blended nicely! Will make again ! I cut the thighs into 4ths to better match size of squash.

Delicious - quick and tasty. The cilantro at the end made it pop, so don't forget it!

Served it tossed with rice noodles. Great!

@Tasty, but clean-up is a deal breaker - next time, use parchment instead of a silicone mat and clean-up will be done as soon as you serve the dish.

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