Load up your plates with seasonal vegetables, fluffy rice, tender chicken pieces and crispy fried sage leaves! This chicken & butternut squash rice dish make for a delicious winter main – it’s got protein, carbs and vegetables all prepped in one big pot.
❤️Chicken & Butternut Squash Rice❤️
A few reasons to love this dish:
- One Pot: Aside from a few side dishes or plates, to set aside the fried sage and chicken, everything comes together in one pot. The end result is a complete meal full of seasonal vegetables, protein and carbs!
- Grated Squash Melts into the Rice: I’ll admit that it can feel a bit tedious grating a whole squash, but it’s worth it! It cooks quickly, evenly and melts right into the rice – a great way to sneak in a little extra veg for picky eaters.
- Crispy Fried Sage: Fried sage leaves take on a rich, nutty flavor. They’re earthy, herbal and super savory! Fry up in minutes then use the herby oil to cook the chicken.
Recipe Steps
A brief summary of steps:
- prep veggies
- fry sage
- brown chicken
- sauteé aromatics
- deglaze
- combine remaining ingredients
- simmer & cook
- add cheese & rest
Grate the Squash
If you have a food processor with a fitted grating attachment – put it to use to grate your squash.
Alternatively you can use a box grater to grate the grate with the larger holes. It is slightly more tedious this way, but at least there’s less faffing around with equipment.
Fried Sage
Fried sage leaves are nutty, savory, crispy, delicious and super easy to make!
Simply drop the leaves into hot oil and let cook for about 30-60 seconds. Flip the leaves if needed then remove from the oil and set aside to cool.
As an added benefit – you can now sear the chicken in that aromatic sage oil.
Chicken & Rice
- Sear chicken: Use chicken breast or thighs – just make sure they’re boneless and skinless. Remove and set aside for the moment.
- Sauté garlic & leeks: Cook minced garlic & leeks, about 5-7 minutes over a medium-high heat.
- Add squash, herbs & spices: Stir and cook another 5-10 minutes to soften the squash and steam out some of the moisture.
- Deglaze with white wine: Deglaze and simmer with a dry white wine. Cook until most of the liquids have evaporate.
- Add rice and chicken: Stir the chicken back into the pot along with the uncooked rice.
- Cover & cook: Add the chicken broth to the rice mixture and mix everything together. Smooth out the chicken and rice so that everything is mostly submerged in the stock. Bring to a simmer then reduce the heat, cover with a fitted lid and cook.
Tip: Rinse Your Rice!
Make sure to wash the rice before cooking to remove the excess starch. Too much residual starch will result in sticky rice.
Cheesy Topping
Once the rice is done, leave the pot on the stove top over the heat. Remove the lid and sprinkle the grated cheese over the top. Leave it all the rest (don’t mix it yet) for about 10 minutes.
The cheese will melt from the residual heat and the rice will get a bit more to steam resulting in fluffier rice.
What type of cheese should I use?
Any melty cheese will do! Cheddar tastes great and is easy to find. Use mozzarella for a mildly cheesy flavor or gruyere for a stronger flavor.
I used a combo of grated double Gloucester, gruyere and parmesan cheese.
What Type of Rice to Use?
I recommend a white, long grain rice – like basmati or jasmine rice.
Medium grain and short grain rice is less ideal as they’re more starchy and sticky by nature.
I don’t recommend brown, wild rice or a wild rice blend as the recipe would need to be adjusted for a longer cooking time and liquid ratio. Without testing it out first, I couldn’t confidently make recommendations on what to change.
Hungry for More Weeknight Dinners?
Easy Casseroles & Rice Dishes:
- One Pot Cheesy Zucchini Chicken & Rice
- One Pot Cheesy Chicken & Enchilada Rice
- One Pot Ground Beef And Broccoli With Rice
- Chicken And Wild Rice Casserole
- One Pot Chicken And Rice
- Instant Pot Chicken And Rice Soup
- One Pot Low FODMAP Chicken And Rice
Delicious Butternut Squash Recipes
- Butternut Squash Enchilada Casserole
- Peanut & Kale Butternut Squash Curry
- Creamy Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta
- Roasted Butternut Squash Slices With Parsley Pesto
- Spicy Kale Chickpea & Roasted Butternut Squash Salad
- Bacon & Chipotle Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
Enjoy!
If you have the time, I also recommend you make these crispy fried shallots to serve on top!
Let me know if you try this Cheesy Chicken & Butternut Squash Rice recipe! Leave a comment and review with your thoughts. I always appreciate the feedback and serving suggestions that you come up with!
Cheesy Chicken & Butternut Squash Rice
Grated butternut squash with sautéed leeks, garlic and herbs mixed and simmered with chicken and rice and finished with a cheesy topping!
Ingredients
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil (30-45ml)
- 10 sage sage leaves or a handful
- 1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breast cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 medium leeks, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 cups grated butternut squash - peeled (660g or 1.5 lbs)
- 1 tsp dried thyme & oregano, each
- 1 tsp salt & pepper, each
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (120 ml)
- 1 cup uncooked basmati white rice, rinsed (200g)
- 2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth (480ml)
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese or cheese of your choice (220g)
- Fresh herbs for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Sage: Place a large pan, skillet or casserole dish over a medium-high heat. Add 1-2 tbsp oil and heat until hot and simmering. Add the sage leaves to the oil in a single layer and fry 1-2 minutes. Flip about halfway through to crisp up both sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on a paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and set aside.
- Chicken: Add the chicken to the same pan and cook about 4-5 minutes on a medium high heat until the outsides are no longer pink. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Leeks & Garlic: Add the leeks and garlic to the pan. Cook about 5 minutes. If needed, add more oil.
- Squash & Herbs: Stir in the grated squash, thyme, oregano, salt & pepper. Cook about 5-10 minutes to soften the squash and cook out the excess moisture from the veggies.
- Deglaze: Add the wine. Adjust the temperature if needed to bring the wine to a simmer. As the wine simmers, gently scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon or spatula to release any crispy, stuck-on bits. Cook until the wine has reduced to about half the starting amount.
- Chicken & Rice: Add the rice and chicken. Mix everything together until well combined.
- Broth: Add the broth. Use the back of a spoon to submerge everything as much as possible under the liquids.
- Cook Rice: Bring the liquids to a gentle simmer then cover with a fitted lid and reduce to a medium-low heat. Cook with the lid on 20-25 minutes or until the rice is tender and no liquids remain.
- Cheese & Rest: Turn off the heat but leave the pot on the burner. Uncover the rice and sprinkle the grated cheese over the top. Leave about 10 minutes to rest the rice and let the cheese melt.
- Enjoy: Serve hot with the fried sage leaves on top and fresh herbs (optional).
Notes
- Leftovers: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3-4 days. Make sure to thoroughly reheat before serving.
- Butternut Squash Prep: Do this by hand with a box grater using the large holes OR a food processor with the grating blade attachment.
- Rice: If there is still a little bit of liquid left in the pot after 20-25 minutes but the rice is cooked, uncover the pan and let cook about 2-3 minutes until no liquid remains.
- Chicken: Instead of cooking raw chicken you can use 3 cups diced or shredded leftover chicken or store-bought rotisserie chicken.
- Cheese: I used a combination of double Gloucester, gruyere and parmesan cheese. You can also use cheddar, mozzarella, edam, monterey jack, etc. Feel free to leave out the cheese completely to make it dairy free.
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