Bacon Apple Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Brussels
This delicious Bacon Apple Chicken is the perfect fall dinner recipe. The bacon and chicken are crisped on your stovetop then everything gets nestled into a baking dish and roasted together. It's a healthy and easy to make recipe that is bursting with flavor.
Are one pan chicken dinners the best or are they the best? Yep, they're the best, all the way. This bacon apple chicken wonder we have here today is all things fall and all things delicious. Insert big smiley-faced emojis.
Do you see all those beauties nestled in there together? The colors! The taste! The everything! They are so meant for each other.
After you quick pan-fry the bacon and onions together you're going to crisp that chicken skin. ← LOVE crispy chicken skin! It's half the reason I eat chicken.
Then you're going to tuck everything into a pan and pop it in your oven. And by everything I mean sweet potatoes, apples, pecans, Brussels sprouts, and the delicious bacon and onions you fried and the crispy-skinned chicken. All of it together in one happy place.
When you come back to your kitchen a half-hour later, dinner will be waiting for you.
This bacon apple chicken recipe has all my favorite fall flavors. I'm a sucker for things like Brussels sprouts, apples, and sweet potatoes. And pecans are my FAVORITE. Seriously though, aren't they the best nut ever?
I know that it might seem a bit strange to put pecans in here. The look on my handsome man's face was all sorts of concerned when I mixed the pecans into the veggies. I had to reassure him (and reassure you now) that they totally work. They soften while cooking so they're not crunchy, but they add so much flavor to the dish. Definitely, don't leave them out!
It's really amazing how well all of the flavors here blend together. I'd felt a little bad about making this for dinner. I mean, I LOVE everything in here, but my handsome man's three least favorite foods are sweet potatoes, Brussels, and chicken. He gave me a look that was contemplating ordering delivery when I told him what I was making.
But when it came to dinnertime, he went back for seconds. A second helping of Brussels sprouts is a really good sign, my friends!
This recipe was born when I was having a big craving for some sweet and sticky chicken. Even though I wasn't technically on The Whole30 Program, I was trying to eat that way most of the time. I cut out sugar, grains, and dairy completely. I allowed myself a glass of red wine with dinner because that's the thing I miss the most when I've done the Whole30.
Since sugar (of all kinds) is out, I knew I'd have to get creative. While this isn't sweet and sticky chicken, the sweet potatoes, apples, and caramelized onions added enough sweetness to curb my craving. Bonus that it's not the almost cloying sweetness that sticky chicken can often be. (Truth: I kinda like that almost too sweet factor. Please don't tell anyone. #SoNotSophisticated)
But back to this Bacon Apple Chicken amazingness. Can you please promise me you'll put it on your menu this fall? I know you're going to be happy you did!
If you love this One Pan Bacon Apple Chicken as much as I do, don't forget to give it a 5-star rating in the comments below!
One Pan Bacon Apple Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4 bone-in chicken thighs
- 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt, divided
- ½ teaspoon black pepper, divided
- A generous pinch of cayenne
- 1 medium sweet potato, about 1 lb. diced
- ½ lb Brussels sprouts, halved or quartered, depending on size
- 1 apple, cored and chopped
- ½ cup toasted pecans, chopped (see notes)
Instructions
- Turn your oven to 375 degrees.
- Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the fat releases. Add the onion to the pan and continue to cook until the onion is soft and the bacon starting to crisp.4 slices bacon, 1 large onion
- While the bacon and onions are cooking, prepare the sweet potato, Brussels, apple, and pecans and add them to a casserole dish. Season with 1 teaspoon of the sea salt, ¼ teaspoon of pepper, and the cayenne. When the bacon and onions are finished cooking, add them to the casserole and mix everything together.1 medium sweet potato, ½ lb Brussels sprouts, 1 apple, ½ cup toasted pecans, A generous pinch of cayenne
- Add the chicken, skin side up, to the pan you used to cook the bacon. (Don't remove the fat from the pan.) Sprinkle the chicken skin with the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper. After 5 mins, flip the chicken over and cook until the skin is brown and crispy.4 bone-in chicken thighs
- Place the chicken on top of the veggies. For a richer dish, you can pour the oil from the pan over the top of the veggies. Roast in the oven for 35 minutes.
I’ve made many of your recipes and have never been disappointed. However, as I was about halfway through preparing this one, I suddenly started having doubts. For whatever reason, it immediately went from sounding yummy to seeming super weird. I’m so glad I pressed on though, because it was soooo good! I didn’t have any skin-on chicken. I used boneless skinless chicken breast, but the skin clearly makes this dish better (I know that without having even tried it yet). As a result of the lack of skin and the lean bacon, I had to add a generous helping of olive oil to the baking dish to keep it from being too dry. I also couldn’t find pecans (they’re a rare commodity here in Germany) so I used a combination of almonds and pine nuts. Still super yummy! Next time, I think I might try adding a red beet into the mix since they always pair so nicely with sweet potatoes! But seriously, what a healthy, filling, and delicious meal. I’ll definitely make this again! And get this… even my ULTRA picky German husband loved it and he hates fruit AND nuts mixed into his food! So, this recipe basically makes you a culinary genius! 🙂
Thank you, this is quite a combination I will certainly try
This is a solid recipe. Simple and delicious and flavorful. I didn’t have pecans so I used walnuts and it was still great.
This is a solid recipe. Simple and delicious and flavorful. I didn’t have pecans so I used wants and it was still great.
That’s great, Lindsay! Thank you for the comment!
This was amazing! I loved it! I made it pretty much like the recipe said, but I used a little more of everything to make 6 servings instead of 4. The grocery store didn’t have organic thigh meat on the bone, so I used boneless instead. I bet bone-in thighs would be better, but the boneless worked just fine. I will be making this several more times this fall. It’s a perfect fall meal.
That’s so wonderful to hear! Hooray!!
Love the blend of flavors!! Delicious!
I’m so happy to hear you like the recipe!
I made this the first time last fall but forgot to come back and tell you how good it was. I was craving it last night so made it again. The flavors are incredible and it’s so easy to make. Thank you!
Thank you for popping back to let me know!
Made this tonight. Loved it! My husband just said “don’t tell me what’s in it but it is great!” 🙂
Hahaha that is awesome! Sometimes it’s best not to know!!
This was so delicious! And easy! I doubled the bacon (duh), added dates (duh, subbed butternut squash for the sweet potatoes, and used chicken breast chunks instead of chicken thighs. I even got compliments on how good the leftovers smelled at lunch in the office the next day!
Great recipe! I just finished the whole30 but love the healthy eating so much Im still pretty much sticking to it. And its so easy with recipes like this! I cut out the brussels and added carrots instead and it was awesome both for dinner and as left overs.
I’m so happy you liked it! And good call on the carrots. That would be delicious!
I made this for dinner last night and just had leftovers for lunch and it was absolutely delicious! Such a simple recipe, but packed with so much flavor! 🙂
I’m so happy you liked it! Hooray!!
This was the perfect fall dinner! Ended up using butternut squash in place of the sweet potato. It was still fantastic! Thank you for sharing.
You are so welcome! I’m so happy you liked the recipe!
Wow, you’ve got everything packed into this dish! What a feast! I suddenly have a chicken craving!
Haha I love it! Time to satisfy your craving!!
Absolutely amazing! Perfect combo for fall and delicious!!
Thank you so much! We really loved it, too!
This was so easy and absolutely delicious. This is being added to my weekly fall meal repertoire!!
Oh that makes me so happy! Yaaaaa!!!
I will try this with pork tenderloin.
That’s a great idea!!
The instructions refer to cayenne, but I don’t see it listed in the ingredients.
What a perfect day for this recipe,It is absolutely outstanding. Anthony says ,” on the list anytime
That’s so great to hear! Horray!