Maple roasted chicken with sweet potatoes features seared chicken, maple-coated apples, and sweet potatoes baked together in the oven until tender. It is a healthy, cozy, fall dinner the entire family will love.
Fall cooking season is one of my favorite times of the year. There is something so comforting about taking seasonal delicacies and turning them into craveable meals loaded with warm spices and flavors.
This meal takes sweet potatoes, apples, and that iconic fall maple flavor and turns it into a sweet-and-savory meal that will be on rotation all season long. Serve it with warm sourdough cheddar biscuits or sourdough dinner rolls and finish it off with a serving of whole wheat peach cobbler for a seriously drool-worthy autumn meal!
Key Takeaways: Maple Roasted Chicken with Sweet Potatoes
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Bake Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Servings: 4 people
- Cook Method: Chicken is seared in a cast iron skillet, then everything is added in and baked together in the oven.
- Flavor & Texture: Golden brown, crisp chicken with tender veggies and a pop of sweet apple.
- Difficulty: Easy. This one-pan meal is great for a minimal-effort dinner with easy cleanup.
- Why this Recipe? While this recipe may be simple, the flavors are show-stopping, making it the perfect meal for hosting or for making a weeknight feel extra special.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Delicious – A recipe the whole family will enjoy. Savory chicken with the sweetness from the sweet potatoes, apples, and a hint of maple syrup. This dish packs tons of flavor.
Easy dinner – Perfect for a busy weeknight. One-pan meals are great for when you want a filling and healthy meal, but don’t want to make a lot of dishes. If you are in need of more meals like this, check out sheet pan gnocchi with chicken and vegetables, Mediterranean sheet pan chicken, and one-pan pork chops with apples.
Healthy recipe – This healthy dinner is packed with nutrient-dense ingredients and is oh so good for you.
Ingredients
Chicken thighs – I love using chicken thighs since they tend to have more flavor and are moister than chicken breasts. You could also use skinless chicken breasts if desired.
Apple – Whatever apple variety you have available will work.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How To Make Maple Roasted Chicken With Sweet Potatoes
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat on the stovetop for a few minutes. Add one tablespoon of olive oil to the hot skillet and place chicken thighs, skin side down, for a few minutes to make the skin crispy. Usually, the skin will stick to the pan until it’s browned enough and then it “releases” itself. So if it is still sticking, it may not be ready to flip yet.
Step 2: While the chicken is browning, chop sweet potatoes, quarter onions, and dice the apples.
Step 3: Combine remaining one tablespoon of olive oil, salt, pepper, and maple syrup in a small bowl. Toss the sweet potatoes, apples, and onions in the oil and maple syrup mixture.
Step 4: Flip chicken thighs skin side up and arrange sweet potatoes, apples, and onions around the chicken in the cast iron skillet.
Step 5: Sprinkle the thyme and sage over top. Bake for one hour, or until chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Potatoes and apples should be fork tender.
Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving. Serve with some sourdough rolls or a French bread.
Lisa’s Expert Tips
- Add fresh herbs for a burst of flavor. Thyme and sage are my favorites, and rosemary would also be delicious.
- Don’t skip the browning of the chicken skin. It adds so much flavor and makes the skin super crispy.
- Lock the chicken juices in by allowing the chicken to cool for a few minutes before slicing.
- If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, you could use an oven-safe skillet or brown the chicken in a skillet and transfer it to an oven-safe baking dish.
- If you are using cast iron, check out my how-to on seasoning your cast iron skillet like a pro.
Maple Roasted Chicken FAQs
Absolutely. Chicken and sweet potatoes are so delicious paired together.
Really, any meat pairs well with sweet potatoes. We enjoy it paired with sausage in sweet potato hash, ground beef in sweet potato shepherd’s pie, and, of course, chicken in this fall sweet potato chicken and apple dish.
Yes, that will work. You will have to be more careful of overcooking the chicken, as baked chicken breasts can be drier than chicken thighs.
More Fall Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Easy Apple Cake with Caramel Glaze
- Apple and Cinnamon Muffin Recipe
- The Best Classic Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe
- Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
- Easy Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte
- One Skillet Creamy Peach Chicken
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Maple Roasted Chicken With Sweet Potatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 4 bone-in chicken thighs
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 1 medium apple
- 1 small onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat on the stovetop for a few minutes.
- Add one tablespoon of olive oil to the hot skillet and place chicken thighs, skin side down, for a few minutes to make the skin crispy. Usually, the skin will stick to the pan until it’s browned enough and then it “releases” itself. So if it is still sticking, it may not be ready to flip yet.
- While the chicken is browning, peel and chop sweet potatoes, quarter onions, and dice the apples.
- Combine remaining one tablespoon of olive oil, salt, pepper, and maple syrup in a small bowl. Toss the sweet potatoes, apples, and onions in the oil and maple syrup mixture.
- Flip chicken thighs skin side up and arrange sweet potatoes, apples, and onions around the chicken in the cast iron skillet.
- Sprinkle the thyme and sage over top. Bake for one hour, or until chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Potatoes and apples should be fork tender.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.
Notes
- Bone-in chicken thighs have so much more flavor than chicken breast. You can substitute chicken breasts, though, if you prefer them or simply can’t find thighs.
- Add fresh herbs for a burst of flavor. Thyme and sage are my favorite, and rosemary would also be delicious.
- Don’t skip the browning of the chicken skin. It adds so much flavor, and the skin is super crispy.
- If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, you could use an oven-safe skillet or brown the chicken in a skillet and transfer it to an oven-safe baking dish or baking sheet.
- Cooking time will be determined by the size of the chicken breasts.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Sounds delicious! However, in the notes you say depending on the size of the chicken breasts, in the recipe you say chicken thighs
If I only have skinless chicken thighs should I still sear them first?
I would still sear them first!
We loved it 🥰
I had been feeling discouraged with meal planning as of late, so I landed here to see how I could find simple, no fuss recipes. This dish was delicious and SO simple to prepare; thank you for the help and inspiration. It was also a nice October kick off meal, even if it is still over 100 degrees in AZ! I look forward to trying more recipes for the fall and winter months!
Love this recipe… however I increased to 6 skinless thighs, and added scallions, more maple syrup and veggies! Delicious! I also made it with rosemary… will try thyme next time!
I just happened to have everything on hand to make this dish and it turned out perfectly! The chicken was crisp, the veggies were tender and the flavor was incredible! I made it with rosemary, since we didn’t have fresh thyme- still delicious! 10/10 would make again!
Can’t wait to try this recipe, but it says 6 servings but only calls for 4 chicken thighs – how does that work?
I may need to update that! I will take a look at the recipe again.
I absolutely loved this recipe and your entire blog!!! You are living my dream!!
Can this recipe be converted to a crockpot recipe somehow? How would I go about doing that with like chicken breast instead?
So glad you enjoyed it! I have never tried it in a crockpot. I would think it would work okay with chicken breast. For flavor, you can always brown the chicken first and then add it to the crockpot as well. If you try it, let us know how it turns out!
I want to make this with a whole chicken… hope it works similarly
Let me know how it turns out!
Oh I am going to try the same tonight! How did it go???
This was one of the best recipes I’ve tried in a while.
I used boneless skinless thighs, red onion, green apple and dried thyme leaves. I tossed in some frozen broccoli for color.
The flavors are delicious yet not time consuming to prepare. Will definitely make it again!
That sounds delicious. Glad you enjoyed the recipe.