Maple Dijon Roasted Chicken with Brussels Sprouts and Squash
This post is sponsored by Harvestland. As always, all opinions are my own.
Tangy and sweet, this Maple Roasted Chicken with brussels sprouts and squash is a totally doable, satisfying one pot meal.
There was a time in my life when I wouldn’t touch mustard with a ten foot pole. But then I married the Mr., and he began to chip away at my mustard hatred. It started with a little dab of yellow mustard on my deli sandwiches. Then it progressed to a vinaigrette, and before you know it I’m slathering a big fat chicken with a maple dijon sauce and loving every minute of it. Husbands are sneaky, I tell ya.
As it happens, this dish is actually crossing off another item on my “never” list. I used to be deathly afraid of roasting a whole chicken. The bird intimidated me. I decided it was too time consuming, too messy, too all-up-in-that-poultry’s-business for me. But alas, I’ve been converted on this one as well. Turns out, chicken roasting is actually no biggie. A little rinse, a little pat, and a lot of salt and butter is all you need for a juicy, flavorful, tender chicken.
I decided to dress this one up with one of my new favorites–a simple glaze made of maple syrup, dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, and thyme. You’ll want to pour this tangy sweet liquid gold on everything, which is why I couldn’t help throwing some brussels sprouts and acorn squash in the pan and slathering them up too. The payoff is this: a healthy, one pot meal that’s simple enough for a weeknight but fancy enough for a dinner party. If you’ve got a small gathering for Christmas, you could even make it the main attraction at your holiday dinner.
I’m excited to be sharing this recipe as part of Harvestland‘s Eat Like Your Ancestors initiative. They’re encouraging people to go back to their roots with their natural chicken, pork, and turkey products. It’s recently come to my attention that long before roasted chickens languished under heat lamps at the grocery store check out line, people actually made them from scratch. Crazy, I know. But after making this Maple Dijon Roasted Chicken, I’m convinced that our ancestors were onto something. This chicken is easy to make, crazy delicious, and you can make it happen in your own kitchen, too. Just to make it easier, today I’m giving away three packages of Harvestland coupons. There are a lot of ways to enter, so follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter to get your name in the pot! Two winners will receive $100 worth of coupons, and three runner ups will receive $50 worth of coupons. Best of luck to you!
Maple Dijon Roasted Chicken
Note: Brushing the chicken with this glaze will result in a flavorful, but not crispy chicken skin. If you want crispy skin, don't glaze the chicken and simply serve the carved chicken with the warmed glaze.
Ingredients
- 4-5 lb. whole chicken (I used Harvestland)
- 1 lemon, halved
- 1 onion, halved,
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 2 Tablespoons butter, softened
- Heaping Tablespoon salt
- Fresh ground pepper
- 1 lb. brussels sprouts
- 1 small acorn squash
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
For the glaze:
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup dijon mustard
- 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 sprigs thyme
Instructions
Recipe by NeighborFood
P.S. Now through the end of December, Harvestland will be donating one serving of chicken for every interaction you have with them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram. So like, click, follow, or repin for an easy way to give back to families in need!
I’m in crockpot heaven…i am bookmarking this page and will go through these recipes. I just used my crockpot today (chili) and I’m always looking for new crockpot recipes to try. thanks.
Served this to company last week and they loved it. The sauce was delicious. Next time I will brush it on a little thicker on the veggies because it was so good. Larger chickens need some additional roasting time. Question- If you don’t peel the acorn squash do you eat the peel after it’s roasted? Have always scooped out the inside of it when roasting acorn squash with butter and brown sugar and threw away the skin.???
I’m so glad it turned out well for you! I do eat the peel of acorn squash because it gets soft enough during roasting to eat. I wouldn’t eat the peel of butternut or other squashes though.
I totally used to hate mustard, too. I feel like it’s such an acquired taste. I once got shamed at a Tigers game for asking the hot dog vendor for ketchup (the vendors that walk around to the seats). He told me ketchup was only available in the concourse, and basically made me cry. I think it was 7. HAHAHA.
Here I am today, with 7 varieties of mustard in my fridge. I’ve never thought to glaze a roasted chicken with it before. Usually I stick to just putting stuff in the chicken cavity (herbs, and as many lemons as I can fit in there), but I just salt and pepper and butter the outside. I need to glaze next time!
Yikes. What kind of person reams a 7 year old for using ketchup?? Yeah, I used to really despise it, but now I use regular yellow mustard on sandwiches and burgers and dijon for all sorts of stuff.
As far as glazing goes, it does give great flavor, but you lose the crispy skin. I did it once with the glaze and once without (just serving the glaze as a kind of gravy). It’s a tradeoff. Flavor vs. crispiness.
I had similar feelings towards mustard and then I tried honey mustard. it’s been a slow progression to liking mustard ever since! I defintiely do love it paired with maple though!
Honey mustard is totally the gateway mustard.