Chicken in butternut squash and mushroom cream sauce. Imagine juicy chicken breasts seared until golden and served in a delicious butternut squash sauce. This chicken is made in one skillet with mushrooms, fresh sage and a handful of Parmesan. Rich, creamy and super hearty, this truly is a winning dinner.
Why You’ll Love This Chicken in Butternut Squash and Mushroom Cream Sauce
Cream-based pan sauces are some of the simplest and most tasty treats around. Serve with some crusty bread, mashed potatoes or polenta…and don’t forget that big side salad. A no-fuss weeknight dinner that everyone will love.
Throw in some squash, mushrooms and some sage, and you’ve got yourself a great one-pan meal.
This dish makes great use of those delicious butternuts or pumpkins. You’d think the hardest part of the recipe is peeling and dicing that squash, but actually it’s super easy.
Just check out my step-by-step VIDEO to guide you through this recipe.
How to Make Chicken with Butternut Squash in Creamy Sauce Recipe
We start by sautéing the mushrooms until crispy and golden, then remove them from the skillet to sear the chicken breasts. Next we sauté the squash until browned and tenderized, which takes only about 5 minutes.
We make this whole dish super flavorful with garlic, onion and fresh sage. Add chicken broth and cook it down while stirring and scraping the delicious brown bits from the bottom of our skillet. Once that’s done, we add cream, stir in white miso paste and add grated Parmesan. And we’re almost done!
Breaking up the dinner monotony at home, this recipe could be a welcome change at your table and hey, if you’ve got an extra-large squash, you’ll even have enough leftover to make some soup the next day.
What to serve with chicken in butternut squash cream sauce?
Here are a few things you can add to make it a meal:
- Pasta, mashed potatoes, mashed cauliflower, creamy polenta or some crusty bread.
- A big lettuce side salad drizzled with honey-lemon dressing or a creamy cucumber salad.
Helpful Tips
- You can use other squash varieties or pumpkin.
- Instead of cream, use half-and-half or sour cream.
- Swap chicken breasts for chicken thighs or, if you have more time, use bone-in, skin-on thighs and get the skin golden brown and crispy, with a tender and juicy inside from the bone! Truthfully you can use anything you want.
- Instead of mushrooms, use spinach or steamed broccoli, and add those after you’ve added garlic and onion to the squash.
Storage
- Make ahead: You can make this chicken recipe 1 day ahead of time.
- Leftovers will keep for 3 days in the fridge.
- To freeze: Cool completely, then freeze in airtight containers for up to 3 months.
More delicious skillet chicken recipes
Chicken in Butternut Squash and Mushroom Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 small chicken breast fillets or 2 large cut in half lengthwise
- 14 ounces butternut squash peeled, seeded and cut into cubes (about 1/2 squash)
- 9 ounces cremini mushrooms chopped
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- ¾ cup cream 20% fat
- 1 ¼ cups
chicken broth
- 8 sage leaves torn into large pieces
- 1 tsp white miso paste
- 1 ounce
grated parmesan
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes for serving
Instructions
- Get all the prep done before you start cooking: mince the garlic, finely chop the onion and chop the mushrooms.
Season the chicken breasts with salt, black pepper and paprika. - Prepare the butternut squash: first slice off the ends using a sharp knife, next cut the squash in half. Peel with a sharp vegetable peeler. Next scoop out the seeds and cut the squash into slices. Then cut those into sticks and cut the sticks crosswise into cubes.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large non-stick skillet over high. Add mushrooms and sauté until they release their moisture, and become crispy and golden brown. Remove from skillet.
- Again, add 1 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp butter. Add chicken and cook over medium high, about 5-8 minutes per side or until fully cooked and browned on both sides. This can vary with the size of your chicken breasts. Remove from skillet and place on a clean plate. Cover with foil.
- Add squash and cook, stirring and tossing occasionally, until browned and tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in butter and add onion, garlic and sage leaves. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 2 minutes (sage should let off a great aroma).
- Pour in chicken broth, stir and scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Add cream, then stir in white miso paste and grated Parmesan. Keep stirring until miso is incorporated.
- Add mushrooms and return chicken back to the skillet. Simmer for 3 minutes or until chicken is heated through. Finish off with black pepper and red pepper flakes. Serve!
How would you modify the cook time and/or temp for bone in, skin on thighs?
hi, cook the thighs until golden and crisp, about 8 minutes per side. Then, after you made the sauce, add chicken back to the skillet and simmer for 10-12 minutes, you could also slide the skillet into the oven and bake at 450°F for 10 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Enjoy the recipe!
Thank you!
Thoughts on substitutions for the cream? Do you think a coconut cream unsweetened would
work?
hi, I would recommend using soy cream. Enjoy the recipe!
Would thick Greek yogurt work?
hi, I’ve never made this with Greek yogurt, but I think it should work well here. It will give the sauce a bright, tangy flavor.
I would recommend using use the higher fat yogurt. Also, add a teaspoon or two of flour to the yogurt before adding it to the sauce, to reduce the chance of curdling. And add the yogurt at the end of cooking and keep it no higher than a bare simmer.
Hope you love it!
Hi any way you can make this pinnable? Thanks!!
hi, there should be a pin button available on the top left corner of each picture, and in the top right corner of the recipe card. Enjoy the recipes!
This recipe was so easy and so delicious. I rarely feel so compelled to give a review but this is the one you want for the perfect autumnal dinner. It’s only been a week and I’m making it again for my mom’s birthday tonight. Positively perfect. (I subbed coconut cream for the cream and ghee for the butter to keep it dairy free for some dietary needs in the family. Also topped it with crispy shallots bc why not?)
Thank you Jeanine! It makes me so happy to hear this recipe is a hit!
I made this and had to sub miso paste for soy sauce. It turned out really good and tastes even better the next day!
I’m really happy you enjoyed the recipe, thanks for giving it a try!
Hi! Would fish sauce be a good substitue for miso soup? Looks absolutely delicious xx
Hi, yes, you can use fish sauce. Happy cooking!
Thank you for this inspiration!! Made it tonight and it was lovely. Added thyme, finely chopped the sage, and a bit of white wine. Delish!
Fantastic! That’s so nice to hear, thank you so much for giving this recipe a try!
Making this with coconut milk. DELICIOUS! Also added spinach.
That’s so nice to hear, I’m really glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks so much for your comment!
Hi! Would fish sauce be a good substitue for miso soup? Looks absolutely delicious xx
Hi Oana, yes, you can use fish sauce instead of miso paste. Enjoy the recipe!
Have you ever made this in a slow cooker? Do you know what time and temp I could make this at?
Hi Frances, I’ve never cooked this recipe in a slow cooker, but mostly it only takes 2.5-3.5 hours on LOW for boneless/skinless chicken breast to be fully cooked. Please let me know if you have any more questions. Happy cooking!
I really liked this recipe, although next time I will probably slice thick chicken breasts in half so that they cook faster. I even forgot to add the parmesan at the end when making the sauce, but I sprinkled it on the entire dish while finishing. And it was still great. I do not think I would change a thing.
Thanks Paul! So glad you enjoyed!
We have made this several times, it just gets better!
It makes me so happy to hear that Pat!
i LOVE this recipe, it sees heavy use in my household. its so delicious every time. thank you for sharing it!
Hi Emi, I’m so happy to hear this!
This recipe was absolutely delicious!!! I was cooking for 7 people so I did increase the amount of chicken to 6 chicken breasts (about 3 lbs.). I also accidently forgot to weigh the butternut squash and just put the entire thing in….luckily it was a small one and I was cooking for more people so it worked out just fine. I also increased the mushrooms to 12 oz to match the increased chicken.
I paired this with 2 of Anna’s side dishes. Green Beans with Brown Butter Breadcrumbs and Roasted Carrots with Mustard Miso Dressing. The combination was superb! So much so, that my older brother said he could see this as the meal served at his wedding next autumn!! It truly is a great fall meal.
Yayyy Lizet! Amazing!! Thanks so much for trying this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it was a hit! x