Chicken and veggies don't have to be boring!! This one pan healthy chicken dinner is simple, delicious, and FULL of flavor! Only 490 calories!
If you're one of those people who think you can't cook, this recipe will change your mind. It's a one pan, dump and cook dish that is foolproof for even the most self-proclaimed "bad cooks."
Seriously, it's so simple. And the flavor is phenomenal. This is the opposite of the standard boring chicken and veggie dish. The chicken is incredibly moist and flavorful, and it is surrounded with a contrasting mix of sweet apples and bold brussels. You're gonna want to bookmark this one, guys. It's a winner winner, chicken dinner. (Haaa, see what I did there?!)
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ONE PAN HEALTHY CHICKEN DINNER
490 calories per serving
Do you have a cast-iron skillet? If you don't, you should. They're so versatile! And they last forever. You'll need one for this recipe, and trust me, this dish alone is worth the 30 bucks!
Another thing you'll need for this recipe is bone in, skin on, chicken thighs. Repeat that to yourself in the store. Bone in. Skin on. Chicken thighs. I failed in this mission and brought home some boneless, skinless, chicken. More worthless than a penny in nickel slots...
You'll want to start by drying the chicken with a paper towel and seasoning each side liberally with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, preheat your skillet over medium-high heat and your oven to 425 degrees F.
Add a drizzle of olive oil to the skillet then add the chicken, skin side down, to the pan. Allow it to cook until it begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Don't touch it. Don't. Don't touch it. Don't do it. The skin should stay in contact with the skillet the whole time! 🙂
Next, turn the heat down to medium and add in 2 slices of bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces. Cook for 2 minutes, moving bacon around without touching the chicken. In case you haven't heard we're not touching the chicken.
Toss in 1 ½ C trimmed, halved brussels sprouts and 1 Fuji apple cut into 8 slices. Add in salt and pepper to taste, then stir with the bacon pieces. (Still without touching the chicken!)
Place the entire skillet into the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and flip the chicken thighs over (Now we can touch the chicken!) Stir around the rest of the ingredients then place back into the oven for 10 minutes.
Once cooked (165 degrees F internal temp), remove and plate the chicken. Using a slotted spoon, divide up the sprouts, apple and bacon, but leave all of the juice in the skillet.
Add skillet back to stove top over medium high heat and add in 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar. Scrape along the bottom of the pan to loosen any remaining bacon and chicken skin. Add in ¼ C apple juice and let simmer until thick, about 1-2 minutes.
Pour juice over plated chicken and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Craving more chicken dinners? Try out this One Pan Harvest Chicken or these Grilled Chicken Thighs with Beer Marinated Asparagus!
PrintRecipe Card

One Pan Healthy Chicken Dinner
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Cast Iron, Roasted
- Cuisine: Amerian
- Diet: Low Calorie
Description
Chicken and veggies don't have to be boring!! This dish is simple, delicious, and FULL of flavor! Only 490 calories!
Ingredients
- 2 chicken thighs (bone-in, skin on)
- 2 slices of bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 ½ lbs brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half
- 1 fuji apple, sliced into 8 pieces
- 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- ¼ C apple juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and add a drizzle of olive oil once hot.
- Dry both sides of 2 chicken thighs with paper towel and season liberally with salt and pepper.
- Once skillet is hot, add chicken, skin side down. Allow to cook until it begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Do not touch it! You want the skin to stay in contact with the hot surface! 🙂
- Turn heat down to medium and add in 2 slices of chopped bacon. Cook for about 2 minutes, moving bacon around without disturbing the chicken.
- Add in 1 ½ lbs of trimmed/halved brussels sprouts and 1 apple worth of slices. Salt and pepper to taste, and stir around to mix in with bacon pieces.
- Put the entire skillet into the oven for 10 minutes.
- Remove skillet, flip chicken thighs over, and stir the rest of the ingredients.
- Place back into oven for an additional 10 minutes. (Internal temperature should be 165 F)
- Once cooked, remove and plate the chicken. Use a slotted spoon to divide up the sprouts, apple and bacon, but leave all juices in the skillet.
- Add skillet back to stove top over medium high heat and add in 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar. Scrape along bottom of pan to loosen any remaining bacon and chicken skin.
- Add ¼ C apple juice and let simmer until thick, about 1-2 minutes.
- Pour juice over plated chicken and serve immediately.
- Enjoy! 🙂
**Recipe from BuzzFeed
What do you think? Did this recipe make the cut for you or did it crumble? What would you do differently? Leave a comment below! 🙂
April Cook says
This looks delicious! Brussels sprouts are one of my favorite foods and I'm always looking for a way to work them into my dinner. Could you use a flavored balsamic vinegar instead of the red wine vinegar? I think a maple flavored one would go well with this. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
cutsandcrumbles says
Hi April!! I bet this would be awesome with balsamic vinegar (although I think that about every food in the world so I might be biased...) Let me know how it is if you try it! You should check out my brussels sprouts with bacon and blue cheese recipe too, it's loaded with balsamic and phenomenal!! Thanks for commenting! I hope you enjoy the brussels! 🙂