This easy peasy Harissa Chicken and Butternut Squash Pilaf takes less than 30 minutes to make and only uses one pan, yet tastes incredible. Perfect for busy days!
Life has been super hectic lately, what with winning turkey awards, gadding about on photography and writing courses and then on Tuesday I spent the most amazing day at the River Cottage in Dorset (spoiler alert, no I didn’t get to meet HFW). Not to mention all the usual preparations for Christmas, the endless school related admin and also trying to sort things out for my daughter’s 8th birthday at the end of this month (Amazon must love me at the moment). Consequently I have been more in need than ever for easy midweek meal solutions!
In particular, I’ve really been really getting into one pot rice dishes lately, inspired by Indian Biryanis and Middle Eastern Pilafs. They are incredibly easy to throw together and I really like only having one pot to wash up afterwards. Plus I love how the rice absorbs all those delicious flavours.
You can make this Harissa Chicken and Butternut Squash Pilaf in any large saucepan or deep frying pan, so long as you have some sort of lid or cover for it, but making this dish has given me the opportunity to use my latest acquisition…this rather gorgeous, cast iron, Le Creuset style sauté pan from M&S. So beautiful and so perfect for this style of cooking.
In fact this pan was a gift from my husband – isn’t he clever? I have been lusting after this particular pan for months and only dropped a few hints (honest!)
I have used my favourite skinless, boneless chicken thigh fillets in this recipe, but you can absolutely use diced chicken breast if you prefer, or substitute the chicken for chickpeas or another vegetable if you want to make this veggie – aubergine would work well here.
You could also substitute the butternut squash for pumpkin if you prefer…especially if you still have some left over from all the pumpkin carving activities last month!!
For me this works well with a glass of Chilean or New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, but you could also try a Spanish Garnacha red or rosé, if you prefer.
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
- One Pot Wild Mushroom, Squash and Spinach Pilaf (Vegan)
- Lemon and Garlic Chicken Traybake with Saffron Rice Pilaf
- Sticky Harissa Chicken Traybake with Chickpeas and Kale
- One Pot Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Rice and Beans
Sticky Harissa Chicken Traybake with Chickpeas and Kale
One Pot Harissa Chicken and Butternut Squash Pilaf
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion sliced
- 1 red pepper diced
- 500 g boneless chicken thigh fillets diced (or breast fillets if you prefer)
- 400 g butternut squash diced
- 2 tablespoons harissa paste (or to taste - I used Tesco Ingredients, which is quite mild)
- 600 ml chicken stock
- 300 g easy cook brown rice (see note 2)
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley plus extra for garnish
Instructions
- Place the olive oil, onions and peppers in a large frying pan or sauté pan and fry gently for 3 minutes with the lid on until softened, but not browned.
- Remove the lid and turn up the heat. Add the chicken and fry for 3 minutes or until the chicken and vegetables have browned a little.
- Add the harissa paste, butternut squash, stock and rice and mix together thoroughly. Bring to the boil, then turn down to a low simmer and cover with a lid. Cook for 20 minutes or until all the stock has been absorbed (see note 2) and the rice and butternut squash are tender.
- Add the parsley and serve scattered with more parsley and accompanied by a glass of Sauvignon Blanc or Garnacha.
Notes
- For a vegetarian version substitute the chicken for a 400g tin of chickpeas or a diced aubergine, and use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.
- This recipe uses easy cook brown rice, which takes roughly 20 minutes to cook. If you can’t get easy cook brown rice, use normal brown rice and check the packet for cooking times.
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
Love chicken? Check out my collection of Easy Peasy Chicken Recipes…
Want more delicious and hassle-free midweek meals? Find more here…
Pin One Pot Harissa Chicken and Butternut Squash Pilaf for later
FREE 4 Week Easy Dinners Meal Plan
Have you got your hands on a copy of my meal plan yet? If not CLICK HERE to download a copy of my FREE 4 Week Easy Dinners Meal Plan today!
Don’t want to miss a thing?
Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Or why not subscribe to my blog and get delicious, stress free recipes straight to your inbox every week?
Twin Pickle says
This looks yum! Pretty too 🙂 #brilliantblogposts
Eb Gargano says
Thank you Twin Pickle! It really is 🙂 Eb x
Jake Tyler says
This looks yummy, Eb! And the pics are colorful and gorgeous! I love the idea of one pot recipe as it didn’t take me too much time to clean.
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Jake
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Jake! I am a HUGE fan of one pots for that reason. The less washing up the better as far as I am concerned 🙂
Maria Bravo says
It sounds and looks delicious, you make it sound so easy
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Maria. It really is as easy as it sounds! 🙂
Sarah James @ Tales From The Kitchen Shed says
Yet another delicious one pot meal Eb, I love how quick it is to make. Harissa is one of my favourite spice mixes to use, I’ve still got plenty of squashes to use up from the Kitchen Shed garden, I’ll be trying this soon. Sarah x
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Sarah! It is really quick and easy to make 🙂 I am really loving one pot rice dishes at the moment…I have a few up my sleeve which may make it onto the blog over the coming months. Harissa is one of my big faves too and pairs so well with squash – turns a simple meal into something so much more special with very little effort 🙂 Eb x
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins says
I love butternut squash and I can imagine how delicious this dish is. Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare and hosting last week xx
Eb Gargano says
Me too – it’s definitely one of my favourite vegetables!! This dish is honestly as good as it looks…possibly better 🙂 Hope you have a fab week. Xx
Mel says
I love one pot dishes. They have that warm, comforting winter-food feel, haven’t they? You’ve managed to capture yours in beautiful light though and it looks mouth-watering. It was lovely meting you at River Cottage last week. What a night! I hope we get to chat more next time we meet. #Thanks for joining in with #FreeFromFridays. xx
Eb Gargano says
Me too – I adore them. They make my life so much easier!! It was so lovely to meet you too. Definitely will chat more next time!! Thanks for your kind comments 🙂 Eb x
Paul says
The rice just wasn’t anywhere near cooked after 20 minutes. Also felt it needed a bit more flavour aside from the Harissa paste.
Eb Gargano says
Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, Paul. What kind of brown rice did you use? I think cooking times for different brands of brown rice vary quite dramatically. I use Tesco brown rice. It could be that your brand takes a little longer to cook. As for flavour, again that could be down to brand – when I made this recipe I was using Tesco Ingredients Harissa, but now I use Al’Fez, which I think has more flavour. Worth trying that one to see if you prefer the flavour – or if you still think it needs a bit more flavour, adding a couple of cloves of garlic (crushed or grated) and/or some thyme could work really well here. Hope it works out better for you next time! Eb 🙂
mary says
Can you please provide me with the American measurements?
Eb Gargano says
Absolutely! I’ve just added them for you. Just click the ‘US Customary’ button below the ingredients to see them. My apologies that this one wasn’t already converted. I have conversions for all my newer recipes, but I am still working through my old recipes! Eb 🙂