Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes and Kale Bake
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These Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes and Kale Bake make for a perfect weeknight dinner but fancy enough for a Sunday night supper. It’s incredibly simple to make and requires only a handful of ingredients.
Chicken Thighs And Veggies
In my family, we’re used to big extravagant Sunday night dinners packed with appetizers, soups, some kind of roasted meat and potatoes and of course desserts. Today’s recipe, chicken thighs with sweet potatoes, corn and kale, is one that would shine on your Sunday night dinner table, but is also simple enough to make on any weeknight.
After all, simplicity is what I strive for.
Ingredients
Keep scrolling down to the recipe card for full ingredient amounts and instructions, or click the Jump To Recipe button at the top.
- Chicken – Thighs skin on bones in for tons of flavor and moisture.
- Veggies – Sweet corn either canned or frozen, cubed sweet potatoes, and chopped kale.
- Oil – Olive oil to saute our chicken thighs in.
- Butter – Unsalted so as to control the sodium content of our dish.
- Wine – We want a nice dry white wine, something like sauvignon blanc. Be sure to choose a wine you yourself would drink!
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper.
Not A Chicken Thigh Fan?
I chose these chicken thighs with bone in and their skin on because I wanted some nice crispy chicken and this just worked for me. Of course you can use chicken breasts, no skin and no bones, up to you.
How To Make Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes and Kale Bake
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.
- Cook the chicken thighs: Season chicken thighs on both sides with salt and pepper. In a medium size skillet heat the olive oil and melt the butter together. Add chicken thighs to skillet and cook on both sides until gold and crispy. The chicken won’t be cooked all the way through, but that’s OK, since we’ll finish cooking it in the oven. Remove the chicken from skillet and set aside.
- Saute the sauteables: Drain fat from skillet, leaving about a tbsp of the fat still in the skillet. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add sweet potatoes and cook for a couple minutes. You just want them to get a little brown. Add corn and cook for 2 more minutes. Add chopped kale, toss everything together and cook for another minute. Add the wine and season with salt and pepper.
- Finish the dish: Transfer the cooked vegetables to the prepared baking dish. Place the chicken thighs over the vegetables and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until chicken cooks through and sweet potatoes are fork tender.
How To Ensure Your Chicken Is Cooked Through
If you’re used to only really cooking with chicken breast just keep in mind that the color of the cooked meat will be different. Chicken breast cooks from pink to white whereas chicken thigh will cook darker, even a little pinkish even when done. So fear not if your thigh still has some color to it, as long as the internal temp is 180 F degrees you’re good to go!
Other Ingredients You Can Use
- Cauliflower
- Carrots
- Mushrooms
- Peas
- Potatoes
- Broccoli
- Broccolini
Storing Leftovers
Store leftovers in the fridge up to 3-4 days. Reheat simply in the microwave, or you can reheat leftovers in the oven at 350 F degrees for about 15 minutes or until heated through.
Want to freeze your leftovers? This is a very freezer friendly meal! You can store leftovers either in an airtight container or a freezer bag up to 4 months. Reheat either in the microwave or in a skillet.
More Delicious Recipes To Try
- Chicken Marsala
- Chicken and Mushrooms in Creamy Dill Sauce
- Lemon Chicken Piccata
- Lemon Pepper Chicken
- Chicken Francese
- Coq Au Vin
- Chicken in White Wine Sauce with Mushrooms
- Honey Garlic Chicken
- Spicy Brazilian Coconut Chicken
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Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes and Kale Bake
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 45 mins
Total: 55 mins
Serves: 4
These Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes and Kale Bake make for a perfect weeknight dinner but fancy enough for a Sunday night supper. It's incredibly simple to make and requires only a handful of ingredients.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs skin on, bones in
- 1 sweet potatoes peeled and cut in cubes
- 1 cup corn frozen
- 2 cups kale chopped
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 tbsp butter unsalted
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.
- Season chicken thighs on both sides with salt and pepper. In a medium size skillet heat the olive oil and melt the butter together. Add chicken thighs to skillet and cook on both sides until gold and crispy. The chicken won't be cooked all the way through, but that's OK, since we'll finish cooking it in the oven. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.
- Drain fat from skillet, leaving about a tbsp of the fat still in the skillet. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add sweet potatoes and cook for a couple minutes. You just want them to get a little brown. Add corn and cook for 2 more minutes. Add chopped kale, toss everything together and cook for another minute. Add the wine and season with salt and pepper.
- Transfer the cooked vegetables to the prepared baking dish. Place the chicken thighs over the vegetables and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until chicken cooks through and sweet potatoes are fork tender.
Recipe Notes
- Store leftovers in the fridge up to 3-4 days. Reheat simply in the microwave, or you can reheat leftovers in the oven at 350 F degrees for about 15 minutes or until heated through.
- Want to freeze your leftovers? This is a very freezer friendly meal! You can store leftovers either in an airtight container or a freezer bag up to 4 months. Reheat either in the microwave or in a skillet.
Nutrition Information:
Calories: 408kcal (20%)Carbohydrates: 21g (7%)Protein: 22g (44%)Fat: 26g (40%)Saturated Fat: 7g (44%)Cholesterol: 118mg (39%)Sodium: 120mg (5%)Potassium: 640mg (18%)Fiber: 2g (8%)Sugar: 4g (4%)Vitamin A: 8234IU (165%)Vitamin C: 45mg (55%)Calcium: 75mg (8%)Iron: 2mg (11%)
Connie says
I’m gonna be really honest. At first glance I was like uh oh I’m not sure this is gonna fly over well with my family. I DID put a bit more wine and only had Riesling but it was soo good. It’s my first time cooking with Kale too. Wow! I’m glad I trusted the recipe and I’d make it again!
Jo Cooks Team says
That’s so great to hear! We’re glad the whole family loved it 🙂
Patty says
I’ve made this recipe so many times and it’s ALWAYS delicious! And it always smells divine!
Leslie says
I made this last night and everything about this dish was delicious!
Dee says
I have made this dish several times since finding this recipe. It is so good! The flavors are great together. Browning the bone-in chicken in butter then baking with the veggies just really brings these flavors together. Thank you for sharing this one! A note to those who don’t like wine, I don’t add it and it still tastes amazing.
Joanna Cismaru says
My pleasure, so glad you like it!
Kim H. says
Sounds like a scrumptious recipe, I’m trying to find recipes that I could substitute maybe pork chops for the chicken, do you think that might work and if so would you cook for the same amount of time? I have a family of 5 so I have to always make a bit more than the recipe calls for anyway so adjusting a bit is fine.
Joanna Cismaru says
Oh absolutely, the cooking time could vary based on how thick your pork chops are.
Jen says
I was browsing for a chicken and sweet potato recipe and happened to have kale on-hand as well. Perfect! I made this in an iron skillet and just transferred straight to the oven for a one-pan meal. Delicious and super easy.
Joanna Cismaru says
Glad you liked it Jen!
jennifer tapia says
I had fun making this dish, it was so colorful and easy to throw together. I didn’t have butter so when I put the dish in the oven I added some brown sugar to top of chicken hoping to get a bit more crisp out of the chicken. Still in oven but I have no doubt it will be a winner winner chicken dinner! Thanks for sharing.
Shane says
Are there nutrition facts for this? I’m currently on weight watchers and would love to figure out how many points this is.
Joanna Cismaru says
Hi Shane,
I’ve added nutritional information to the recipe. Enjoy!
Shane says
Thank you!
Kat says
Hi jo! Hope you’re well!
Great recipe! As are all of them!
Are the 408 calories per serving for 4 servings?
jo says
The nutritional information is always shown per serving.
Christa says
I dont have kale, I assume green beans or broccoli would be ok? I have a ton of sweet potatoes and chicken strips (boneless, skinless, yadda yadda.) I plan on using chicken broth instead of wine. It looks super yummy in the photo, soon as I have all the above listed ingredients, I shall make it as instructed! Cant wait to try the real recipe though!
jo says
Green beans or broccoli would be fine, same with chicken broth. Enjoy!
Martha says
I made this tonight and it was very good. My sweet potato was on the small side so probably should have used two. Also the kale seemed a little skimpy. The recipe calls for 2 cups. Do you measure by how many ounces are in a cup? I had a 5 ounce bag and once it cooked down there wasn’t a whole lot. I will definitely make this again though.
jo says
No, I didn’t measure by how many ounces, but feel free to use more as needed. 🙂
Rose Furtado says
i made this dish tonight for supper, it was easy, healthy and delicious. Thank you, this one is going into my menu rotation and the cookbook I am making for my granddaughter. Perfect!
jo says
You’re welcome Rose, glad you liked it. 🙂
Erin says
To save some time on prep before going in the oven I’m going to microwave the sweet potatoes and corn rather than repeating the various skillet times. Then cover with foil in the oven to lock in moisture.
Zoe says
Will baby kale work well in this dish? Thanks in advance 🙂
jo says
Oh yeah for sure.
caroline says
i had to use normal potatoes (as all i had in) and added mushrooms for extra flavour. i despise wine but i LOVED this dish. I have never commented on anything on this site before but i had to say this was so full of flavour and i will definitely be making it again and will recommend it to anyone, i will buy sweet potatoes so i can get the full flavour of the original dish. i only ever buy kale for the rabbit so now he’ll have to share!!! thank you so much for sharing
jo says
Thanks for the chuckle Caroline, the rabbit will have to share indeed. I’ve never been a big fan of kale either, but it’s good for us so I try and incorporate it in some dishes. Also love it in salads. 🙂
Me says
I enjoyed this dish. The sweet corn is an unexpected, but pleasant pop of sweetness, and the kale blends so well you get the nutrition without the typical kale texture. I actually used boneless, skinless chicken breast, searing well on both sides, which turned out juicy and tasty, but a bit bland. I also added extra sweet potato (I used 2 large) and I believe it would satisfy 4 adults easily. I also used chicken broth in place of the wine. I had leftovers, and added some Italian seasoning and thought it really took the flavor up a notch. I will definitely add it along with the salt and pepper on both the chicken and sweet potato mixture next time. Love it! Thanks!
jo says
So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
krissy says
You bake uncovered?
jo says
Yes I did Krissy.
krissy says
Made it this evening – it was so delicious! Finally a dish that uses kale where I had all the ingredients on hand. Will definitely make this again.
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
What a delicious way to cook chicken! I rarely cook with chicken thigh but you have inspired me to go out and buy some so I can recreate this. Thanks for sharing it!
Yousef says
This dish looks amazing! Whats a good non-alcoholic substitute for white wine?
jo says
Chicken broth.
Yousef says
Thank you!
Judy says
Sorry. Me again. What to use instead of kale if I can’t find it?
jo says
You could skip it or maybe use spinach.
Judy says
What if I can’t find kale and canno use chicken legs?
I hope you’re well
jo says
Sure you can.