Last updated on August 8th, 2017 at 11:30 am
Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes Corn and Kale Bake – a delicious Sunday night dinner, but simple enough to make on any night of the week.
I’ve been in training all week and my brain is F.R.I.E.D. These week long courses kill me, total information overload and it’s information that is not easy to retain. It’s something that comes with lots of practice and practice and more practice. But one good thing this week is that the weather has been beautiful here in good old Calgary and luckily I have lots of windows here in my office so I’ve been able to enjoy the sunshine from indoors, if there’s such a thing. Hubs has been a sweetheart all week long bringing me coffee and breakfast every morning, since my class starts in the wee hours of morning. At least it feels like it for me.
Since we’re approaching the weekend, I’ve got a fabulous Sunday night dinner for you. 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.
I dreamed up this combination one day before lunch when I was hungry and my stomach was growling at me. Can’t say I’ve ever mixed sweet potatoes, corn and kale together but it worked. All the flavors went together wonderfully.
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. As far as the veggies, well those were a totally random pick for me, but kale is probably the unusual ingredient here that sticks out and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out. As it bakes it gets nice and crispy so it adds great texture to this dish. Not to mention the beautiful color it adds to this meal.
Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes Corn and Kale Bake
Print Pin RateIngredients
- 4 chicken thighs skin on, bones in
- 1 sweet potato peeled and cut in cubes
- 1 cup corn kernels
- 2 cups kale chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup white wine
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Spray a 9x13 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 continue 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.
- Add 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.
Nutrition
I’ve made this recipe so many times and it’s ALWAYS delicious! And it always smells divine!
I made this last night and everything about this dish was delicious!
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.
My pleasure, so glad you like it!
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.
Oh absolutely, the cooking time could vary based on how thick your pork chops are.
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.
Glad you liked it Jen!
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.
Are there nutrition facts for this? I’m currently on weight watchers and would love to figure out how many points this is.
Hi Shane,
I’ve added nutritional information to the recipe. Enjoy!
Thank you!
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!
Green beans or broccoli would be fine, same with chicken broth. Enjoy!
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.
No, I didn’t measure by how many ounces, but feel free to use more as needed. 🙂
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!
You’re welcome Rose, glad you liked it. 🙂
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.
Will baby kale work well in this dish? Thanks in advance 🙂
Oh yeah for sure.
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
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. 🙂
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!
So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
You bake uncovered?
Yes I did Krissy.
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.
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!
This dish looks amazing! Whats a good non-alcoholic substitute for white wine?
Chicken broth.
Thank you!
Sorry. Me again. What to use instead of kale if I can’t find it?
You could skip it or maybe use spinach.
What if I can’t find kale and canno use chicken legs?
I hope you’re well
Sure you can.