Skillets are everything when it comes to counting macros or eating balanced. They make it so easy to get creative with lots of protein and veggies! And this BBQ Chicken and Butternut Macro-friendly Skillet is exactly that.
I originally made this recipe for the Madeline Moves Tighter Together challenge, and it was so GOOD that I added it to the bonus meals in the back of my cookbook PLANNED. It’s such a quick and easy meal but still super filling (like seriously, it takes me 30 minutes), so I thought it deserved a spot here on the blog too.
What You’ll Need for this BBQ Chicken and Butternut Macro-friendly Skillet:
- Butternut squash, peeled and chopped into small squares (380 g)
- Olive oil (7 g)
- Garlic, minced (or 2 frozen cubes)
- Onion, diced (100 g)
- Kosher salt
- Cumin
- Chili powder
- Paprika
- Frozen cauliflower florets (453 g, of course, fresh works too!)
- Rotisserie or other cooked chicken breast chopped (400 g)
- Corn, fresh or frozen (130 g)
- Greek cream cheese, or reduced-fat cream cheese (28 g)
- Nonfat Greek yogurt (95 g)
- *Kinder no-sugar BBQ sauce (30 g)
- Gruyere or sharp cheddar cheese, grated (56 g)**
- Cilantro, chopped
Optional Extras for Toppings
- Avocado
- Chopped red onion
- Cherry tomatoes
- Shredded lettuce
Dicing Your Butternut Squash:
Butternut squash is AMAZING, but sometimes cutting it can be intimidating. Of course, you can always buy the precut kind, as long as you don’t leave it too long and have a bag of slimy cubes …gross.
But don’t worry, cutting butternut squash is easier than you might think! The way that works best for me is to start by peeling it. Then, cut off both the top and bottom ends and cut the squash in half longways. Use an ice cream scoop or spoon to scrape out the seeds. Then, cut each half in half again lengthwise. Finally, cut into strips and then into cubes. And voila, you’ve got the perfect butternut squash cubes for any recipe.
If you need a visual, here’s a quick reel of me cutting the butternut squash into cubes.
How to Make BBQ Chicken and Butternut Macro-Friendly Skillet:
Start by heating a heavy-bottomed pan (I like this Dutch Oven one here) over medium-high heat. Spray with a mist of olive oil spray, add chopped butternut squash, and spray with an additional generous mist. (This was 7 grams for me.)
Cook (covered if you’d like to move it along) for about five to ten minutes, opening often to stir. When they’re starting to get tender, add garlic, onion, and dry seasonings and cook for a minute. Add the frozen cauliflower florets and cook for another ten minutes or until all veggies are as tender as you like. If it’s dry, add a couple of tablespoons of water as you go.
Then, add the cooked, chopped chicken, and corn. Combine well and then add your cream cheese and Greek yogurt. Mix well, then smooth the top. Drizzle with 2 Tbsp BBQ sauce and sprinkle with grated gruyere (or sharp cheddar.) Broil for 2-4 minutes until your cheese is melted nicely.
Finally, remove from the oven and sprinkle with chopped cilantro and diced red onion.
Serving Suggestions and Additional Notes:
We love to eat this BBQ Chicken and Butternut Squash skillet with chopped cherry tomatoes, fresh avocado, additional cilantro, and BBQ sauce on top. I love mine piled over or under chopped lettuce, and my kids love it over brown rice. Can’t go wrong.
When it comes to the BBQ sauce for this recipe, you can use your favorite. If you want the macros to match mine, I use Kinder Zero Sugar which I really love. It’s just 5 carbs/2 Tbsp serving and it doesn’t have any weird artificial sweeteners or anything. It’s just not a sugary sweet one. So, just go with your preference.
For cheese, I used and LOVE Gruyere on this. But use whatever you have and love! This recipe had plenty of room for those fats, so this is NOT a low-fat cheese and is labeled at 9 fat per oz if you want to make a swap.
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Is BBQ Chicken and Butternut Skillet GF/DF?
This skillet is naturally gluten-free as long as you choose a gluten-free BBQ sauce. This recipe does contain dairy, but you can make some easy swaps. Just make sure to use dairy-free sour cream instead of Greek yogurt, dairy-free cream cheese, and dairy-free cheese instead of the Gruyere. If you need some more ideas, here is a list of my favorite dairy-free favorites here.
Similar Recipes You’ll Love:
Cajun Chicken Spaghetti Squash Skillet
Macro-friendly Fajita Ground Turkey Skillet
Veggie Chicken Soup with Butternut Squash
Cauliflower Rice Enchilada Skillet
BBQ Chicken and Butternut Macro-Friendly Skillet
This BBQ Chicken and Butternut Macro-friendly Skillet is the best for a quick and easy lunch especially if you keep Costco’s rotisserie chicken on hand. A staple at my house.
I’m always trying to feed my family veggie-packed, delicious, and quick meals, so I’m sharing my favorites all the time over on Instagram! You can follow along there to see what we’re making.
BBQ Chicken and Butternut Skillet
Ingredients
- ½ butternut squash peeled and chopped into small squares (380 g)
- ½ Tbsp olive oil 7 g
- 2 cloves garlic minced (or 2 frozen cubes)
- 1 cup onion diced (100 g)
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 lb bag of frozen cauliflower florets 453 g, of course fresh works too!
- 3 cups rotisserie or other cooked chicken breast chopped (400 g)
- 1 cup corn fresh or frozen (130 g)
- 1 oz Greek cream cheese or reduced-fat cream cheese (28 g)
- ⅓ cup nonfat Greek yogurt 95 g
- 2 Tbsp *Kinder no sugar BBQ sauce 30 g
- 2 oz gruyere or sharp cheddar cheese grated (56 g)**
- Cilantro chopped
Optional extras for topping:
- Avocado
- Chopped red onion
- Cherry tomatoes
- Shredded lettuce
Instructions
- Heat a heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Spray with a mist of olive oil spray, add chopped butternut squash and spray with an additional generous mist. (This was 7 grams for me.)
- Cook (covered if you’d like to move it along) for about five to ten minutes, opening often to stir. When they’re starting to get tender, add garlic, onion, and dry seasonings and cook for a minute. Add the frozen cauliflower florets and cook for another ten minutes or until all veggies are as tender as you like. If it’s dry, add a couple of tablespoons of water as you go.
- Add the cooked, chopped chicken, and corn. Combine well and then add your cream cheese, and Greek yogurt. Mix well, then smooth the top. Drizzle with 2 Tbsp BBQ sauce and sprinkle with grated gruyere (or sharp cheddar.) Broil for 2-4 minutes until your cheese is melted nicely.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with chopped cilantro and diced red onion. Serve with optional chopped cherry tomatoes, fresh avocado, additional cilantro and bbq sauce. I love mine piled over or under chopped lettuce! My kids love it over brown rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
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This is delicious, thank you! How do I figure out a serving size though? I tripled this recipe so that I would have leftovers for my entire family for three days. I realize that a serving size is 1/9 of the recipe but what does that equate to when I’m trying to actually measure out my portion size? And this comment goes for all of your recipes. I never know how much I should be giving myself because I double or triple the recipes for longevity. Also, I noticed you do a lot of measurements in grams. Is there a reason for that versus using cups? Thank you!
She wrote that a serving is 290 grams.
Delicious! I made this for my family and everyone asked for seconds. A huge hit with all four of my boys. It came together so quickly and was the perfect hearty weeknight meal. We paired with a crunchy green salad and the boys made burritos with the bbq chicken skillet. Yum!!
My girls and I loved this! Chopped everything up in the afternoon and it came together quickly at dinner. Only change I made was doubling the seasonings, it just needed a little more flavor for me.