This chicken stew recipe is packed with fantastic flavor and health benefits, thanks to the butternut squash and quinoa. Comfort in a bowl! 330 calories and 5 Weight Watchers Freestyle SP
I was patting myself on the back for this hearty chicken stew recipe all day long. Tasty? Oh my, yes. Healthy? You better believe it. Aroma? I'd say it gets a "15" on a scale of 1 to 10. This recipe formed in my head slowly, starting with some chicken thighs sitting in the fridge. Then I picked up a butternut squash at the grocery store, with the thought of making soup. Instead, I cubed and steamed the squash, mashing half of it to help thicken the stew. In went the quinoa, one of my favorite grains, for an extra punch of protein and fiber. The topper was a kick of briny flavor from some kalamata olives and a burst of freshness from a handful of chopped parsley.
While low in calories and fat, a bowlful of this chicken stew recipe easily satisfied my craving for comfort food. Also, butternut squash is high in Vitamins A and C, as well as fiber, so I knew I was getting a well-rounded meal to keep my body healthy for my daily workouts. One can not keep up with a high-energy "power pump" instructor without some decent fuel from which to draw. Seriously, this woman makes the Energizer bunny look like a total slacker. And she has about a dozen grandkids! Inspirational? Yeah, I'd say so.
This stew can be made in advance, but you may need to add a little more chicken broth before serving because the quinoa will expand as it sits. Either way, the flavors and textures are fantastic and it is sure to become a cold-weather favorite.
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Hearty Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash & Quinoa Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds butternut squash peeled, seeded & chopped into ½-inch pieces
- 3 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 14 ounce can petite diced tomatoes
- â…” cup uncooked quinoa
- Âľ cup pitted & quartered kalamata olives
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- ÂĽ cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- Steam the butternut squash until barely tender, about 10 minutes. Remove half of the squash pieces and set aside.
- Steam the remaining squash until very tender, an additional 4 to 6 minutes. Mash this squash with the back of a fork. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan set over medium-high heat, bring the chicken broth to a simmer.
- Add chicken thighs, cover, and cook until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
- Transfer the chicken thighs to a plate and allow to cool. Pour broth into a medium-sized bowl.
- Return the saucepan to the stovetop and lower heat to medium. Add olive oil.
- Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is starting to turn brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Add the salt, minced garlic and oregano. Cook, stirring, for 1 additional minute.
- To the saucepan, add tomatoes, butternut squash pieces, mashed butternut squash. Stir to combine.
- Stir in reserved chicken broth and quinoa. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the quinoa turns translucent, about 15 minutes.
- Shred the chicken with your fingers or a fork.
- Stir the chicken, olives and pepper into the stew and simmer, uncovered, to heat, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in parsley and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Other healthy stew recipes:
Left to right: Italian Split Pea Stew with Cauliflower, Spiced Mushroom, Chickpea & Tomato Stew, and Curry Red Lentil Stew with Tomatoes
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Melanie
Thank you for this recipe! I made it tonight for my family, and we really enjoyed it! Even the 3-year-old said it was yummy. The only change I made was to use homemade chicken broth from the freezer and just add in some leftover chopped chicken instead of cooking the chicken in the broth as directed.
I did have a question...do you know how it would work, as a shortcut, to add the butternut squash to the broth raw, allowing it to cook in the broth? I have a chili recipe in which you add raw sweet potato chunks and let it cook in the chili, so I'm wondering if there is any reason why you cook the butternut squash separately. I'm always up for saving a dish or two. Again, thanks!
Melanie
Oh and p.s. I'm normally not a fan of quinoa by itself (I've had a small bag in my pantry for a couple of years now!), but I loved it in this stew!!! I'll definitely look for ways to use it in other dishes more often.
Sharon
Any way of making this in the crockpot?
Dara
Hi Sharon, I haven’t made this using a slow cooker, but a few readers have tried it with success. Here are their comments on the matter:
“You absolutely could, I do! I don’t fry off anything- literally chuck it all in on high for 3-4 hours. You may need to add more water/stock.”
“I tried this recipe over the weekend. I didn’t have quinoa on hand, but I had rice. I just threw everything into my slow cooker and added the rice in the last 20 minutes of cooking. Fantastic soup and super easy to make!”
I hope that helps!
Em
Just cooked this and it was SO easy! I had never cooked stew before and it turned out PERFECTLY. Instead of olives and quinoa I used capers and brown rice (which I cooked beforehand), since that's what I had on hand, and it was so yummy! So, so good!
SW
It seems weird to me to cook chicken in broth and then use it again in thr recipe later. This is only due to my paranoia of salmonella with raw chicken....i guess you boil it off when you re-add it during the quinoa-cooking phase?
Di
I have made this many many times and am always grateful for this delicious and unique recipe! Thanks so much! I also love your drop biscuits 🙂
Laura
I just made this stew and I must say that it is INCREDIBLE. I was hesitant to put kalamata olives in a soup, but it makes it! Yum. Thanks for this!
Dara
I'm so glad you liked it, Laura! And I agree...the kalamata olives really do add the perfect salty, briny finish to the flavors.
Kayla
So easy to make and so tasty! Thanks for a great healthy recipe 🙂
M Gilies
For the time and effort we both thought this dish was very bland. There was more flavour in the Chiabata bun that we served with the stew.
Dara
I'm sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy this. This is one of my family's favorite dishes and, as you can read in the many comments above, it is a favorite of many of my readers as well. Did you follow the recipe as written or make some changes?
Christina
Thanks for recipe. This is the second time I have made the dish. I made a couple of substitutions based on what I had in the pantry. I used 3 big sweet potatoes, added 2 hand fulls of fresh kale and I had this monster bag of left over chicken wings from the Super Bowl that were just taking up space in the freezer. I boiled them and then peeled off the skin to extract the meat. I little labor intensive but worth it.