Chicken and Sweet Potato Skillet with Smoky Maple Dijon Sauce

The week before Christmas, and the kitchen is in full holiday production. I have baked every day this week — pound cake, coconut cake, tea cakes, sweet potato pie, peach cobbler — and the house smells like a bakery that has been blessed by an angel who specializes in Southern desserts. Calvin walks through the kitchen multiple times a day with the expression of a man who is trying to resist temptation and failing, which is ironic for a pastor but entirely expected for a husband who has been married to me for twenty-five years and knows that the pre-Christmas sampling is a right, not a privilege.

Marcus has been Christmas shopping, which I know because he comes home with bags that he smuggles to his room with the subtlety of a marching band. This year I do not know what he got me, because Destiny is at UAB and cannot leak the secret, which means I will be genuinely surprised on Christmas morning, which means I will not have to fake the surprise, which means Christmas will be honest in a way it has not been since Marcus figured out how to keep a secret, which was apparently this year.

The Christmas Eve service is Monday. Calvin has been preparing his sermon for weeks, polishing it the way I polish the church kitchen — thoroughly, obsessively, with the understanding that the preparation is the offering and the offering must be worthy. I have prepared the fellowship reception: hot chocolate, wassail, cookies, pound cake, fruit and cheese. Simple. Elegant. Festive. The food after the Christmas Eve service should be like the service itself — warm and welcoming and just enough to leave you wanting more, because Christmas Day is tomorrow and the real feast is coming.

Visited Daddy at the nursing home Saturday with a container of sweet potato pie and a small wrapped gift — a new cardigan, soft and warm, because his room is always cold and the man who raised me should not be cold at Christmas. He ate the pie. He held the gift in his lap without opening it. I opened it for him and put the cardigan around his shoulders, and he looked at me with eyes that were somewhere else, and I said Merry Christmas Daddy, and the words went into the room like ornaments on a tree — hanging there, catching whatever light was available, beautiful even if nobody saw them but me.

Sunday dinner was the pre-Christmas meal: roasted chicken, dressing, cranberry sauce, green beans, and rolls. A rehearsal for the real thing. Marcus said it was better than the real thing. I said baby, do not blaspheme about Christmas dinner before Christmas dinner has happened. He grinned. The grin is my favorite ornament. It hangs on every day, in every room, catching the light.

That Sunday dinner — the roasted chicken, the dressing, the rolls — was never just a meal. It was a rehearsal, yes, but also a reminder that the ordinary days surrounding Christmas carry their own kind of holiness. This skillet recipe is the one I reach for when I want all of those flavors together in one pan: the sweetness of the sweet potato (which had already been on my mind since I carried that pie to Daddy), the savory depth of well-seasoned chicken, and a smoky maple Dijon sauce that tastes like it was made for December. Marcus can call it better than Christmas dinner all he wants — I’ll just keep making it and letting him be wrong in the most satisfied way possible.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 lbs total)
1 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes (about 2 medium), peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder (or smoked paprika for a milder version)
Fresh thyme sprigs, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Season the chicken. Pat the chicken thighs completely dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, combine the smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Rub the spice mixture evenly over both sides of each thigh.
Sear the chicken. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet (cast iron works beautifully here) over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place the chicken thighs skin-side down and sear undisturbed for 6–8 minutes, until the skin is deep golden and releases easily from the pan. Flip and sear the other side for 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Do not wipe out the skillet.
Cook the sweet potatoes. Reduce heat to medium. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the same skillet. Add the sweet potato cubes, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes until the edges begin to caramelize. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute more until fragrant.
Make the sauce. In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the chicken broth, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, whole-grain mustard, and chipotle chili powder until fully combined. Pour the sauce over the sweet potatoes in the skillet and stir gently to coat.
Finish in the oven. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Nestle the seared chicken thighs skin-side up among the sweet potatoes, pouring any resting juices from the plate into the pan. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast for 18–22 minutes, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F and the sweet potatoes are fork-tender.
Rest and serve. Remove from the oven and let the skillet rest for 5 minutes. Spoon the sauce from the bottom of the pan over the chicken and sweet potatoes before serving. Garnish with fresh thyme if desired. Serve straight from the skillet.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chicken and Sweet Potato Skillet with Smoky Maple Dijon Sauce — The Sunday Dinner That Rehearses for Christmas