Cajun Blackened Chicken

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Cajun Blackened Chicken is a delicious, spicy, quick and easy chicken dish that is a perfect recipe for Mardi Gras or anytime you want a quick, easy, and delicious dinner.

I first had blackened chicken and redfish while we were on vacation in New Orleans! One bite and I was hooked. I knew I had to make this myself because I was not going to find a restaurant that served this back home!

Cajun Blackened Chicken

You are in for a treat! In this post, you will learn how to make a Cajun Blackened Chicken Recipe, with step by step instructions, photos, and a step by step how to video guide, that will:

• Taste spicy and flavorful with the Cajun Blackened Seasoning and that your whole family will love.
• Pair well with two Cajun / Creole side dishes for a complete delicious Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday dinner.
• Have a quick and easy weeknight dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes.
• Provide your family with a wholesome entree that fits well into most meal plans.
• Use common, everyday ingredients that are most likely already in your refrigerator and pantry.

Who Created The Blackening Cooking Technique?

What Makes the Fish or Chicken Blackened?

Blackening is where fish or chicken or other food is dipped in melted butter and covered in a spicy seasoning blend with herbs and spices called Cajun Blackening Seasoning.  When cooked it has a black-brown color.

While Chef Prudhomme created this technique for redfish, it will work for any type of fish, such as salmon or catfish, and also works great on chicken, as you will see below.

How To Make Cajun Blackened Chicken

1. Make The Blackening Seasoning. In a small bowl, stir together the 9 spices and herbs: paprika, salt, pepper, cayenne, thyme, basil, oregano, onion powder, and garlic powder. 
2. Oil The Chicken. Either spray both sides of the chicken breasts with cooking spray, or rub the chicken with olive oil.
3. Season The Chicken.  Sprinkle the Blackening seasoning, that you just made, over both sides of each chicken breast.
4. Cook The Chicken. In a large skillet over medium heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the chicken breasts. Cover and cook the chicken breasts for approximately seven to eight minutes on each side.
5. Let The Chicken Rest. After the chicken has finished cooking, remove it from the heat and let it rest for about 5 to 10 minutes.

When To Serve Cajun Blackened Chicken

Cajun Blackened Chicken is so quick and easy to make as well as wholesome, that you can make it any time you want a delicious dinner in a hurry. So it is perfect for weeknight meals.

However, it is an especially popular dish during Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday! The day before Ash Wednesday people party and enjoy foods and drink before fasting for Lent.

Cajun Blackened Chicken is the main course of our homemade Mardi Gras dinner. You have seen the recipes for the side dishes, Creole Greens Beans, and the Maque Choux. This spicy chicken dish rounds out the dinner. It is loaded with flavor but won’t break the calorie bank.

For dessert, I like to serve Bananas Foster Upside Down Cupcakes.

How Spicy is Cajun Blackened Chicken?

The chicken is spicy, moist, flavorful, and delicious.  If you want to tone down the level of heat, it is easy to reduce or leave out the cayenne. This can be made on top of the stove in 30 minutes and will bring a smile to everyone’s face.

I like making the Blackened Seasoning mix myself because I can tweak to the level of heat I like and the level of saltiness (or no salt) and it will be just the way I like it! The Cajun Blackened Seasoning is perfect on chicken, but you could also use it on catfish, salmon, or shrimp as well.

What Can I Do With Leftover Cajun Blackened Chicken?

I love this recipe because it can also be used in so many other dishes, such as on:

1. Salads:
   1. Cajun Creole Dressing,
2. Tacos:
   1. Tacos with a Mango Habanero Salsa,
3. Casseroles:
   1. Chicken Tetrazzini with Asiago Cream Sauce,
   2. Chicken Broccoli Cheese Quinoa Casserole,
4. Soups:
   1. Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup.

Tips For Perfect Cajun Blackened Chicken

1. I recommend using a cast iron skillet.
2. Use quality spices for the Blackening Seasoning.
3. I recommend making your own Cajun Blackening Seasoning Mix.
4. Make sure the chicken breasts are completely thawed.
5. Make sure the skillet is very hot before placing the chicken in the skillet.

If you like this recipe, you may also like my Baked Chicken Tenders with Honey Sriracha.

What will you serve with your Cajun Blackened Chicken? (Scroll down for the printable recipe.)

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Recipe

Cajun Blackened Chicken

By Michele @ Flavor Mosaic

4.72 from 21 votes

Cajun Blackened Chicken is an easy, spicy and flavorful chicken dish that can be ready in 30 minutes and is great for a weeknight dinner.

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Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 164

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

Blackened Seasoning

• ▢ 1 teaspoon paprika
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Chicken

• ▢ 4 chicken breast halves boneless, skinless
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions 

• In a small bowl, stir together the first 9 ingredients. 
• Spray both sides of the chicken breasts with cooking spray. 
  
• Then sprinkle the seasoning over both sides of each chicken breast.
  
• In a large skillet over medium heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the chicken breasts. 
• Cover and cook the chicken breasts for approximately seven to eight minutes on each side.
• After the chicken has finished cooking, remove it from the heat and let it rest for about 5 to 10 minutes.

Video

Tried this recipe?Please Rate this Recipe!

Notes

Tips For Cajun Blackened Chicken:

1. This recipe works really well in a cast iron skillet. If you don’t have one, I recommend this one. 
2. Oil or Butter. I used olive oil in this recipe, but you could also use butter instead or your favorite oil. My favorite is probably avocado oil because it can handle high heat without burning.
3. Making your own Cajun Blackening seasoning tastes much better than buying a store-bought package of Cajun seasoning. Will this recipe work with the store-bought package? Of course, it will. It may be very salty, so I recommend not adding any additional salt if you use the store-bought Cajun seasoning.
4. You can control how spicy the chicken is by adjusting the amount of cayenne pepper in the Cajun Blackening seasoning. If you want it spicier, increase the amount of cayenne, or if you want it less spicy, reduce the amount of cayenne. If you don’t want it spicy at all, leave out the cayenne all together.
5. If you have large, thick chicken breasts, then I recommend that you slice them sideways (horizontally) so they make two thinner pieces of chicken instead of one thick piece of chicken. This will allow the chicken to cook faster.

Nutrition

Calories: 164kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 277mg | Potassium: 429mg | Vitamin A: 330IU | Vitamin C: 1.3mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 0.8mg

For more ideas, try these Cajun recipes.

1. Blackened Chicken Tacos with Mango Habanero Salsa
2. Cajun Blackened Catfish.
3. Cajun Blackened Salmon.
4. Maque Choux
5. Creole Green Beans.
6. Baked Chicken Creole.

For dessert, try my Cinnamon Apple Pie Bread Pudding.

Or you may like my Pumpkin Praline Bread Pudding for dessert. Find out why it is my most popular recipe on the blog.