Quick & Easy Grilled Blackened Chicken

In just minutes you’ll have perfectly seasoned grilled blackened chicken. It can be served as a main dish or made into tacos, nachos, sandwiches or as a salad topping.

Grilled foods are tops around here and only rivaled by our love for Cajun and Creole dishes, so we’ve naturally combined the two.

With just a few ingredients that probably are already in your pantry you can stir up your own homemade seasoning for blackened chicken. Then fire up that grill until it’s good and hot.

You’ll brush the chicken with a little oil, add the rub and then quickly cook it on both sides. That’s it! How easy is that?

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Ingredients/Substitutions

• Boneless chicken breast is what we typically use for this recipe. You could make it with chicken tenders, but you’d need to use a grill mat or basket so the tenders don’t fall through the grill. Boneless thighs could also be used, but the dark meat needs to cooks a little longer.
• Smoked paprika – if you only have regular paprika you could use it, but we highly recommend keeping smoked paprika in your spice cabinet.
• Coarse kosher or sea salt. If plain table salt is all you have, that’s fine.
• Black pepper – standard out of the box is okay, but freshly ground is always best.
• Garlic powder.
• Onion Powder.
• Cayenne Pepper – This is where the heat comes from so cut it down or leave it off altogether if you don’t like the kick.
• Oregano – Adding this herb gives a nice balance to the spices.

How to make it

1. Mix the spices and herbs together.
2. Use a mallet to pound the chicken breasts until they are consistently about ½ inch thick.
3. Brush the chicken with oil on one side and then sprinkle with the rub mix.
4. Pat the rub into the chicken breast.
5. Turn the chicken over and repeat.
6. Cook on a pre-heated grill (medium high heat) about 4 minutes per side.

That’s it! How quick and easy is that?

Tips from our kitchen and grill

The most important tip is to have the chicken at a consistent thickness – about ½ inch. This ensures that the meat will cook evenly.

We like to put ours in a sturdy zip-lock bag and then pound it with a mallet. We typically cut the chicken breast into two pieces afterwards.

Also it’s very imporant to not overcook it! You can test for doneness by piercing with a fork. If the juices run clear (not pink) it’s done. Start checking after 3 minutes per side.

You can also use a digital thermometer (our favorite) and cook to 165 degrees.

What to serve with your chicken

This is the fun part! Since the whole concept of blackened seasoned fish and meat originated with Chef Paul Prudhomme you can bet it would be great with Creole and Cajun dishes.

Our favorite suggestions are Red Beans and Rice, Oven Roasted Cajun Potatoes or Dirty Rice. Then wash it all down with a Hurricane Cocktail.

But you can definitely think outside that box and use your blackened chicken to make tacos, chicken salad or make it into a sandwich. A restaurant favorite is blackened chicken alfredo, so grab a jar of alfredo sauce (or make your own) and some pasta.

The way we eat it most often is sliced up and on top of a salad. Pasta Salad with Asparagus and this Clementine Salad are two excellent choices.