Quick & Easy Blackened Chicken

In just minutes you’ll have perfectly seasoned 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. If you love the flavor of blackened dishes you’ll want to also make Blackened Corn. 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?

Alternate cooking method

If you don’t have a grill (or it’s just not grilling weather) this chicken can also be cooked in a skillet on the stovetop.

We prefer our cast iron skillet, but you could use any skillet that you’ve sprayed with cooking spray or added a little oil to.

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Does blackened mean spicy?

We get this question a lot. In fact, a lot of folks think any type of Cajun or Creole food is spicy and that’s just not true.

Full of flavor? Yes! Spicy? It totally depends on you and your family’s preference. If you don’t like any heat we still recommend adding just a touch of cayenne for the flavor it gives, but you can definitely cut back on it.

If you and yours love a good kick then go all out with that cayenne! In fact, on most tables in Louisiana you will find at least one bottle of hot sauce. That way everyone can customize their own dish.

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. You can also cook it in a skillet for about the same amount of time.

That’s it! How quick and easy is that? This is quickly becoming our favorite spice mix for our Cajun recipes. We use the same mix for Cajun Gravy and Chicken.

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.

For a fun quick look check out the web story for this recipe.

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 Cajun Hush Puppies, Red Beans and Rice, Oven Roasted Cajun Potatoes and 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 nachos, tacos, chicken salad or make it into a sandwich. You can also add it to your favorite salad with some Cajun Salad Dressing or try it in this Southwestern Salad. A restaurant favorite is blackened chicken alfredo, so grab a jar of alfredo sauce (or make your own) and some pasta. This is also great on nachos with some Creamy Poblano Sauce.

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.