Blackened Chicken

Blackened Chicken is a quick chicken dish made with lean chicken breasts generously coated with a spicy cajun style seasoning, and it’s pan seared in a hot cast iron pan for a light blackened char. And for a hint of richness we finish them with butter!

Fast and Easy Blackened Chicken

Smoky, spicy, highly flavorful seasoned chicken kissed with a blackened exterior that envelops a juicy tender interior. It’s a tastebud tantalizing recipe to make any day of the year!

It’s so simple to make and cooks quickly. It’s just a brisk mixing of spices, then generously seasoning the chicken and from there cooking in a super hot skillet for that beautiful finish.

There’s a plethora of delicious sides to pair with it (lots of ideas below), and there’s also so much you can do with this chicken. My personal favorites for serving are pairing with coconut rice, corn, and mango avocado salsa (for a bit of that sweet + heat) but there’s endless options.

And it doesn’t just need to be served solo. Try it in tacos, add it to pasta (like creamy alfredo), or toss into a salad.

Blackened Chicken Recipe Ingredients

• Chicken Breasts: Small boneless skinless chicken breasts are used in this recipe.
• Dried spices: Smoke paprika, sweet paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper are all included here.
• Dried herbs: Dried oregano and thyme are traditional blackening seasoning herbs.
• Oil: Light olive oil or vegetable oil are recommended for this recipe with their higher smoke point.
• Butter: Salted butter or unsalted butter work fine for this recipe since a small amount is used.

How to Make Blackened Chicken

1. Mix together spices: In a mixing bowl whisk together smoked paprika, sweet paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, thyme, salt and black pepper.
2. Season chicken: Sprinkle both sides of each piece of chicken evenly with spice mixture.
3. Preheat skillet: Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and coat bottom of skillet.
4. Cook chicken: Place chicken in skillet and cook until browned on bottom, about 4 minutes. Turn and continue to cook until chicken has cooked through (165 degrees in center), about 4 minutes longer.
5. If needed at any time during cooking you can reduce burner temperature to medium if chicken is becoming too dark before cooking through.
6. Finish with butter: Plate chicken and top with butter. If desired you can garnish with a little chopped fresh parsley.

Helpful Tips

• Use even size chicken breasts: It’s helpful to cook with chicken breasts that are close to the same size so they cook through at the same time.
• Preheat the skillet: For charred blackened chicken use a preheated hot skillet. It will take about 5 to 10 minutes to preheat a cast iron pan (depending on if you’re using gas or electric).
• Use cast iron: Cast iron blackens chicken beautifully. As it cooks if you find it’s darkening too quickly reduce temp a bit, if it’s not darkening enough increase temp.
• Have a thermometer handy: A digital food thermometer is highly recommended when cooking chicken breasts so you know it’s reached that target temperature of 165, this is for food safety and also so chicken doesn’t become overcooked and dry.

Variations

Make Grilled Blackened Chicken Breasts

• To make blackened chicken on the grill prepared chicken use 6 to 8 oz chicken breasts.
• Brush chicken with a little honey or white sugar and olive oil (mixed). They will be lightly sweeter this way but it will really help them blacken better on the grill.
• Then sprinkle with the seasonings.
• Grill on a hot grill at about 450°F, covered, about 4 minutes per side. Or until they register 165°F in the center.

Using Chicken Thighs

• To make this recipe with chicken thighs just use smaller chicken thighs, about 4 to 5 oz each.

Make Blackened Chicken Tacos

• This blackened chicken recipe works great as a taco filling.
• After cooking simply let them cool for a few minutes then chop up into small pieces.
• Serve over warmed tortillas with toppings such as shredded lettuce or cabbage, pico de gallo, cilantro and shredded cheese.

Add Blackened Chicken to Salad

• You’ll love this as a hearty filler in a green salad and it’s a great way to use up chilled leftovers too.
• Use Romaine lettuce or spinach as the base.
• Try serving with a lemon vinaigrette or honey mustard dressing.
• Include vegetables like tomatoes, corn, avocado, red onion, cucumber, or bell peppers.

What to Serve with Blackened Chicken

Here are some excellent options to serve with this chicken:

• Baked Sweet Potato Fries
• Cilantro Lime Rice
• Coconut Rice
• Corn Salad
• Grilled Corn
• Mango Avocado Salsa
• Mashed Potatoes
• Mashed Sweet Potatoes
• Mexican Street Corn Salad
• Roasted Zucchini Squash and Tomatoes

More Tasty Cajun Style Recipes to Try

• Blackened Salmon
• Blackened Shrimp
• One Pot Cajun Pasta
• Sheet Pan Cajun Chicken and Veggies
• Shrimp Boil

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe

Blackened Chicken

This is a quick dish made with lean chicken breasts generously coated with a cajun style seasoning, and it's pan seared in a hot cast iron pan for a light blackened char. And of course for a hint of richness we finish them with butter!

Servings: 4

Prep15 minutes minutes

Cook10 minutes minutes

Ready in: 25 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 4 (6 oz each) boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to an even 1/2-inch thickness
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 3/4 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste (this is spicy)
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp light olive oil or vegetable oil
• 2 Tbsp butter, melted
• 2 tsp chopped fresh parsley, for garnished (optional)

Instructions

• In a mixing bowl whisk together smoked paprika, sweet paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, thyme, salt and black pepper.
• Sprinkle both sides of each piece of chicken evenly with spice mixture.
• Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and coat bottom of skillet.
• Place chicken in skillet and cook until slightly blackened on bottom, about 4 minutes. Turn and continue to cook until chicken has cooked through (165 degrees in center), about 4 minutes longer. If needed at any time during cooking you can reduce burner temperature to medium if chicken is becoming too dark before cooking through.
• Plate chicken and drizzle with butter. If desired you can garnish with a little chopped fresh parsley.

Notes

• *Don't use extra virgin olive oil or it will smoke, either light olive oil or vegetable oil.
• This chicken is delicious with coconut rice, corn on the cob, and mango avocado salsa.

Nutrition Facts

Blackened Chicken

Amount Per Serving

Calories 262 Calories from Fat 99

% Daily Value*

Fat 11g17%

Saturated Fat 5g31%

Trans Fat 0.3g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 4g

Cholesterol 124mg41%

Sodium 536mg23%

Potassium 684mg20%

Carbohydrates 2g1%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 0.2g0%

Protein 37g74%

Vitamin A 979IU20%

Vitamin C 6mg7%

Calcium 25mg3%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Southern

Keyword: blackened chicken, blackened chicken recipe

Author: Jaclyn