In under 10 minutes, you can prepare these Cajun Blackened Chicken Cutlets. Bold and spicy flavors take tender chicken and turn it into a fiery, savory dish.
Coated in a zesty blend of Cajun flavors, this dish is excellent for a quick and flavorful weeknight dinner. Transport yourself right to the bayou with this bold chicken recipe!
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💚 About This Recipe
Flavorful and comforting chicken in less than 10 minutes. Need I say more? These Cajun chicken cutlets are perfect for a quick and tasty meal that's sure to satisfy.
And all you need is 3 ingredients! It doesn't get much easier than that. Blackening seasoning is a simple way to instantly add lots of big flavor.
You can serve blackened chicken tenders as a protein with rice and beans, or use them for this Pittsburgh Chicken Salad!
Need a good side dish? The sweetness of these roasted beets and carrots serve as a delicious complement to the spicy blackening seasoning on the chicken!
🧂 Ingredients Needed
- chicken cutlets - this thin cut of chicken cooks up quickly and has lots of surface area to cover with flavor.
- avocado oil - any kind of mild-tasting oil can work.
- blackening seasoning - this unique seasoning blend is a great way to add flavor to your chicken without much effort. You can even make your own blackening seasoning to customize it to your liking!
🔪 Instructions
- Rub the chicken cutlets with a bit of oil, then cover the outside of the chicken with blackening spice mix.
- Heat a drizzle of oil in a cast iron skillet or large pot over medium high heat.
- Add the seasoned cutlets to the hot skillet and cooked for 2-3 minutes on each side.
❔ FAQs
Though the name might imply some kind of burning, blackened chicken is simply coated in a spice blend that gets dark when cooked. This blend is similar to flavors in Cajun cuisine and Creole spice blends.
Cajun seasoning is typically comprised of of garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper. Blackened seasoning takes these same components and adds paprika, thyme, oregano, and sometimes other varieties of pepper.
This is likely due to overcooking. Because they're thin, these cutlets will cook quickly, so be sure to keep a close eye on them to prevent drying out.
💭 Expert Tips and Tricks
- Be sure to cook your chicken at a high heat. The blackening process is all about getting a crisp and flavorful exterior while maintaining a tender interior.
- Chicken should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness.
- If you can't find chicken cutlets, simply use boneless skinless chicken breasts and slice them in half horizontally. You could also cut your cutlets or chicken breasts into smaller strips and make Cajun blackened chicken tenders.
- To ensure even heat distribution, cook your cutlets in batches if you have too many to fit in the pan at the same time.
- For super crispy chicken, dry the cutlets off with paper towels before adding the oil and spices.
- If you want the best results with the blackening technique, ensure that you're adding your chicken to a super hot pan. This will ensure a nice blackened crust!
📌 Crispy and bold with a little kick of heat, these Cajun chicken cutlets are great to eat on their own, to make sandwiches, and more!
💡 Substitutions and Variations
- Olive oil or vegetable oil can also be used, but avocado oil has a high smoke point, which makes it great for high heat cooking.
- If you like, you could also cook your chicken cutlets in melted butter.
- Serve your chicken cutlets with a side of potatoes or pasta, green beans, on buns with your favorite toppings, or chop them up and add them to salads. They can also be eaten as-is!
- If you don't have blackening seasoning, combine garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, paprika (smoked paprika and regular paprika both work), oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper to achieve the same affect.
🥫 Storage and Reheating
Allow the cutlets to cool, then transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge. They should last 3-4 days. You can also keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months or so.
To reheat leftover blackened chicken, heat in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, or heat a small drizzle of oil in a pan and cook until heated through. You could also place chicken in the oven at 350 degrees F. If you reheat in the oven, I recommend covering with foil to avoid drying out.
From frozen, just allow the chicken cutlets to thaw before reheating.
🍴 What To Serve With This Dish
These Cajun chicken cutlets would pair well with a cornbread made from my Copycat Jiffy Cornbread Mix, or even a fancy Cornbread Casserole! You could also serve them alongside Chickpea Pasta Salad, or over top of some Instant Pot Quinoa.
✔️ More Chicken Recipes You'll Love
- Marry Me Chicken - This dish gets its tongue-in-cheek name from the sundried tomato sauce that tastes so good, you'll want to marry the cook!
- Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip - You'll love serving this health conscious twist on classic buffalo chicken dip, great as an appetizer or snack while watching your favorite game.
- Crockpot Hawaiian Chicken - Combine the best of sweet and savory flavors in the tasty slow cooker dish.
- Honey Sriracha Chicken Dip - This chicken dip from Cocktails and Appetizers is the perfect blend of delicious flavors and has just the right amount of spicy heat!
Blackened Chicken Tenders
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📋 Recipe Card
Cajun Blackened Chicken Cutlets
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds chicken cutlets
- 2 tablespoons blackening seasoning (or cajun seasoning)
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil, plus a little more to rub on the chicken
Instructions
- Rub the chicken cutlets with a little of the avocado oil.1 ½ pounds chicken cutlets
- Sprinkle the blackening seasoning all over each chicken cutlet.2 tablespoons blackening seasoning
- Heat the avocado oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat until very hot.2 tablespoons avocado oil, plus a little more to rub on the chicken
- Add the chicken cutlets, and cook 2-3 minutes on each side, until done. Thicker cutlets might require longer cooking time.
Notes
- Blackening is a cooking technique that involves high heat and spices. It creates a flavorful, dark crust on the outside while keeping the inside moist and tender.
- You can use store-bought blackening seasoning, or make it yourself with this homemade blackening seasoning recipe.
- You can use chicken breasts if you prefer, however you may want to carefully slice them in half horizontally so that they aren't so thick.
- You can use olive oil instead of avocado oil if you prefer. Avocado oil is a good choice because it has a high smoke point, but olive oil is another good choice. Butter would also work if that's all you have.
- Work in batches if needed to avoid overcrowding the skillet.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate. The nutritional values for your final dish may vary based on measuring differences and products used.
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Sara Welch says
Enjoyed this for dinner last night and it was a savory success! Turned out tender and juicy with so much flavor; easily, a new favorite recipe!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati says
This is such an easy and delicious recipe, I cannot wait to make it again!
justine says
Love cutlets and the spice on tehse was out of this world great.
Andrea says
These chicken cutlets are bursting with so much flavor and I love how easy they are to make. They are a perfect main dish on a busy weeknight.
Anjali says
The cajun seasoning made these chicken cutlets so flavorful!! They also turned out super tender and moist!