- January 30, 2024
- 30 Minute Meals
Blackened Chicken Recipe
Delicious Blackened Chicken Recipe: Easy, flavorful, and perfect for a quick dinner. Spicy, smoky, and juicy, it’s ideal for family meals or meal prep!
Why This Recipe Works
One Pan Wonder: This easy blackened chicken recipe is a one pan chicken recipe, ready in just 20 minutes! With a bold, smoky blackened spice blend and easy preparation, this juicy chicken is a family favorite that you will turn to again and again. I recommend making some at the beginning of the week to have on hand for a variety of dinners!
Versatile: A beautiful thing about this blackened chicken recipe is that you can serve it in countless ways! If you want a cozy dinner, serve it with creamy mashed potatoes. If you want a healthy, bright dinner, serve it over a bed of crisp greens and veggies! You can even dice it up and put it into a burrito or quesadilla. The possibilities are endless!
What Is Blackened Seasoning?
Blackened seasoning, or blackening seasoning, is typically made of a variety of spices including paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, thyme, oregano, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper! When you hear that something is “blackened”, whether it is chicken, fish or shrimp, it is coated in a spice mix such as this! It boasts a savory, Cajun flavor and just slightly spicy, but totally versatile depending on your taste!
Supplies Needed
- Cast Iron Skillet or an oven-safe skillet
Main Ingredients
For The Blackened Chicken-
- Chicken Breast: This blackened chicken recipe uses boneless, skinless chicken breast. But you can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs if you prefer!
- Olive Oil: A little bit of olive oil will help the seasoning to stick well to the chicken!
- Lemon: I like to serve my blackened chicken with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to brighten everything up!
- Blackened Seasoning: You can make a homemade blackening seasoning with paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, oregano, black pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper if you like a little spice!
Tomato Parmesan Pan Sauce (optional)–
Sundried Tomatoes: Strain them from the oil and roughly chop them for this recipe.
Garlic: Fresh minced garlic cloves work best.
Seasonings: I use a combination of red pepper flakes for heat, Italian seasoning blend, salt, and pepper to taste.
Chicken Broth: Use a standard stock or broth
Heavy Cream: Cream works best because I do not use a roux or thickening agent for this sauce. I haven’t tried other substitutions but whole milk or half and half could be swapped. The sauce may be much thinner, however.
Parmesan Cheese
Step By Step Instructions
- Preheat and Prep Seasoning: Preheat the oven to 375 F. In a bowl, combine all of the dry spices to create the blackened seasoning.
- Prep Chicken: Remove the chicken breast from the packaging and pat it dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Lightly coat each chicken breast with olive oil.
- Season: Gently season all sides of each chicken breast and set it aside.
- Pan Sear: Preheat a cast iron skillet to medium-high heat on the stovetop (if not using a cast iron pan, make sure you have a pan that can go from the stove to the oven). Add 1 tbsp of olive oil and let it preheat in the pan, but don’t let it get so hot that is starts smoking. Place each chicken breast in the skillet and let it cook for 3 minutes or until it easily lifts from the pan and can be flipped.
- Bake: Once you flip each chicken breast, turn off the stove and carefully transfer the pan into the oven for 15 minutes to finish cooking. Use a thermometer to check that the chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165 F.
- Remove & Rest: Remove from the oven and let it rest 5 minutes before slicing. Add a little lemon juice over the top and enjoy!
What To Serve With Blackened Chicken
This blackened chicken recipe is versatile and can be served in so many different ways! One of my favorite ways to serve it is with creamy mashed potatoes and a goat’s cheese salad. That is a simple, yet decadent dinner option that the whole family will love! You can also serve it with simple buttered noodles, rice, or roasted sweet potatoes.
If you are looking to serve it with lots of veggies, try pairing it with a crispy artichoke salad or a Tuscan bean salad with barley!
You can also use this chicken inside burritos, on sandwiches, or on top of a pile of loaded nachos!
More Recipes To Try:
- Grilled Chicken Spiedini
- Jalapeño Popper Hasselback Chicken
- Baked BBQ Chicken Wings
- Smoked Chicken Breast
- Whole Roasted Chicken Shawarma
Blackened Chicken Recipe
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet
Ingredients
- 4 Chicken Breasts
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Lemon juiced
Blackening Seasoning
- 2 tbsp Paprika
- 1 tbsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tbsp Onion Powder
- 1 tbsp Dried Thyme
- 1 tbsp Dried Oregano
- 2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper optional- if you like heat
Tomato Parmesan Cream Sauce (optional)
- 1/4 cup Sundried Tomatoes removed from the oil and chopped
- 4 cloves Garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes (this is spicy)
- 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 1/2 cup Chicken Stock
- 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese shredded
- Salt & Pepper (to taste)
- Fresh Basil garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- In a bowl, combine all of the dry spices to create the blackened seasoning.
- Remove the chicken from the packaging and pat it dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Lightly coat each chicken breast in olive oil.
- Generously season all sides of each chicken breast and set it aside.
- Preheat a cast iron skillet to medium-high heat on the stovetop (if not using a cast iron pan make sure you have a pan that can go from the stove to the oven).
- Add 1 tbsp of the olive oil and let it preheat in the pan (do not let it get too hot so that it starts smoking). Place each chicken breast down into the skillet and let it cook for 3 minutes or until it easily lifts from the pan and can be flipped.
- Once you flip each chicken breast, turn off the stove and carefully transfer the pan into the oven for 15 minutes to finish cooking. Use a thermometer to check that the chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165 F.
- Remove from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Add a little lemon juice over the top and enjoy.
Tomato Parmesan Cream Sauce
- Remove the chicken from the skillet and set it aside to rest. Place the skillet back onto the heat and leave any drippings and seasoning in the pan.
- Over medium-low heat, add in the chopped sundried tomatoes, garlic, red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning. Sauté a few minutes to develop the aromatic flavors in the spices.
- Pour in the chicken stock and heavy cream and continue to whisk over the heat for a few minutes to bring it up to temperature. Do not boil.
- Once the liquid is hot, reduce the heat fully to low. Slowly add in the parmesan cheese and whisk well before adding more. Let the cheese melt and thicken the sauce.
- Remove it from the heat and serve over the top of the sliced chicken. Garnish with basil if desired.
Hi. How do you make the sauce to go over the Chicken?
The main recipe was for the chicken but here is what I used for the sauce –
1/4 cup diced sundried tomatoes, 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (adjust to taste), 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning, 1/2 cup chicken broth, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, Salt and pepper to taste.
I build the sauce in the same pan after I remove the chicken. Keep on low heat and slowly whisk in the cheese so it doesn’t separate.