This Cajun chicken recipe is a four-step wonder that gives you a restaurant-worthy yet surprisingly comforting dish with no effort at all. All you have to do is season the chicken and leave the rest to the air-fryer. The result is a gratifying dish of golden chicken with crispy brown crusts, made even more irresistible by a beautiful accompaniment of colorful vegetables.
What Does Cajun Chicken Taste Like?
Cajun chicken derives most of its flavors from the Cajun seasoning.
Cajun seasoning is a spice blend originating in Louisiana, USA. It includes a wide range of robust spices, such as paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper. This results in layers of deeply smoky, spicy, and earthy flavors, with a possible aromatic undertone if there are herbs in the mix.
In this recipe, the chicken is covered in Cajun seasoning and a myriad of other robust spices, then air-fried to golden perfection. It sounds simple, but you’ll be amazed by the way the coating of seasonings char and darken the tender meat’s flavor with a complex blend of spicy and peppery, with smoky undertones.
Is Cajun Chicken Healthy?
Each serving consists of approximately 460 calories, 2.5 g saturated fat, and 578 mg sodium. These amounts perfectly adhere to the limits set by our nutrition guidelines, making it a relatively healthy dish that still tastes amazing.
As is the case with most chicken dishes, this one is loaded with protein, with 41.9 g per serving. Chicken is also a great source of other nutrients, such as heme iron, zinc, selenium, potassium, magnesium, and vitamins B6, B12, and B3.
The accompanying sweet potatoes, carrots, cucumber, and lettuce with this flavorful dish also provide a generous amount of vitamin A. These veggies also offer fiber, folate, choline, and various antioxidants and minerals.
Ingredients for Cajun Chicken
This dish is as simple as you’d expect, requiring only the chicken, a handful of spices, and some veggies on the side. Here is a short list of most of the ingredients you’ll be needing:
- Chicken: We went with boneless skinless chicken breasts, which have a subtle and mild taste that lays a perfect canvas for the Cajun seasoning. They also require nothing more than a few basic preparations, saving you time and effort.
- Cajun seasoning: You can make your own Cajun seasoning if you have the necessary spices and dried herbs at hand, but if not, the store-bought variety would work as well.
- Spices: Even though the Cajun seasoning is the main highlight, we also added a sprinkling of other spices to deepen the robust and spicy flavor profile. We used salt, black pepper, dried oregano, paprika, garlic powder, and chili powder.
- Vegetables: Since the Cajun seasoning is quite intense, we lightened the dish with a side of fresh and colorful veggies. We kept things simple by tossing together some carrots, cucumber, and lettuce, with the addition of air-fried sweet potatoes to keep things interesting.
How to Store and Reheat Cajun Chicken
This Cajun chicken can last up to 2 or 3 days when kept in airtight containers in the fridge. Simply put the dish into the microwave for 1 minute if you want to reheat.
What to Serve With Cajun Chicken
This Cajun chicken already comes with a small side of vegetables, but you can also lay it over a bed of rice for a more filling dish. For additional side dishes, check out the following recommendations:
- Italian Potato Salad Recipe
- Cauliflower Nuggets Recipe
- Panzanella Salad Recipe
- Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower Recipe
- Zucchini Fries Recipe
Cajun Chicken Recipe
This Cajun chicken recipe is a four-step wonder that gives you a restaurant-worthy yet surprisingly comforting dish. Coated in spices and air-fried, the golden chicken carries an eye-catching charred exterior, made even more irresistible by a beautiful accompaniment of colorful vegetables.
- cook TIME 27 mins
- prep TIME 10 mins
- total TIME 37 mins
- COURSE Main
- CUISINE American
- SERVINGS servings
- CALORIES 460 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 24 ozskinless boneless chicken breasts
- 24 ozsweet potato (sliced into large wedges)
- 6 ozcucumber (sliced)
- 3 ozcrystal lettuce (shredded into bite-sized pieces)
- 1 ozcarrot (julienned)
- 2 tbspparsley (chopped)
- 3 tbspolive oil
- 1 tbspCajun seasoning
- 0.3 tspsalt
- 0.5 tspground black pepper
- 1 tsppaprika
- 1 tspgarlic powder
- 0.5 tspchili powder
- 0.5 tspdried oregano
INSTRUCTIONS
Prep:
Slice the Sweet Potatoes: Use a peeler to remove the skin, then cut the sweet potato in half lengthwise. Lay the half flat, cut side down, then slice lengthwise into large wedges.
Slice the Cucumbers: Lay the cucumber in a horizontal position then thinly slice. Discard the top and end pieces.
Julienne the Carrots: Remove the outer skin with a peeler, then crosswise cut the carrot in half. Thinly slice each half lengthwise then stack the sliced pieces and slice lengthwise again into thin matchsticks.
Butterfly the Chicken: Slice the breast in half from the side using a sawing motion, but leave about 1/4 inch so the separated sides are still connected.
Cook:
Season the Sweet Potatoes: In a large bowl, put 24 oz sweet potato and add 1.5 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp paprika, and 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Gently toss until the spices evenly coat the wedges.
Air-fry the Sweet Potatoes: Put the seasoned sweet potatoes into the air-fryer, making sure the pieces are evenly spread, and air-fry at 350 °F for 15 minutes.
Season the Chicken: Dry rub 1.5 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp chili powder, and 1/2 tsp dried oregano onto 24 oz skinless boneless chicken breast.
Air-fry the Chicken: Transfer the air-fried sweet potatoes onto a separate plate and put the seasoned chicken breasts into the air-fryer. Make sure there’s a little space between them and air-fry at 400 °F for 12 minutes.
Serve the Dish: Transfer the air-fried chicken onto serving plates alongside the air-fried sweet potatoes, 6 oz cucumber, 3 oz crystal lettuce, and 1 oz carrots.
NUTRITION
Tuyet Pham
Chef, Culinary Consultant
Luna Regina
Writer, Author