Delicious blackened Cajun chicken topped with homemade Cajun honey butter. Enjoy just the chicken and honey butter or make it a meal served over mashed potatoes and asparagus.
If you’re looking for a special dinner recipe for two, this Cajun chicken with Cajun honey butter will certainly hit the mark! While it’s beautiful on the plate and full of flavour, it is also easy to make.
For a delicious complete meal, serve the Cajun chicken and honey butter on top of asparagus and mashed potatoes. As the Cajun honey butter melts, it flows down to flavour the mashed potatoes in the most wonderful way, too!
What you’ll need
Chicken Breasts – You can start with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but I really love having the skin on, so I buy bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts and remove the bone myself. If you have a favourite butcher, they may be able to de-bone the chicken breasts for you. That said, it’s not difficult and makes for a nice presentation I also think the cajun spice mix sticks more easily and of course, the skin keeps the chicken wonderfully moist. I highly recommend going this route.
Cajun Spice Mix – If you happen to have Cajun Spice Mix in your spice cabinet, you can certainly use that. Otherwise, go the homemade route. To make your own Cajun spice mix, you will need paprika, garlic powder, dried oregano, cayenne, dried thyme, salt and black pepper.
Honey – Any neutral-flavoured runny honey will work here.
Asparagus (optional) – To complete the dish as shown, you’ll need some fresh or frozen asparagus. You can steam, roast or even quickly microwave the asparagus. It is best if it is cooked just to tender-crisp.
Mashed Potatoes (optional) – Serving this chicken with mashed potatoes is delicious, as the melting cajun honey butter with the potatoes is special!
How to make Cajun Chicken
- If starting with bone-in chicken breasts, use a sharp knife to cut away and discard the bone, leaving the skin on.
- Spray the skin with a bit of cooking spray.
- Dip the chicken breast in the Cajun spice mix, coating well on both sides.
- Add the coated chicken breasts to a hot skillet (preferably cast iron or a similar heavy-bottomed skillet).
- When the underside is darkened, flip over and brown the other side of the chicken.
- Transfer the browned chicken to a baking sheet and place into the oven to finish cooking.
- While the chicken is in the oven, mix up the Cajun Honey Butter in a small bowl.
- Divide the butter mixture into two dollops and set aside.
- When the chicken is cooked remove from the oven. Place some mashed potatoes (if using) on the bottom of the plate. Top the potatoes with steamed or roasted asparagus spears, then place the chicken breast on top. Place one dollop of the Cajun Honey Butter on top of the chicken and allow it to melt using the warmth from the chicken.
Recipe tips!
- Adjust the amount of cayenne used in the spice mix to your tolerance for spicy heat. You can omit it completely if you wish.
- If you are a fan of smokey flavours, you can replace some or all of the paprika with smoked paprika.
- Chicken breasts that you debone yourself can be quite large! For normal appetites, one breast could easily be split into 2 servings per breast.
How to serve Cajun Chicken
While you can enjoy the chicken and honey butter on its own, I highly recommend serving it with mashed potatoes and asparagus as shown. It’s a complete meal on a plate and the honey butter with the mashed potatoes is another treat, as well.
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Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts, *see Note 1 below
Cajun Spice Mix
- 2 Tablespoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder, not garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon cayenne, adjust the amount or omit to personal heat/spice preference
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Cajun Honey Butter
- 3 Tablespoons butter, very soft
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons honey
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun Spice Mix, from above
To serve
- 10 spears asparagus, steamed, microwaved or roasted
- Prepared mashed potatoes
Instructions
- You can enjoy this Cajun Chicken on its own topped with Cajun Honey Butter or as shown, on top of cooked asparagus and mashed potatoes. If using mashed potatoes and asparagus, be sure to have the mashed potatoes ready to go when the chicken is cooked. You can make your own mashed potatoes or for an easier meal, this is a great use for the ready-made, refrigerated mashed potatoes that you just heat up in the microwave. I like to quickly microwave the asparagus as well. Simply spread onto a plate, cover loosely with plastic wrap and microwave for 45-60 seconds, or until tender-crispy.
- Preheat oven to 350F (non-convection).
- In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the Cajun Spice Mix. Measure out 2 teaspoons and set aside to use for the Cajun Honey Butter. Sprinkle the remaining Spice Mix onto a plate and set aside.
- If using bone-in/skin-on chicken breasts, prepare the chicken by removing and discarding the bone. To remove the bone, flip the chicken breast over. Use a small sharp knife. In the centre of the breast, slide the knife between the bone and the chicken. Slice along the bone both left and right as far as you can. Feel for the bone on each of the ends and carefully cut around the bone until the breast is removed from the bone. Keep the skin intact and attached.
- Spray both sides of the chicken breasts with cooking spray, then dip in the Cajun Spice Mix on both sides.
- Heat a cast iron skillet or similar heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat on the stovetop for 3-4 minutes. When the skillet is hot, spray lightly with cooking spray, then add the chicken breasts to the skillet and cook, undisturbed, until the underside is browned, about 2 minutes, then flip over and brown the other side.
- Remove the chicken to a baking sheet. Place the chicken into the preheated oven and cook for 15-25 minutes, or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and registers 165F internal temperature when tested with an instant-read thermometer. *Oven time will depend on the thickness of the chicken breast used. If you boned the chicken breast yourself, it will probably take 25 minutes to cook through. Smaller pre-boned chicken breasts will be thinner and may cook through in only 15-20 minutes.
- While the chicken is cooking, mix together the Cajun Honey Butter ingredients in a small bowl. Portion the honey butter into two dollops and set aside. *Unless making ahead, keep the honey butter at room temperature so that it will melt quickly on the chicken.
- If using, have the asparagus and mashed potatoes ready for when the chicken is ready. When the chicken is almost ready, place mashed potatoes (if using) in the middle of the plate and top with 5 spears of asparagus per plate.
- When the chicken is cooked, remove from the oven. Place the chicken breasts on top of the mashed potatoes and asparagus (if using). Place a dollop of Cajun Honey Butter on top of each breast. Serve immediately.
Notes
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Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
