Cajun chicken and rice with step-by-step photos and a video recipe. Cajun chicken rice is a quick dinner recipe made within 30 minutes in a single pan. Every mouthful of this spicy chicken and rice dish is infused with delightful Cajun flavors. Serve it with Greek yogurt coleslaw, or any salad and lemon wedges.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time30 minutesmins
Total Time45 minutesmins
Course: Main
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4people
Calories: 465kcal
Author: Preeti
Equipment
Heavy bottom pan with a lid
Ingredients
To marinate the chicken
500gramboneless chicken breastcut into 1 inch cubes
2tablespoonCajun seasoning(recipe to make cajun seasoning in the notes)
1.5tablespoonlemon juice
1tablespoonoil
To pan fry the chicken
1tablespoonoil
To make Cajun Chicken rice
1onionchopped
1red bell pepperchopped
1green bell pepperchopped
1stalkcelerydiced
1teaspoongarlicfinely chopped
1teaspoonCajun seasoningor add it as per your taste
1teaspoonred pepper flakesoptional
2 tomatoeschopped
1.5cupsuncooked basmati rice
2¾ cupswater
Cilantrocoriander leaves
Instructions
Preparations:
In a mixing bowl, combine chicken, Cajun seasoning, lemon juice and oil. Cover and keep it in the refrigerator to marinate for 2 hours.
Chop the onion, garlic, bell pepper and tomatoes. Set it aside.
Rinse the basmati rice with water 3-4 times until the cloudiness of water is gone. Drain off the water. Set it aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan over high heat. Add the chicken in small batches. I have fried the chicken pieces in two batches. Do not overcrowd the pan.
Cook the chicken pieces for 3 minutes or until char marks appear. Same way, flip and cook on the other side. Remove and set it aside on a plate.
Same way, cook the second batch of chicken. Remove it to a plate.
Making Cajun Chicken and Rice
In the same pan, saute onion until translucent. If needed add more oil.
Next, add red bell pepper, green bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add Cajun seasoning and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine. Cook for 2 minutes. If you do not prefer spicy then reduce the quantity of Cajun seasoning and skip red pepper flakes.
Add tomatoes, stir and cook for 3-4 minutes or until tomatoes are soft.
Next, add basmati rice. Stir to combine. Saute the rice for 2 minutes.
Add 2 ¾ cups cups of water and gently stir.
Taste the water and add salt and pepper as per taste.
Cook on high heat until the water comes to a boil.
Reduce the heat and add the cooked chicken back to the pan.
Cover and cook on low heat for 20 minutes.
Remove from heat. Cover and set it aside for 10 minutes.
Garnish with cilantro. Cajun Chicken Rice is ready.
Serve Cajun Chicken rice with some lemon wedge and salad.
Video
Notes
To make Cajun seasoning at home combine 1 tablespoon paprika, 2 teaspoon black pepper powder, 1.5 tablespoon Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper, 1 tablespoon onion powder, and 2 tablespoon garlic powder. You can store it in an airtight container.
Marinate the chicken for 2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. This will increase the flavor of the chicken. It will also keep the chicken moist inside while you pan-fry it. However, if short of time, you can marinate for 30 minutes.
Pan-fry the chicken - Heat the pan on high heat. When the pan is hot, add the chicken pieces. The heat will seal the outer surface of the chicken. It will lock the juices of the chicken inside and it makes the chicken crispy outside, soft and juicy inside.
Do not overcrowd the pan. Fry the chicken pieces in small batches. I have fried the chicken in two batches. We just need char marks on them. It will give a nice smoky flavor to the chicken.
Toast the rice - Toast the rice for about 2 minutes after adding it to the pan. It will bring out the aromatic nutty flavor and enhances the overall flavor of the dish. Once it is nicely toasted, add water.
Cooking rice - Cooking the rice correctly is the key. Here, the rice-to-water ratio is important. Add water as per the quality of the rice you are using. While cooking in a pan, for 1 cup of basmati rice you need 1.5 cups of water.
If the liquid evaporates before the rice is done, add ¼ cup of water and cook.
Instead of adding plain water to cook rice, add chicken broth. It enhances the flavor of the dish.
Keep the pan aside for 10 minutes after cooking. The rice will absorb additional moisture from the base of the pan and becomes fluffy.
You can increase or decrease the quantity of Cajun seasoning as per taste.
Cajun seasoning has salt in it. So be careful while adding salt to the recipe.