Creamy Cajun Chicken

Juicy chicken thighs drenched in the most irresistible creamy cajun sauce!

Chicken dinners truly don’t come more delicious than this. If you’re on the hunt for another easy meal to add to your rotations, then you’re in the right place. Follow me…

Cajun Chicken

For this recipe we’re going to use boneless skinless chicken thighs. You could however use breast if you’d prefer (more on that in the recipe card notes).

Marinating the Chicken

To inject some flavour into the chicken we’re going to marinate it in a simple concoction of olive oil, lime juice, cajun seasoning and salt & pepper. This will not only season the chicken, but the lime juice and salt will also help tenderize the chicken.

How long should I marinate?

As long as you have time for (up to overnight). Even just having it marinate as you prep the other ingredients will help!

Process shots: add olive oil, lime juice and seasoning to bowl (photo 1), whisk to combine (photo 2), add chicken (photo 3), toss then marinate (photo 4), add to pan (photo 5), fry (photo 6).

Creamy Cajun Sauce

The chicken is gonna be great already, but me being me and this blog being this blog, we’re going to drench it in a creamy sauce 😛

Collecting extra flavour

After you’ve fried the chicken, you’ll notice a fair amount of flavour/char stuck to the base of the pan. This is extra flavour! A lot of it will lift after frying the onion & garlic in butter, but to properly deglaze the pan I recommend adding a splash of white wine. This will also help cut through the richness of the sauce.

Sauce components

The base of the sauce is chicken stock and cream, which is thickened with parmesan. We’re also loading in some spinach and sun dried tomatoes to bulk out the dish, alongside even more cajun seasoning to pack in the flavour!

Process shots: fry onion in butter (photo 1), fry garlic & cajun seasoning (photo 2), simmer and reduce white wine (photo 3), add stock, cream and parmesan (photo 4), add spinach and sun dried tomatoes (photo 5), simmer to thicken (photo 6).

Creamy Cajun Chicken FAQ

What Cajun Seasoning should I use?

Any pre-made store-bought cajun seasoning will do the trick! I’ve used various brands in the past and they’re all pretty solid, although you can’t go wrong with Schwartz.

How spicy is this recipe?

Different brands of seasoning will differ slightly, but in general, it’s not overbearingly spicy. The cream helps balance out the spice!

Do I have to use white wine?

Alongside deglazing the pan and cutting through the richness of the sauce, the wine will add a gentle background flavour too. Most, if not all of the alcohol will burn off, but if for whatever reason you don’t want to use it just sub more stock.

Serving Creamy Cajun Chicken

Once you’ve made the sauce, chuck the chicken back in the pan and drown it in that gorgeous sauce. Here I’ve served with Potato Wedges and Rocket/Arugula, but check out my Sides for more inspo!

For the salmon version of this recipe check out my Creamy Cajun Salmon!

For the pasta version check out my Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta!

Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this creamy cajun chicken shall we?!

How to make Creamy Cajun Chicken (Full Recipe & Video)

Creamy Cajun Chicken

Juicy chicken thighs drenched in the most irresistible creamy cajun sauce!

5 from 1 vote

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Servings (click & slide): 4

Course: Dinner / Main Course

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Marinating Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Calories per serving: 570kcal

Author: Chris Collins

Cost per serving: £3 / $4

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Equipment:

• Large Pan & Tongs
• Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
• Wooden Spoon
• Fine Cheese Grater
• Large Shallow Dish & Cling Film (for marinating)
• Jug (for stock/cream)

Ingredients (check list):

Cajun Chicken

• ▢ 1.4lb / 650g boneless skinless Chicken Thighs (see notes)
• ▢ 1.5 tbsp Olive Oil
• ▢ 1 tbsp EACH: Cajun Seasoning, Lime Juice
• ▢ 1/4 tsp EACH: Salt, Black Pepper

Sauce

• ▢ 1 cup / 240ml Heavy/Double Cream, at room temp
• ▢ 1/2 cup / 120ml Chicken Stock
• ▢ 1/3 cup / 80ml Dry White Wine (see notes)
• ▢ 1/3 cup / 30g freshly grated Parmesan
• ▢ 1 cup / 100g Sun Dried Tomatoes, thinly sliced
• ▢ 2oz / 60g Baby Spinach
• ▢ 1 medium Onion, finely diced
• ▢ 2 cloves of Garlic, finely diced
• ▢ 1 tbsp Unsalted Butter
• ▢ 1 tbsp Cajun Seasoning

Instructions:

• In a large shallow dish whisk together olive oil, lime juice, cajun seasoning, salt & pepper. Add in the chicken thighs and toss to coat. Marinate in the fridge for as long as you have time for (up to overnight). Take out the fridge around 30mins before needed. If you're pushed for time just rest at room temp as you prep the other ingredients.
• Add the thighs smooth-side-down to a large pan over medium-high heat. Fry for 3-4mins, or until lightly charred, then flip and continue frying until lightly charred on the other side and piping hot right through the centre. Remove and place to one side.
• Lower heat to medium and add in the butter and onion. Fry until soft & golden, then add in the cajun seasoning & garlic and fry for another minute or so. Pour in the wine and use your wooden spoon to scrape off all the flavour in the pan. Allow the wine to simmer until mostly evaporated.
• Add in stock, cream and parmesan. Give it a good stir until the parmesan melts. Once bubbling, add in the spinach & sun dried tomatoes and continue simmering until the spinach wilts and the sauce begins to thicken.
• Stir in any resting juices from the chicken, then return the thighs and baste for a minute or so to heat them back through. Serve up and enjoy!

Quick 1 min demo!

Notes:

a) Chicken Thighs - If any of the thighs are considerably un-even then you can gently pound them to even thickness. You can sub chicken breast if you'd prefer - in which case I'd recommend using 2 large breasts and slicing them horizontally through the centre to make 4 even-sized breasts. Continue with the recipe as stated, the only difference is they'll cook quicker than thighs.

b) Saltiness - Different cajun seasoning brands will differ slightly in saltiness. I typically find that no more seasoning is needed in the sauce, especially with the parmesan, stock & cajun seasoning. However, you can more salt if you'd prefer. On the flip side, if you're at all wary I'd recommend using low-sodium chicken stock and definitely make sure it's unsalted butter.

c) Wine - This is to cut through the richness of the sauce and help deglaze the pan. I recommend using it if you can as it gives the sauce a more complex flavour, but if you can't use alcohol just use more stock. The sauce just might be slightly richer than if using wine!

d) Serving - Here I've served with Potato Wedges and Rocket/Arugula, but check out my Sides for more inspo!

e) Calories - Whole recipe divided by 4 with no sides.

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Nutrition:

Nutrition Facts

Creamy Cajun Chicken

Amount Per Serving

Calories 570 Calories from Fat 338

% Daily Value*

Fat 37.61g58%

Saturated Fat 19.085g95%

Trans Fat 0.222g

Polyunsaturated Fat 3.072g

Monounsaturated Fat 12.604g

Cholesterol 245mg82%

Sodium 825mg34%

Potassium 1096mg31%

Carbohydrates 17.35g6%

Fiber 3.1g12%

Sugar 8.7g10%

Protein 37.75g76%

Vitamin A 2694IU54%

Vitamin C 13.3mg16%

Calcium 162mg16%

Iron 3.44mg19%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition is based on the absence of salt unless stated as a measurement in the ingredients. Cost is worked out based on ingredients bought from UK supermarkets, then divided by the number of servings. In both instances these values are just for guidance. Please check out my FAQ Page for more info.

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Looking for more?You'll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook 'Comfy'