One-Pan Cajun Chicken and Rice
Team Mealthy
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 3 scallions, chopped, plus more for garnish
- 1 cup long-grain rice
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 (15-ounce) can red beans, drained
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Season chicken with salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning.
- Warm 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat. Sear the smooth side of the chicken thighs until browned, about 3 minutes; flip and brown the other side, about 3 minutes more; transfer to a plate.
- Return the skillet to medium-high heat and warm the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Stir the green bell pepper, celery, and scallions together in the skillet; season with salt and pepper. Cook the vegetables until softened, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium. Stir the rice, tomato paste, and remaining 1 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning into the vegetables and cook until the tomato paste is dark red and fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir the stock and red beans into the skillet.
- Increase heat to medium-high to bring the liquid to a boil. Remove the skillet from heat and nestle the chicken into the rice, smooth-side up.
- Cover the skillet with a tight-fitting lid and transfer to the oven.
- Bake for 25 minutes, remove the lid, and continue baking uncovered until most of the liquid is absorbed and the chicken is cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes; rest for 5 minutes before serving.
- Divide the rice and chicken between four plates; garnish with scallions to serve.
For the most flavor, use skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs. Crisp the skin by placing the skillet under a hot broiler for 2 to 3 minutes. If you're not a fan of green peppers, substitute red or yellow bell peppers instead for a slightly sweeter flavor.
For more Cajun-inspired recipes, you might enjoy:
Pressure Cooker Low Country Boil
Reviews
What others are saying
Diana Marcoux says:
Love love love how easy and delicious this recipe is. I used my cast iron pot to cook the recipe and I didn't have a lid for it I used aluminum foil and it worked out perfectly. This is going to become one of my go-to recipes for sure!
Jennifer Jones says:
First off, I'm Cajun, and this tasted like it came from my grands kitchen! Now I did a few things different, I added more of the Cajun spice, and some garlic. For the garnish, I used celery leaves, and scallions chopped finely. Will be on my monthly rotation!
Tal Levitas says:
THIS IS AWESOME. SERIOUSLY. STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND COOK THIS. I DOUBLED THE RICE AND DOUBLED THE BROTH AND IT WAS CRAZY GOOD.
Tarragon Boi says:
This recipe was great! I have some cajun seasoning that's been sitting in my pantry that I feel like I never know what to do with. What I liked the best about this is that it's a really complete family meal that I can make all in my cast iron pan. Also, I substituted celery for parsnips, because my wife doesn't like celery. It still turned out great!
Paul Kriloff says:
Really quick and easy to make - only have to chop three ingredients (the celery, green onions, and bell pepper), uses a spice blend (I picked up cajun seasoning from the bulk spices aisle, which makes this a super-affordable recipe as well), and just a single pan (although in my case, I over-complicated by cooking brown rice, which I par-cooked for 25 minutes so I wouldn't have under-cooked rice or over-cooked chicken in the skillet). I'm giving it four stars instead of five, because I felt it could use more flavor - the cajun seasoning had a little kick, but is otherwise understated for what I was hoping would come out like dirty rice. All-around solid recipe!