Blackened Chicken
Delicious, juicy, blackened spice chicken over a bed of coconut rice with tangy cilantro lime dressing. Be prepared to be hooked after one bite.
Servings: 4
Equipment
- large cast iron skillet or oven safe skillet
- sauce pan for rice
Ingredients
Blackened Chicken
- 1½ -2 lbs chicken breast, boneless/skinless
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- ¾ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper more or less as needed
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp salt
Coconut Rice
- 1½ cup long grain white rice
- 1 14 oz can coconut milk
- 1¼ cup water
- 1-2 Tbsp white granulated sugar optional
- 2 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro optional
Cilantro Lime Dressing
- 1 cup fresh cilantro
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice *about 2 limes
- 1½ tsp maple syrup or honey
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ tsp salt
Optional Toppings
- ½ cup red cabbage, shredded
- ⅓ cup pineapple, chopped
- 1 sliced avocado
Instructions
- Set Oven to 375º. In a small bowl, whisk all of your seasoning together. Start with preparing your chicken breast. Pat it dry with a paper towel.If the breasts are really large, I like to cut them in half to keep an even cook.
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large oven safe skillet. (Note* If you are cooking the chicken over the stovetop and not using my technique, dismiss setting the oven).
- Rub the spice mix all over both sides of the chicken. Make sure every bit of the breasts are covered well. Add the chicken breasts to the hot skillet. Cook each side for about 4-5 minutes. Once both sides are seared put into preheated oven in the oven safe skillet. Cook for about 16-18 minutes or until the chicken is 165º internal temp.
- Once the chicken is in the oven finishing the cook, prepare the coconut rice. Because rice grains vary greatly, please keep in mind I am using long grain rice and this recipe is for long grain. Rinse the rice, add it to a medium sized sauce pan. Add in the water, coconut milk, sugar. Bring it to a simmer with a lid on and simmer lightly for 20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed and rice is al dente.
- Prepare the dressing. Simply add all the ingredients into a small blender or food processor and blend! Taste to see if you need more salt.
- Once the chicken is finished. Let it rest for a few minutes. You can either serve it as is or slice it.
- Assemble the bowls. I place the coconut rice on the bottom followed by the chicken and the optional toppings and then add a drizzle of the insanely good dressing last. Enjoy.
Notes
- Don't overcook the chicken! It's always best to have a digital meat thermometer. This will help keep the chicken nice and juicy.
- Make This Recipe Lighter In Calories. You can cut calories in this recipe by skipping the coconut rice. Coconut milk adds quite some fat and the rice adds about 100 calories. Serve over a bed of lettuce instead! You can also leave off the avocado to lighten the calories.
- Taste The Dressing. You may want to add more lime juice or honey to your liking.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can freeze these for up to 2 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 1.5cups | Calories: 663kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 42g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 109mg | Sodium: 647mg | Potassium: 808mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 746IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 2mg