Grab a fork, and get ready to dig into this luscious Cajun Honey Chicken! It’s loaded with flavor and ready in only a half hour. Just right for busy nights!
Hi everyone, it’s Amanda from The Chunky Chef. I’m excited to be here today, sharing my recipe for the most insanely flavorful Cajun honey glazed chicken bowls! As a busy Mom of two, I LOVE easy meals. Most nights, I’m lucky if I can summon up the energy to cook dinner, let alone a long, involved one. That’s where I love meals like this one! The chicken is marinated all day, so you do need to plan ahead a little, but once it’s time to cook the chicken, it’s easy peasy.
One thing that’s unique about this cajun honey chicken recipe is that you’ll basically be braising the chicken, in the marinade! Just pour the whole contents of the bag right into a large skillet and let the chicken and marinade simmer away. This method is what really makes the “glaze” on this dish amazing… the liquid cooks down and what’s left to coat the chicken is a sticky, finger-lickin’ good glaze.
You can use any veggies that you’d like for this recipe… I chose some red bell pepper, sliced jalapenos and a few orange slices. And of course I garnished with some extra freshness from sliced green onions and parsley. There’s some heat to this meal, but you can customize that to your tastes by using less Cajun seasoning, and/or omitting the sliced jalapenos :)
I really like to use this recipe as a great excuse to use up some leftover rice, like perhaps maybe some arroz verde? But it’s also amazing over some fluffy quinoa, or even with no grains for a low-carb option.
Another great way to enjoy this recipe is to grill or saute the chicken as you would for any other recipe, but pour the marinade into a saucepan and simmer it until it boils down into a thicker sauce. Reusing the marinade that had raw chicken in it is okay for both versions since you’re heating it. That will kill any bacteria, rendering it safe to eat :) Once you boil down the marinade, you can brush it over the cooked chicken tenders. This method would be GREAT with kebabs! Just skewer the marinated chicken, peppers, and maybe some onion slices… grill until cooked through and baste with the sauce!
I hope you all give this cajun honey chicken a try this season… it’s perfect for the warmer months ahead!
| Cook Time | 30 minutes |
| Passive Time | 8 hours |
| Servings |
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- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts sliced into strips (chicken tenders can be used instead)
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and sliced
- 1 jalapeño pepper seeded and sliced
- orange slices cut in half
- lime wedges for garnish, optional
- 2 green onions sliced, for garnish (optional)
- fresh parsley minced, for garnish (optional)
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/3 cup orange juice (fresh is best if possible)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons coarse dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 3/4 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Ingredients
Cajun Honey Mustard Marinade
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- Trim chicken breasts of fat, and slice into strips to resemble chicken tenders.
- Add marinade ingredients to a zip-top plastic bag and whisk to combine. Add chicken to bag, and seal, pressing out any excess air. Smoosh the bag around a bit to make sure all the chicken pieces are coated in the marinade. Place bag on a plate and refrigerate up to 8 hours.
- Pour entire contents of the bag into a large skillet and heat over MED-HIGH heat until the mixture comes to a bubble. Reduce heat to MED-LOW and simmer, uncovered, for about 25-30 minutes, until most of the liquid cooks off, leaving a loose glaze.
- The last 5 minutes or so, add in the sliced bell pepper, jalapeño and orange slices and let them cook in the glaze.
- Remove chicken, veggies and oranges to a plate. Serve over rice, quinoa, or as is for a low carb option. If desired, garnish with sliced green onions, minced parsley, and a lime wedge.
Here are more rice bowl dinners you’ll love!
I just made it with a bone in leg, thigh and breast in a skillet. 15 minutes simmered on one side, flip and do the same, 10mins in I added in jalapeños and oranges slice then put it under the broiler for 10. It probably could’ve used a bit longer or been closer to the coil as the skin wasn’t too crispy but the sauce was delicious. A little too sweet, could use less brown sugar but the over all mix is good. I had it on white rice next to steamed broccoli. Thanks for the recipe!
I made this tonight and it was SO good!!
IF YOU’RE STRUGGLING TO MAKE THE RECIPE WORK TRY THIS. I followed the recipe as normal, up until cooking the chicken. When the chicken was cooked all the way through, I took it out since the glaze hadn’t formed and I didn’t want to overcook. Once I did, I put the marinade on high and brought it to a boil while constantly stirring. Once it started boiling, I turned it to medium-high heat. I let that boil off until I actually got a glaze. The original recipe calls for just simmering, but you can’t reduce a liquid without some boiling… Read more »
nice recipe.. i must try
I made this tonight and it looks absolutely nothing like the picture. No thick, dark sauce like the picture shows. More of a yellow, runny slurry. Pretty deceiving…
Made this dish tonight. Unfortunately, looks nothing like the picture. Glaze did not thicken at all.
I too made this and the sauce looks nothing like the picture. My sauce was a yellow color and was a tad bit to sweet to me. May try again with less sugar and without the extra sauce.
I also made this tonight, tipping in all the marinade to “thicken up” and it came out more like a curry or honey mustard chicken. I’ve spent a good portion of tonight at the dinner table wondering where I went wrong with the recipe lol…
Would you be able to use this recipe in the crock pot?
Just made this tonight and my boyfriend raved about the glaze! I forgot to put the marinade together this morning so it only sat for an hour before cooking but it is so yummy still! Will be making again!