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!
Elijah Robinson says
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!
Melissa says
I made this tonight and it was SO good!!
Mary says
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 going on.
daisy 's kitchen says
nice recipe.. i must try
Austin says
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…
Jessica says
Made this dish tonight. Unfortunately, looks nothing like the picture. Glaze did not thicken at all.
Shay says
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.
Jo says
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…
Taylor says
Would you be able to use this recipe in the crock pot?
Jenni says
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!
WANDA says
I LOVE ALL YOUR RECIPES, TRYING THE SHRIMP FRIED RICE NOW.
LOVE ALL MEXICAN. FOOD. THANK YOU
Andi Gleeson says
Thank you so much, Wanda! xoxo
Jasmin says
I know it’s been over a year but as I’m trying the recipe out the sauce has thickened but it is not glazing, I’ve been cooking it longer than the recipe calls for because I read in the comments that it will eventually glaze but now i feel like I’m over cooking the chicken
Steffany says
Hi there. I am planning to make this recipe this weekend. I have what is probably a stupid question. For the orange slices, do you remove the peel? It’s hard to tell in the picture.
Andi Gleeson says
Hi, Steffany! You can leave the peels on. The orange slices add orange flavor to the finished dish but aren’t really to eat. I hope you enjoy it!
Malorie says
This recipe is so super tasty! I have made it twice in 2 weeks! My sauce never thickens up or gets that rich, dark color to it- it stays thin and watery. Any thoughts on what I might be doing wrong?
Andi Gleeson says
Thank you, Malorie! This is Amanda’s recipe, and I haven’t had a chance to make it yet. I asked her if she can weigh in on your question. Thanks for your patience :)
Amanda | The Chunky Chef says
Hi Malorie! I’m so happy to hear that you love the taste and that you’ve made the recipe twice in 2 weeks :) There’s two things that immediately came to mind about the sauce, the first is that the sauce to chicken ratio is a little off. If you’re using a little less chicken than the recipe calls for, it can be hard for it to thicken. You could always use a spoon to remove some of the excess sauce, then continue cooking as normal, and that should help. The other is that the sauce isn’t being cooked long enough. The darkening and glaze-like consistency comes during the last few minutes. Pretty much right about the time you’re thinking it’ll never glaze up, it does :)
If neither of those things help, you could also mix 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch with 1/2 Tbsp water, then stir that into the sauce as it cooks the last few minutes, and it should thicken up nicely :)
Key says
I just made this dish last night and it was a hit! The flavors are wonderful and I will definitely be making this again in the near future. I used jasmine rice because I love the taste of it over regular white rice. Next time I will also make more sauce because that is what makes this dish so amazing! Thanks for posting this recipe!
Andi - The Weary Chef says
So glad you enjoyed it, Key! Thank you!
Karly says
This looks finger lickin’ good, for real. And it won’t take me all day, so I’m totally sold. Love this!
Andi Gleeson says
Thanks so much, Karly!
Lucy - (Recipes @ Globe Scoffers) says
This looks delicious! So fresh and colourful. Thanks for sharing ?
Andi Gleeson says
Thank you, Lucy!!
Nutmeg Nanny says
Oh my goodness! These bowls looks PACKED full of flavor!
Amanda | The Chunky Chef says
You all are so sweet, thank you!! My family loves this meal, so I hope you all do as well :)
Sabrina says
I love cajun dishes! This looks delicious!
Katalina @ Peas and Peonies says
The flavors in this chicken dish are outstanding! love it!
Andi Gleeson says
Glad you like it! Thanks!
TidyMom says
I’m always looking for new ways to fix chicken, my family will love this!!
Andi Gleeson says
I’m happy you like it, Cheryl! Thanks!
Kitty says
That marinade looks so tasty! Love orange with chicken!
Andi Gleeson says
Thanks, Kitty! I love savory citrus dishes too :)
Andi Gleeson says
Me too, Kitty. Thanks!
Liz says
Thank you for the nice recipe.
Andi Gleeson says
Thanks for stopping by, Liz!
Kacey @ The Cookie Writer says
Amanda, I already have a hard enough time seeing all your food on your website, but now you have me drooling over here as well! Seriously awesome dish!!
Andi Gleeson says
Amanda needs to tone it down with all her talent. She’s making the rest of us look bad ;) I’m kidding. I agree that her recipes are amazing!