Pan Seared Cajun Butter Chicken Thighs
Jun 08, 2020, Updated Jul 11, 2021
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You’re going to love these moist, juicy, and tender Pan Seared Cajun Butter Chicken Thighs. They’re flavorful, rich, and enticing cooked in a spicy Cajun rub and topped with a velvety butter sauce.
![Moist, juicy & tender Cajun chicken thighs are flavorful, rich, and cooked in a spicy Cajun rub and topped with velvety butter sauce. cooking chicken thighs in a skillet](https://easyweeknightrecipes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Cajun-Butter-Chicken-Thighs-4.jpg)
Jump To
- Why You’ll Love This Cajun Chicken Recipe
- What’s In this Chicken Thighs Recipe?
- What is Cajun Seasoning?
- How to Make Cajun Chicken Thighs
- Tips for Success
- How Long to Cook Chicken Thighs
- Serving Suggestions
- How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- More Chicken Thigh Recipes
- Pan Seared Cajun Butter Chicken Thighs Recipe
Why You’ll Love This Cajun Chicken Recipe
- Cajun flavor. There’s a few particular cuisines that, when I even just think of them, my taste buds come alive. Cajun cuisine is one of those! A good Cajun seasoning is legit, out-of-this-world. Cajun seasoning is especially good on chicken. I wouldn’t be surprised if you told me that chicken with Cajun seasoning rubbed on it is where the term, “finger licking good” came from.
- Spicy crunch. This recipe has so much powerful Cajun flavor, cooked up in one pan. The best part of Cajun seasoning is when it’s seared or charred. The spicy crunch is simply perfection!
- Super easy. All you’ll need is 30 minutes and a single pan for this easy chicken thighs recipe. It doesn’t get much easier than that!
What’s In this Chicken Thighs Recipe?
- Cajun seasoning. You can use any store brand you’d like or give our homemade Cajun seasoning a try (check it out below)!
- Chicken Thighs
- Butter & Oil
- Garlic
- Chicken Broth: You can also use veggie stock if you’d prefer.
- Fresh Parsley
What is Cajun Seasoning?
Cajun cooking incorporates French, West African, and Spanish techniques and is most closely associated with Louisiana. Cajun seasoning is a spice blend that’s commonly used in Cajun cooking.
Here’s what I put into my Cajun seasoning:
- light brown sugar
- sweet paprika
- dried oregano
- salt
- fresh ground pepper
How to Make Cajun Chicken Thighs
- Combine: In a shallow plate or shallow bowl, combine the Cajun seasoning, brown sugar, paprika, oregano, salt, and pepper. Mix it all together to combine.
- Season: Rub the seasoning all around the chicken thighs.
- Heat: Set a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to heat up.
- Cook: Add the seasoned chicken thighs to the hot oil, smooth side down. Cook the chicken for 6 minutes. Flip the chicken over and continue to cook for 6 to 7 more minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink. Check for doneness with an instant read thermometer. Chicken is done when internal temperature registers at 165˚F.
- Rest: Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.
- Sauce: Return the skillet to the stove and set it over medium heat. Add the remaining butter to the skillet and let it melt. Stir in the garlic and cook it for 30 seconds. Whisk in the chicken broth and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring the sauce to a boil and let it cook for 2 minutes, or until reduced. Whisk frequently.
- Top and serve: Drizzle the sauce over the chicken thighs. Garnish the chicken with parsley and serve.
Tips for Success
- Embrace the char. One of the best parts of this meal is the char that develops from the pan searing. Let your chicken sit without moving it around for the entire 6 minutes on each side. This will help to develop that sear you want.
- Chicken breasts vs thighs. You can use chicken breasts if you prefer. In my experience, they will be a little less juicy and rich. They will also need less time to cook through.
- Bone in thighs. You can use bone-in chicken thighs but I don’t recommend leaving the skin on. If you use bone-in chicken thighs, you will need to increase your cooking time.
- Try other seasonings. You can use this same pan searing technique followed by making a butter sauce with other seasoning blends. I’m thinking Italian herb, lemon thyme, or Mexican.
How Long to Cook Chicken Thighs
- Chicken thighs are cooked when there is no longer any pink running through the meat. This happens when the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165˚F.
- The easiest and most accurate way to check for doneness is to use an instant read thermometer. Chicken is done when the internal temperature registers at 165˚F.
- For boneless, skinless chicken thighs, this will usually take about 10 to 14 minutes (just about 6 to 7 minutes per side – cooking time will also depend on the size of the thighs).
Serving Suggestions
Anything Cajun and anything with a yummy sauce belongs served over rice! If you’re trying to limit grains, you can serve these over riced cauliflower instead. Because the sauce is butter based, it’s also great over noodles or zoodles. Zucchini fries would be another great side with this dish!
Throw in a green veggie side, like green beans, steamed broccoli, or roasted Brussels sprouts and you’ve got yourself a complete balanced meal in no time.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- Let your chicken thighs come to room temperature then place them into an airtight container. Pour the sauce over the chicken to keep it moist. Then, refrigerate your chicken thighs for about 3-5 days.
- When you’re ready to reheat them, pop them in the oven until the chicken is warmed through.
More Chicken Thigh Recipes
- Honey Garlic Baked Chicken Thighs
- Pineapple Barbeque Chicken Thighs
- Apple Cider Glazed Chicken Thighs
Pan Seared Cajun Butter Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
For the Cajun Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon Cajun seasoning blend
- 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
For the Chicken
- 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 4 tablespoons butter,, divided
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic,, minced
- ½ cup low sodium chicken broth
- chopped fresh parsley, , for garnish
Instructions
- In a shallow plate or shallow bowl combine Cajun seasoning, brown sugar, paprika, oregano, salt, and pepper; mix to combine.
- Rub seasoning all around the chicken thighs.
- Set a large skillet over medium heat; add 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to heat up.
- Add seasoned chicken thighs to the hot oil, smooth side down.
- Cook chicken for 6 minutes.
- Flip over and continue to cook for 6 to 7 more minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink. Check for doneness with instant read thermometer; chicken is done when internal temperature registers at 165˚F.
- Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.
- Return skillet to stove and set over medium heat.
- Add remaining butter to the skillet and let it melt.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Whisk in the chicken broth and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Bring to a boil and let cook for 2 minutes, or until reduced. Whisk frequently.
- Drizzle sauce over chicken thighs.
- Garnish with parsley and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
This may be the best chicken dish I’ve ever made. It was so easy and moist and delicious!!! Will definitely be making it again and again. Thank you!!!!!
I am so happy to hear that! Glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
This was fantastic! My family has always been white meat only! My 11 yr old granddaughter and I do the cooking and we agreed that this was a recipe we needed to try so she told her family that she knew they would love it. The house smelled awesome when her mom & dad walked in so they were pretty much sold right then! She made up the seasonings, prepared the chicken & I cooked it. She made pasta and asparagus to go with it. The only change to the recipe was that we only needed 6 boneless thighs, but they were quite large. We had enough of the great juice left to pour over the pasta. My 5 yr old granddaughter is not much of a meat eater but she ate her whole piece of chicken! Y’all definitely need to make this recipe. It is quick to make & get on the table & don’t let Cajun seasoning scare you. It’s not spicy at all, just gives the chicken a deeper flavor. Yum!
Do bone in chicken thighs work too or does the recipe have to be adjusted?
Hi!
No, they won’t work because bone-in thighs take a lot longer to cook. What you can do is bake the bone-in chicken thighs, but prepare the sauce on the stovetop. Then just pour the sauce over them before serving.
This was such a delicious and easy recipe. I will definitely be making this again. Thank you for sharing!
I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
We loved it. Had to double the seasoning.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
As being Cajun myself it was great but I spiced it up more with Tony Chaserie Creole seasoning and red pepper flakes and it was the bomb.
That’s great! I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
This was super good! I’m usually not a good cook even when using recipes online but this is the first one where my chicken was juicy and flavorful! Thank you! Will be making again!
That’s wonderful to hear! I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
This is wonderful. My family loves it. I served it with cheese grits. Yummy
That’s great to hear! I’m very glad you and your family enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Would cajun stuffing/dressing go well with this chicken?
This was delicious!
Thank YOU! I’m happy you enjoyed it! 🙂