Easy Cajun Grilled Chicken Recipe – only 3 ingredients! Including the chicken!! Italian dressing, cajun seasoning, and chicken. SO simple to make and tastes super delicious! Whisk up the marinade in the morning and let the chicken hang out in the fridge all day. Grill up for a quick and delicious dinner.
Originally posted May 27, 2015
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Pin This RecipeEasy Cajun Chicken Recipe
This Cajun Grilled Chicken recipe only has 3 ingredients – and that includes the chicken! You probably already have all the ingredients in the house to make this. Italian dressing, cajun seasoning, and chicken. I whisked the marinade together and let the chicken hang out in the fridge all day. We fired up the grill and had dinner in under 20 minutes! The chicken was so tender and juicy and full of delicious flavor!
How to Make Cajun Chicken Marinade
This dish is effortless to make with only four simple ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together Italian dressing and cajun seasoning. Place chicken in a large gallon-sized Ziploc bag. Pour marinade over the chicken. Seal tightly and store in the fridge for 4-24 hours. Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard the marinade. Grill/cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF.
Helpful Tips & Frequently Asked Questions
- You can use this marinade on any cut of chicken – chicken breasts, chicken tenders, chicken thighs, chicken wings, or chicken drumsticks.
- You can use boneless or bone-in chicken. Adjust the cooking time to ensure an internal temperature of 165ºF.
- I suggest pounding the chicken breast to an even thickness. We put the chicken in a ziplock bag and use a flat meat mallet to pound out the hump carefully. This ensures that the chicken cooks evenly.
- Can I cook the chicken in the oven or skillet? Yes! To cook the chicken inside, heat olive oil or vegetable oil in a skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken to the pan and cook it for 3-4 minutes per side. Place chicken on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 400ºF for 10 minutes, until an instant-read meat thermometer reads 165ºF.
- My favorite store-bought cajun seasoning is Tony Chachere’s.
- Look for unsalted seasoning. Cajun seasoning has TONS of salt in it.
- Here is our recipe for Homemade Cajun Spice Mix made with paprika, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, dried oregano, and thyme: https://www.plainchicken.com/creolecajun-seasoning-secret-recipe/
- Is Cajun Grilled Chicken spicy? We don’t think this is spicy. Feel free the amount of cajun seasoning to your family’s preferences.
- Variations/Additions:
- lime juice
- lemon juice
- green onions
- Caesar Vinaigrette
- Greek Dressing
- Can I freeze Cajun Chicken? Yes! You can freeze the chicken uncooked or cooked.
- Prepare the marinade. Place the chicken in a freezer bag and pour the marinade over the chicken. Seal the bag and freeze. When ready to cook, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and cook.
- To freeze cooked chicken, cool the chicken to room temperature and place it in a freezer bag and freeze. Thaw and reheat in the microwave.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
What to Serve with Grilled Chicken
We absolutely LOVE this chicken. It is already back on the menu! We usually serve the chicken hot off the grill with some veggies and potatoes. It is equally delicious served with some garlic noodles with our favorite Creole Green Beans. Leftovers are great chopped up and served in a rice bowl with green onions, on top of a salad, or in a sandwich wrap. Make it this weekend, it is sure to become a favorite!
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Cajun Grilled Chicken
Ingredients:
- 1½ cups Italian dressing
- 3 Tbsp cajun seasoning
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts pounded to an even thickness
Instructions:
- In a small bowl, whisk together Italian dressing and cajun seasoning.
- Place chicken in a large gallon-sized Ziploc bag. Pour marinade over the chicken. Seal tightly and store in the fridge for 4-24 hours.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard the marinade.
- Grill/cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF, approximately 12 to 15 minutes.
Notes:
- You can use this marinade on any cut of chicken – chicken breasts, chicken tenders, chicken thighs, chicken wings, or chicken drumsticks/legs.
- You can use boneless or bone-in chicken. Adjust the cooking time to ensure an internal temperature of 165ºF.
- I suggest pounding the chicken breast to an even thickness. We put the chicken in a ziplock bag and use a flat meat mallet to pound out the hump carefully. This ensures that the chicken cooks evenly and you don’t have juicy chicken and half-dry chicken.
- I don’t have a grill. Can I cook the chicken in the oven or skillet? Yes! To cook the chicken breasts inside, heat olive oil or vegetable oil in a skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken to the pan and cook it for 3-4 minutes per side. Place chicken on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 400ºF for 10 minutes, until an instant-read meat thermometer reads 165ºF.
-
- Look for unsalted seasoning. Cajun seasoning has TONS of salt in it.
- Here is our recipe for Homemade Cajun Spice Mix: https://www.plainchicken.com/creolecajun-seasoning-secret-recipe/My favorite store-bought cajun seasoning is Tony Chachere’s seasoning.
- Can I freeze Cajun Chicken? Yes! You can freeze the chicken uncooked or cooked.
- Prepare the marinade. Place the chicken in a freezer bag and pour the marinade over the chicken. Seal the bag and freeze. When ready to cook, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and cook.
- To freeze cooked chicken, cool the chicken to room temperature and place it in a freezer bag and freeze. Thaw and reheat in the microwave.
Steph
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Pin This Recipe
Which kind of Caesar dressing? there's the thick white dressing and then there's more vinaigrette like Caesar dressing.
I used Kraft caesar vinaigrette dressing.
What's your preferred brand of cajun seasoning? I put Tony's on everything, but I'm not sure if that's what you're referring to in recipes like this!
I like Tony's a lot. I also have some Cajun seasoning that I bought in New Orleans.
It doesn't get much easier that that and I can believe it was delicious.