A spicy paleo recipe where chicken breast is tossed in cajun seasoning and cooked with grain free zucchini noodles. everything is cooked in one skillet and it's ready in 30 minutes making in a great option for an easy weeknight meal. low carb and gluten-free.
Cajun chicken breast with zoodles is my absolute go to meal right now. Last Christmas I received a spiraliser and since then we have become well acquainted.
Zoodles are a great low carb veggie alternative to noodles and pasta and they take minutes to make. Be sure to check out my Cajun Shrimp Zoodles or even this Guyanese Chow Mein you love this recipe!
What Are Zoodles?
Now let me alleviate some of my excitement to talk about this southern US inspired dish. I'm sure you all are familiar with the term zoodles by now.
If not, that's fine as I'm happy to explain where the name derives from. Zoodles are grain free noodles made from zucchini,
Brits refer to this vegetable as courgette but I quite like the name 'zoodles' - it sounds rather trendy.
The Spice Factor
I really hope you guys are fans of spicy Cajun Chicken Breast with Zoodles because this meal will have you reaching for a glass of milk to cool off that heat.
I love southern cooking and soul food. Some of the recipes and method of cooking is similar to the Caribbean, that's due in part to the African influence that we share as a collective.
Ingredients for this recipe
- Chicken: You can use either chicken breast fillets or even boneless and skinless thighs in this recipe. If you can buy organic chicken that hasn't been raised on antibiotics.
- Bell peppers: I use red, yellow and green, they add great color and texture to the dish.
- Red onion: I used red onion purely for colour, but use which ever onion you like!!
- Cajun seasoning: You can use store bought seasoning or easily make your own. I've used my own cajun seasoning which is so much better!
- Mushrooms and tomatoes: This is a great meal to pack full of fresh veggies and it's a great dish to use up anything you have in your fridge.
- Zucchini: For the zoodles! Use a sprializer to make them into long noodles.
- Coconut oil: I like to fry with coconut oil, but you can use a vegetable oil if that's what you have.
How to Make Cajun Chicken Breast with Zoodles
- Coat the chicken with the Cajun seasoning and let it marinate over night or for 3 to 4 hours.
- Prep the zucchini with the spiraliser, once the zoodles are formed, add to a colander with 1tsp of pink salt and set aside to sweat for 10 minutes then rinse with water, drain and blot with kitchen towel.
- Add the melted coconut oil to a medium sized heavy duty frying pan and begin to brown the chicken pieces on low-medium heat for 5-7 minutes.
- Once the chicken has darkened, add the red onions with the red, yellow and green peppers to the pan - saute, toss and shake the pan frequently.
- The onions and peppers should tenderise within 3- 4 minutes, at this stage add the mushrooms, tomato and zoodles - in that order and fold in with the chicken and veggies. Sprinkle more salt, pepper and Cajun seasoning if needed.
- Allow the mushroom, tomato and zoodles to soften in the pan. This will take approximately 2 minutes, be careful not to over wilt. The excess water from the zoodles will form a light sauce to drizzle upon serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Do You Need to Marinade The Chicken?
You will need to prep the chicken with the Cajun seasoning and let it marinate. As mentioned a few times in my posts, I'm a huge fan of leaving my meat to absorb their flavours overnight, on a much deeper level.
This is an optional yet highly recommended step and I do appreciate that time maybe against you.
In contrast to my recommendation feel free to allow the dry rub to penetrate the meat for several hours (3-4 hours).
I have no idea if the results for this cajun chicken zoodles recipe will differ as this is not something I've tried, I highly doubt there would be a huge difference - the flavours may not be as intense, at a guess.
Rub the cajun seasoning all over the chicken, making sure it is evenly coated and keep it covered in the fridge until you are ready to cook it.
Can You Make This Dish Ahead of Time?
Cajun chicken breast is best served as soon as it is cooked, although you can get ahead of things by prepping the veggies and marinating the chicken up to 24 hours ahead of time and keep everything covered in the fridge.
If you do have leftovers, you can reheat the next day in a microwave or on the stovetop.
These fool proof cajun chicken zoodles will have you yearning for seconds, don't believe me? Go on and try it!
Notes and Tips
- The cajun seasoning is spicy! If you don't like really spicy foods you can half the amount of cayenne pepper added to the mix.
- Salt the zoodles so that they release their moisture. If you skip this step the meal can become quite watery as they cook.
- Add in any other veggies you like to this recipe. Diced carrots or green beans would make great additions.
- Use a Julienne peeler if you do not own a spiralizer. Be sure to check out my recommended tool section
More Chicken Recipes
This recipe was inspired by Megan's vegetarian version of Cajun zoodles dish
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Cajun Chicken Breast with Zoodles
Ingredients
- 3 large chicken fillets cubed
- 1 red bell pepper sliced,
- 1 yellow pepper sliced
- 1 red onion sliced
- 2 zucchinis
- ½ green pepper sliced
- 2 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning refer to above post for recipe
- 1 cup of mushrooms sliced
- 2 tomatoes sliced into quarters
- 2 tablespoon of coconut oil or olive melted
- extra Cajun seasoning salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Coat the chicken with the cajun seasoning and let it marinate over night or for 3 to 4 hours.
- Prep the zucchini with the spiraliser, once the zoodles are formed, add to a colander with 1tsp of pink salt and set aside to sweat for 10 minutes then rinse with water, drain and blot with kitchen towel.
- Add the melted coconut oil to a medium sized heavy duty frying pan and begin to brown the chicken pieces on low-medium heat for 5-7 minutes.
- Once the chicken has darkened, add the red onions with the red, yellow and green peppers to the pan - sauté, toss and shake the pan frequently.
- The onions and peppers should tenderise within 3- 4 minutes, at this stage add the mushrooms, tomato and zoodles - in that order and fold in with the chicken and veggies. Sprinkle more salt, pepper and Cajun seasoning if needed.
- Allow the mushroom, tomato and zoodles to soften in the pan. This will take approximately 2 minutes, be careful not to over wilt. The excess water from the zoodles will form a light sauce to drizzle upon serving.
Gina
How many serving does this recipe have? Plan on making this tonight! ?
Charla
Hi Gina, Serving is approximately 2-4 people
Maryanne Sentkowski
You don't have to worry about marinating the chicken for a long period of time I did mine for an hour and very spicy. I like spicy but this was way way to much. So I added water to wash Off most of the spice scooped the water out and salted and buttered my dish and it was delicious.
Charla
Hi Maryanne, thank you for providing some feedback on the recipe. Yes it is quite hot but I'm glad you were able to tailor the recipe to your enjoyment :).
Briona
Your food looks yummy!
Charla
Thank you!
foodwarrior
Zoodles? Well, that's different. Now I have alternatives to store bought, expensive organic spinach//beet pastas. SInce I have yet to find sprouted pastas in my area. I can't wait for your review on the spiralizer.
Charla
Yes, I was overjoyed once I discovered zoodles made using a spiraliser.
Michael
This Website has nice information and pictures that will make people hungry.
Charla
Thank you 😉