Chicken Étouffé Recipe

This chicken étouffé recipe is a new recipe that Eric and I decided to try as a meal prep option. We’ve been on the hunt for something different to give us more variety when it comes to healthy eating. We really enjoyed the cajun flavours and the spice kick that came from this. It’s like a super awesome veggie and chicken packed pasta-style dish with plantain for added sweetness. We also opted to do half cauliflower rice/half white jasmine rice. You can easily serve with cauliflower rice, white rice, brown rice and much more. I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think in the comments below!

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

Cajun spices:

• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp grounded black peppercorn
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• pinch of sea salt or pink Himalayan salt

Étouffé:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp corn starch
• 2 lbs chicken breast, cut into 1-in cubes
• pinch of black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 2 cup celery, diced
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 1 ripe plantain, sliced into 1/4-in pieces
• 4 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 bay leaves

Cauliflower & White Rice:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 bag of cauliflower rice
• 2 cups white rice
• 1/2 cup green onions

Cooking Instructions

1. Mix together the ingredients for the cajun seasoning (or feel free to use a cajun seasoning of your choice already blended)
2. Coat the chicken pieces in corn starch and a pinch of pepper
3. Use a non-stick frying pan and place on medium-high heat. Once hot, add in olive oil and then the chicken breast pieces. Sear on the outside for 5 minutes, or until there’s a light brown sear on the chicken. Remove the chicken from the skillet (it’s okay if there’s undercooked pieces, it’ll simmer in the sauce later).
4. Reduce the heat to medium, then add in olive oil, garlic, onion, bell pepper, celery and plantain. Cook for 3-5 minutes until softened. Add the cajun seasoning, chicken stock, tomato paste and seared chicken breast pieces. Stir everything together and bring it to a simmer. Add in the bay leaves, cover and cook on low heat for 15 minutes.
5. During this time, take a new frying pan and place on medium-high heat. Once hot, add in olive oil, cauliflower rice and cooked white rice. Stir and cook through so that everything is hot. If you want, you can leave it for a minute or two before stirring to crisp up the rice.

Note(s): You can modify the amount of chicken or veggies based on the serving size you’d like to make. This recipe yields 6 servings. We used this as dinner and meal prep for lunch the next two days.

Bon Appétit,

Check out my other recipes HERE.