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    🏠Home » Recipes » Chicken Recipes

    Blackened Chicken Breasts

    Jun 26, 2021 · Modified: Oct 28, 2022 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan · 5 Comments

    Recipe Table of Contents    
    4.55 from 20 votes

    Easy and delicious, this blackened chicken is wonderful on a salad, in a sandwich, or just straight up for dinner. Done in under 30 minutes on the grill or in the oven.

    two chicken breast on a white plate

    Jump To:
    • How to make this recipe
    • 🐓Ingredients
    • ♨️Grill setup
    • ♨️Oven instructions
    • 🥣Suggested Sauce
    • 📖Chicken Breast Recipes
    • 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
    • 📝Recipe

    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    Introduction

    You can never have enough great chicken recipes. Kick it up some with these tasty blackened chicken breasts cooked on your grill or in the oven. Great taste is not far away.

    And by making your seasoning, you can adjust the heat to your taste. Also, we can do a quick brine for moisture.

    The original recipe was an oven-based recipe from allrecipes.com. I used the seasoning with some changes and converted it to grilling with my standard chicken breast recipe but I have included oven instructions, also.

    How to make this recipe

    • Clean and oil the grill grates. Preheat the grill to a surface temperature of about 450°
    • Trim skinless boneless chicken breasts and brine if you wish.
    • Mix a blackened seasoning of paprika, cayenne pepper, black pepper, cumin, thyme, and other spices. If you did brine the chicken, do not add salt.
    • Apply a light coat of blackened seasoning to all sides of the chicken breasts.
    • Grill over direct heat with the grill lid closed for 5 minutes, then flip every 5 minutes until internal temp is 165°. About 25-30 minutes. Alternate oven instructions are below.
    • Lightly tent for 5 minutes before serving.

    🐓Ingredients

    Chicken Breasts

    It is easier to cook chicken that is about the same size and thickness. So try to even it out when you pick your chicken.

    If you get these really plump chicken breasts, flatten them a little with a meat mallet or the bottom of a pan. Aim for about ¾ inches at the thickest point.

    using a mallet to thin chicken breasts

    The Optional Brine: Like all grilled chicken breast, this can dry some if you're not careful. A simple brine of 2 cups water, 2 tablespoons table salt, and 2 tablespoons sugar for 20 to 60 minutes help keep them moist.

    The recommended brine is relatively heavy in salt. According to Cooks Illustrated, this brine concentration is recommended for chicken for 30 minutes to 2 hours. I find the chicken gets saltier in over 1 hour, so I suggest 1-hour max with this mixture. Actually, 20 minutes will do a fairly good job of brining the chicken breasts.

    While I no longer recommend rinsing chicken usually, you should always rinse carefully after brining it to eliminate the surface salt.

    You can grill skinless boneless chicken breasts and keep them moist without the brine, but it requires attention—or use the oven option.

    👨‍🍳The Seasoning

    Blackened and Cajun seasoning are similar, and many people use the terms interchangeably. It is generally accepted that Cajun is a bit spicier but since this is adjustable, use the term you like. Creole spice has more herbs.

    The original seasoning needed a touch of garlic, and I added that. And a touch more salt.

    The heat here is about 4/10, so adjust the cayenne to your taste.

    I prefer white pepper but use black pepper if you want or don't have white pepper. The white pepper adds a very nice different taste.

    If you brine the chicken, you must leave the salt out of the seasoning.

    ♨️Grill setup

    Grill temperature is critical in keeping the chicken moist.  For any chicken, you can not "sock the heat to it." The outside will be burnt before the center is safe to eat.

    I like to cook all chicken with a grill surface temperature of about 450°, give a take a little. This is medium on my current grill, which is a "hot" grill. It is medium-high on most gas grills.

    Please see my guide, A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill, and get it right. If you don't get this right, you will not be successful with this recipe.

    ♨️Oven instructions

    Sometimes you just dinner to be super easy, then just pop the chicken in an oven.

    About 25 minutes in a 375° convection or 400° conventional works well; give or take 5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken and the oven.

    I recommend a sheet pan covered with foil and preferably with a baking rack to keep the chicken out of the drainage. Don't forget a good spray of PAM. Cook to a final internal temperature of 165° in the thickest parts.

    🥣Suggested Sauce

    I liked the taste of the sauce from Alabama BBQ Chicken with White BBQ Sauce with the blackened chicken. A great mayonnaise-based sauce from Big Bob Gibson's of Alabama.

    📖Chicken Breast Recipes

    How to Grill Chicken Breasts on a Gas Grill

    How to BBQ Skinless Boneless Chicken Breast on a Gas Grill

    Super Moist Grilled Skinless Boneless Chicken Breasts

    How to Bake Chicken Breasts in a Convection Oven

    Italian Grilled Chicken Breasts

    This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

    Chicken Breast Recipes, Chicken Recipes, Grill Recipes
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    🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

    clean and oil grill crates

    Clean and oil the grill. Preheat grill to a surface temperature of about 450°, which is medium-high on most grills. You must get the surface temperature correct.

    trimmed chicken breasts on a red board

    Trim breasts well. You can brine if you wish but then skip the salt in the rub.

    spices for blacken seasoning

    Mix rub: ½ teaspoon paprika, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, ¼ teaspoon cumin, ¼ teaspoon thyme, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ⅛ teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, and ⅛ teaspoon white pepper. You may adjust the cayenne to taste and use black pepper if you want.

    applying the seasoning to the chicken on a white board

    Rub the dry mix on breast front and back. You only have 2 teaspoons so a light coat.

    placing seasoned chicken breasts on the grill

    Grill over direct heat with the grill lid closed for 5 minutes then flip every 5 minutes until internal temp is 165°. About 25-30 minutes.

    blackened chicken breast on a white plate

    Lightly tent for 5 minutes before serving.

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    📝Recipe

    Grilled Blackened Chicken Breasts from 101 Cooking for Two

    Blackened Chicken Breasts

    From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
    Easy and delicious, this blackened chicken is wonderful on a salad, in a sandwich, or just straight up for dinner. Done in under 30 minutes on the grill or in the oven.
    Tap to leave a Rating
    4.55 from 20 votes
    Print Email CollectionCollected
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 25 minutes
    Total Time: 35 minutes
    Servings #/Adjust if desired 2

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Convert to Metric
    • 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts

    Blackening Seasoning-only makes 2 teaspoons

    • ½ teaspoon paprika
    • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper - adjust to taste
    • ¼ teaspoon cumin
    • ¼ teaspoon thyme
    • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
    • ⅛ teaspoon onion powder
    • ⅛ teaspoon white pepper - use black pepper if you want
    • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Clean and oil the grill. Preheat grill to a surface temperature of about 450° which is medium-high on most grills. You must get the surface temperature correct.
      clean and oil grill crates
    • Trim breasts well. You can brine if you wish but then skip the salt in the rub. A simple brine of 2 cups water, 2 tablespoons table salt, and 2 tablespoons sugar for 20 to 60 minutes help keep them moist.
      trimmed chicken breasts on a red board
    • Mix rub ½ teaspoon paprika, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, ¼ teaspoon cumin, ¼ teaspoon thyme, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ⅛ teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, and ⅛ teaspoon white pepper. You may adjust the cayenne to taste and use black pepper if you want.
      spices for blacken seasoning
    • Rub the dry mix on breast front and back. You only have 2 teaspoons so a light coat.
      applying the seasoning to the chicken on a white board
    • Grill over direct heat with the grill lid closed for 5 minutes then flip every 5 minutes until internal temp is 165°. About 25-30 minutes. Oven instructions in the recipe tips below.
      placing seasoned chicken breasts on the grill
    • Lightly tent for 5 minutes before serving.
      blackened chicken breast on a white plate
    See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

    Your Own Private Notes

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    Recipe Notes

    Pro Tips:

    1. Scale to your needs. This is cooking for two, so I have two chicken breasts.
    2. Like all grilled chicken breast, this can dry some if you're not careful. A simple brine of 2 cups water, 2 tablespoons table salt, and 2 tablespoons sugar for 20 to 60 minutes help keep them moist.
    3. If you brine, rinse the salt off carefully and add no salt in the seasoning.
    4. The seasoning only makes about 2 teaspoons, so only a light coating.
    5. Try to use chicken breasts that are about the same size and thickness. If you get those very thick breasts, use a meat mallet or bottom of a pan to flatten them out a little to about ¾ inches.
    6. The seasoning is about 4/10 hot. Adjust the cayenne to your taste.
    7. You can make extra seasoning and store airtight in a dark dry place for at least several months before it starts to loose flavor.
    8. Grill surface temperature is very important for cooking any chicken. Please use a grill surface thermometer to get a temperature of 450. See A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill.
    9. The safe final temperature is 165°. Less is unsafe and more will start drying.
    10. Be sure to let the chicken rest for a few minutes before serving.

    Oven Instructions

    1. About 25 minutes in a 375° convection or 400° conventional works well; give or take 5 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken and the oven.
    2. I recommend a sheet pan covered with foil and preferably with a baking rack to keep the chicken out of the drainage. Don't forget a good spray of PAM. Cook to a final internal temperature of 165° in the thickest parts.

    To adjust the recipe size:

    You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

    Nutrition Estimate

    Nutrition Facts
    Blackened Chicken Breasts
    Amount Per Serving (1 breast)
    Calories 134 Calories from Fat 27
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 3g5%
    Saturated Fat 1g5%
    Cholesterol 72mg24%
    Sodium 423mg18%
    Potassium 418mg12%
    Carbohydrates 1g0%
    Fiber 1g4%
    Sugar 1g1%
    Protein 24g48%
    Vitamin A 385IU8%
    Vitamin C 1.3mg2%
    Calcium 6mg1%
    Iron 0.7mg4%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
    Course : Main Course
    Cuisine : American

    © 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.

    Originally published on August 9, 2010. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.

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    More Chicken Recipes

    • Grilled Whole Chicken without Spatchcocking
    • Super Moist Grilled Reversed Seared Chicken Breast with Marinade
    • Extra Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Wings
    • Baked Split Chicken Breasts (Bone-in)

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    1. Donna

      June 18, 2020 at 9:06 pm

      5 stars
      Great Recipe on a gas grill or a indoor electric grill!

      Reply
    2. David

      February 14, 2011 at 7:32 pm

      This recipe was fantastic...perfect blackened crust

      Reply
    3. Merut

      August 12, 2010 at 1:16 pm

      I'm always looking for new variations on grilled chicken. Thanks for the seasoning idea.

      Reply
    4. Dr Dan

      August 10, 2010 at 9:45 pm

      It seems impossible to weed the darn thing and it just grows and grows. Just more fun to be had.

      Reply
    5. Chris

      August 10, 2010 at 8:16 pm

      I know your feelings, my "to try" queue is about 1 light year long.

      Reply

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