Blackened chicken with avocado salsa and cauliflower rice
20 min · 50 g protein · 433 cals / serving
Thin chicken cutlets in a smoky homemade Cajun rub, seared in a very hot pan until dark and crusty outside and juicy inside. A chunky avocado, tomato and lime salsa cools it down, and a bag of cauliflower rice makes it a bowl in under 20 minutes.
Ingredients
Blackening rub
- 2 tsp paprika, smoked if you have it
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4–1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, ground cayenne
- 3/4 tsp salt, divided
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 breasts (14 oz) chicken breast, each sliced in half horizontally into 2 thin cutlets
- 2 tsp canola oil
- 12 oz bag cauliflower rice, frozen
Avocado salsa
- 1 small avocado, diced
- 1 medium tomato, diced
- 1/4 small red onion, finely diced
- 1/2 jalapeño, minced
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 tbsp lime juice
Steps
- Mix the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, oregano, cayenne, black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Pat the cutlets dry and coat them all over with the rub.
- Heat a cast-iron or heavy skillet over medium-high heat for 2 minutes, add the oil, then lay in the cutlets. Cook 3–4 minutes a side without moving them, until deeply browned and 165°F inside. Open a window; blackening smokes.
- While the chicken cooks, microwave the cauliflower rice in its bag (or a covered bowl) for 4–5 minutes and season with a pinch of the salt.
- Cut the salsa while the chicken sears untouched: stir the avocado, tomato, red onion, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice and the last pinch of salt together. Slice the chicken and serve over the cauliflower rice with the salsa spooned on top.
Good to know
My rub burns before the chicken is cooked.
The heat is too high for the thickness. Thin cutlets are the point: they cook through in the same few minutes the spices take to darken. Drop to medium if the smoke turns acrid.
Can I use chicken thighs?
Yes, boneless thighs are juicier and very forgiving with a hard sear, at about 63 instead of 72. Give them 5 minutes a side.
Per
- Calories
- 97
- Protein
- (47%)
- 11 g
- Fat
- (39%)
- 4 g
- Carbohydrates
- (14%)
- 4 g
- of which sugar
- 1 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 208 mg
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 866 kcal goes into the pot and 1008 g of ingredients comes out as about 890 g of food: 97 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.