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This spicy chicken sauce piquant is a true Cajun classic. When I think of good Cajun home cooking, I think of thick, boldly flavored one-pot stews with rice – dishes like etouffee, gumbo, and this spicy chicken sauce piquant. All of these classics feature the “Cajun trinity” (a mixture of diced onion, celery, and green pepper) and are thickened with a roux made by adding flour to oil. This particular dish is made with chunks of chicken that are seasoned with cayenne and chili pepper, tossed in flour, fried, and then slow-braised in a spicy tomato stew until they are tender enough to shred with a fork. The process is a little labor intensive but well worth the result. I get requests for this “cajun chicken” as we like to call it from friends and family all the time. It’s a great dish for entertaining because you can make it ahead.
Looking for more Cajun stews? Try my cozy cajun vegetarian stew or my chicken and andouille gumbo.
Why You will Love this Spicy Chicken Sauce Piquant
This Cajun chicken is a well-loved recipe in our house. We love the bold spicy flavors of the sauce piquant and the tender slow-braised chicken. Plus, I serve it with our favorite Cajun fixings – cornbread, a salad with homemade buttermilk ranch, and a blackberry cobbler for dessert. Here are some other things to love:
It’s a one-pot recipe: Like many Cajun recipes, this dish is made in one pot. I love when clean-up is minimized. Served over rice, it’s a full meal with your veggies and protein. You don’t even need sides but I highly recommend some cornbread.
It will feed a crowd: This recipe feeds 4 to 6 but it is also easy to double. You can stretch it a bit too as it is served over rice and traditionally paired with popular sides such as cornbread.
It’s easy to make ahead: You can fully prepare this dish a day or two in advance. I almost always make it in advance when I’m entertaining. Once it is fully cooked, let it cool, and then pop the whole pot into the refrigerator. When you are getting ready to serve it, just pop it back on the stove and heat it through. While it warms, you can steam the rice. I don’t recommend making rice in advance.
It’s a pretty simple recipe: While it takes a bit of time to assemble this dish, mainly browning the chicken, the ingredients are quite simple. The spices are all basic. I typically have everything on hand that is needed to make this recipe.
Suggested pairings for Chicken Sauce Piquant
Chicken sauce piquant should be served over white rice and topped with green onions. For sides, go with any of the traditional cajun fixings. Cornbread is a popular option. For a veggie, you can go with collard greens or a green salad with buttermilk ranch. For drinks, I think beer is the best option. We like pale ales and IPAs with our cajun cooking! A lager like Abita (a Lousianna staple) is also a good choice. If you are game for dessert, try a southern-style fruit cobbler. We love blackberry, blueberry, or peach cobblers in the summer!
Cicken Sauce Piquant FAQs
Cajun food is southern cuisine most often associated with Louisiana. It originated with Acadian immigrants (a French population that settled in Canada but later fled to the southern United states). Cajun food staples include gumbo, etouffee, jambalaya, and other hearty, spicy, meat-heavy one-pot meals.
Merriam-Webster defines sauce piquant as “a sauce with sharp flavor.” I’ve also seen it defined as a hot spicy tomato-based stew (which is consistent with this recipe).
Roux is a mixture of equal parts fat and flour used to thicken sauces, soups, and stews.
Diced onion, celery, and bell pepper. The concept is similar to the French mirepoix (onion, celery, and carrot).
Nope. I recommend a dutch oven for this recipe but any large heavy-bottomed pot will do. See below for my favorite kitchen tools that are useful (but not required) for this type of recipe.
Kitchen Tools for Spicy Chicken Sauce Piquant
I like to cook one-pot cajun dishes like chicken sauce piquant in a large dutch oven. Tongs and slotted spoons are very handy for browning chicken and other meats. I love to use my instapot for steaming rice – consistently perfect rice every time! Lastly, my favorite Cajun cookbook.
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Spicy Chicken Sauce Piquant
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 90 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings 1x
- Category: Entree
- Method: braise
- Cuisine: Cajun
Description
This spicy one-pot Cajun classic is a favorite in our house. Serve it with steamed rice, and cornbread.
This recipe is adapted from “Real Cajun” by Donald Link
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- vegetable oil or lard for browning chicken, around ¼ cup to start and more as needed
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 celery stalks, diced,
- 1 poblano or green bell pepper, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- several dashes of hot sauce
- 4 green onions, sliced thin
Instructions
- Combine salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, chili pepper, and paprika in a large bowl and mix. Add chicken. Toss using your hands until the pieces are evenly coated in the spice mixture.
- Put the flour in a medium low-sided bowl. Dredge the seasoned chicken pieces through the flour to coat and set aside. Reserve any excess flour.
- Heat ¼ cup oil in large dutch oven over medium-high. When the oil is hot, add half of the chicken to the pot. There should be enough room in the pot for the pieces to be in one layer. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes and then turn and brown the other side. The chicken should turn a nice golden brown. Transfer to a plate and brown the remaining chicken following the same method. You can a little more oil to the pot if needed. Transfer browned chicken to the plate.
- Reduce heat to medium and add the onion, celery, pepper, and garlic. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes until veggies are soft. Add ¼ cup of the remaining dredging flour. You can mix in new flour if you don’t have enough dredging flour reserved. Toss the veggies with the flour until evenly coated and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chicken, tomatoes, stock, bay leaves, dried thyme, and hot sauce.
- Give the pot a good stir to combined all ingredients. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer over low heat for about and hour, until sauce has thickened and chicken is tender and sheds easily.
- Serve with white rice and garnish with green onions.
Keywords: Cajun, chicken sauce piquant
Lastly, if you make this spicy chicken sauce piquant recipe, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love hearing from readers and always do my best to respond to every comment.
