This Cajun inspired Cast Iron Skillet Chicken Breast is beautifully seared then finished in the oven to bake until moist and is ready in under 30 minutes.
This recipe inspired by my Cajun Spatchcock Chicken Recipe and pairs nicely with Herb Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Crispy Oven Roasted Baby Potatoes, Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese, Easy Sweet Buttermilk Cornbread, 7 Minute Grilled Sugar Snap Pea, Sauteed Green Beans, Fresh Spring Mix Salad, or this Simple Arugula Salad With Nectarines, or Roasted Beets in Foil.
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Ingredient Notes
The good news is that this recipe uses common ingredients that you may already have in your pantry.
I used my all-purpose Cajun spice blend, but you can tailor your seasonings to what you have on hand or what you like. This is a simple recipe that's very versatile and makes a great nutritious weeknight dinner idea.
To create my all purpose Cajun spice blend I combined:
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Smoked paprika
- Red pepper flakes
- Black pepper
- Dried Thyme
One important note to make is that chicken breast unlike other parts of the chicken is not very forgiving meaning that if it's cooked too longer it will become dry and unpleasant to eat.
If you're not used to cooking chicken breast, I highly recommend that you:
- Brine your chicken breast in a simple salt solution to ensure it stays moist.
- Invest in a meat thermometer if you do not already have one to check the internal temperature (more on this below).
Please refer to the recipe card for quantities and detailed instructions.
How to Cook Cast Iron Skillet Chicken Breast
- Brine chicken in a salt water mixture for 15 minutes up to 6 hours then rinse and pat dry with paper towels.
- Season skin generously with Cajun seasoning and kosher salt.
- Place your cast iron skillet on the stove-top over medium-high heat then add your grapeseed oil and butter.
- When the oil begins to shimmer, add your chicken breast with the skin-side down and sear until the skin turns a golden brown color.
- Flip your chicken breast over and place in a preheated 425 degree oven to roast.
- Your chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F (check by inserting an instant read meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast, if it registers to 165, your cast iron skillet chicken breast is done).
- Remove from the skillet and spoon the pan juices over each breast several times.
Top Tips
- Make sure your chicken breast is at room temperature before searing.
- You will get the best sear if your chicken is completely dry.
- Always season your cast iron skillet properly to prevent any food from sticking and the same applies for this recipe.
- Be patient and do not flip your chicken over too early as this could potentially cause your chicken to stick.
- Season generously with your Cajun seasoning and kosher salt unless your following a low-sodium diet watch your salt intake.
- Again, if you're not used to cooking chicken breast, or it didn't come out too great in the past, remember to brine first and use an instant read meat thermometer to check the the internal temp reaches 165 and not higher.
FAQs
Do not depend on cooking time instead focus on the internal temperature of the chicken breast to prevent it from being overcooked and tasting dry.
Invest in a good instant read meat thermometer to check the internal temperature by inserting it into the thickest part of the chicken breast without touching the bone if you're working with bone-in chicken breast.
The ultimate key is to brine your chicken breast for at least 15 minutes or up to 6 hours in the fridge. I wouldn't recommend brining longer than 6 hours it really isn't necessary. Brining any protein allows for moist and juicer meat.
Like most proteins, you can certainly cook chicken in a cast iron skillet. Cooking in a cast iron skillet allows for beautiful searing and greater heat distribution throughout the skillet which in turn allows for the chicken to cook evenly.
There are certain foods that you shouldn't cook in a cast iron skillet such as:
Acidic foods such as tomato based food or lemons can break down the seasoned surface.
Eggs will basically stick to the skillet if your skillet isn't seasoned properly.
Sticky foods makes it more challenging to clean the skillet, but it's doable.
Fish, in particular delicate fish will stick and also cause the skillet to smell fishy even after cleaning, so you may want to use a different kind of skillet.
You sear chicken for at least 6 to 8 minutes until a nice golden brown crusty outer coating develops before flipping it over.
Your cast iron skillet must be hot but not scorching hot say medium-high to high-heat. Must use a fat or cooking oil with a high smoke point such as grapeseed oil, avocado oil, canola oil, or clarified butter such as ghee. Do not disturb or flip the chicken over until a nice brown crusty outer coating develops.
Cast Iron Skillet Benefits
- Can be used to cook all types of recipes such as: Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Breast, Oven Baked Chuck Roast Recipe, Best Turkey Burger, Roasted Cornish Hen Recipe in White Wine Sauce, Rosemary Marinated Lamb Loin Chops even Moist Lemon Cake Cornbread or these Easy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls.
- Creates beautifully seared meat.
- Distributes heat well so that your chicken or other protein and food cooks evenly.
- It's oven safe and can be used for searing, frying, baking, or broiling.
- Is actually easy to clean.
- Can be less expensive than other pans such as dutch ovens.
- Are chemical free and adds iron to your food during the cooking process.
Other Chicken Dishes
Did you make this recipe?
If so, let me know how it went. Leave a 'Star Rating' within the recipe card down below and/or TAG @cookingwithbliss on Instagram. I can't wait to see how it turned out.
📖 Recipe
Cast Iron Skillet Chicken Breast
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet
Ingredients
Simple Brine
- 12 cups warm water
- ¼ cup kosher salt
Seasoning
- 2 chicken breast bone-in (cook the appropriate amount of chicken breast based on the number of people you are serving)
- ½ tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 tablespoon grapeseed oil (or other cooking oil with high smoke point)
- 2 tablespoon butter (or ghee if on Whole30)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Wash chicken (optional). I do but there is debate over whether or not chicken should be washed.
- In a pot or large bowl add 12 cups of warm water. Add salt and stir until salt dissolves. Add chicken breast. Allow chicken to brine for at least 15 minutes or up to 6 hours.
- Remove chicken breast from brine and rinse with water. Pat dry with paper towels.
- Season side with skin using kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, dried thyme. This is Cajun seasoning. Feel free to purchase store bought Cajun seasoning if you would like.
- Place cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add grapeseed oil (or other cooking oil with high smoke point) and butter (or ghee). When skillet is hot, add chicken breast to cast iron skillet with skin-side down and sear for 3 to 4 minutes. Flip chicken breast over (skin-side up) and place cast iron skillet in oven to roast. Roast until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Use a meat thermometer to check internal temperature of each breast.
- Remove skillet from oven and spoon pan juices over each chicken breast several times. Place chicken breast on a serving dish and allow them to rest (about 5 to 7 minutes) to redistribute the juices.
Notes
- Make sure your chicken breast is at room temperature before searing.
- You will get the best sear if your chicken is completely dry.
- Always season your cast iron skillet properly to prevent any food from sticking and the same applies for this recipe.
- Be patient and do not flip your chicken over too early as this could potentially cause your chicken to stick.
- Season generously with your Cajun seasoning and kosher salt unless your following a low-sodium diet watch your salt intake.
- Again, if you're not used to cooking chicken breast, or it didn't come out too great in the past, remember to brine first and use an instant read meat thermometer to check the the internal temp reaches 165 and not higher.
Yvonne Alexander
So moist. Never thought to brine my chicken that id be cooking on skillet or grill. So smart!