Cajun Chicken Bowl with Special Sauce

This Cajun Chicken Bowl is the perfect weeknight dinner. It's easy, relatively quick, and so delicious. Everything is seasoning with cajun seasoning, seared and baked, paired with fresh cucumber and avocado, and drizzled with my "special sauce".

One of my favourite types of dishes is a goooood bowl. They have a mixture of textures, flavours, nutrients, and you can change them up every single time. They are a great way to use up leftover ingredients and make something delicious.

This bowl specifically has a few of my favourite things: seared cajun chicken thighs, baked sweet potato fries, fresh cucumbers, avocado, crunchy green onions, and my favourite - special sauce! This is my own concoction of a few random ingredients (you'll think this when reading a few lines down) but trust me, this sauce is SO good. You can use it on top of bowls like this, with tacos, or as a dipping sauce.

Cajun Chicken Bowl with Special Sauce

Serves: 5-6

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Cajun Chicken Bowl Ingredients

• 8-10 chicken thighs (depending on size)

• 1 1/2 tbsp oil

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch matchsticks

• 1 2/3 cup uncooked rice

• 1 english cucumber, sliced

• 1 avocado, sliced

• green onions, chopped

• Special Sauce (see below for ingredients)

Cajun Seasoning

• 1 tbsp chilli powder

• 1 tbsp paprika

• 1 tbsp garlic powder

• 1 tbsp dried oregano

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• 1 tbsp seasoning salt

Special Sauce Ingredients

• 1/3 cup mayonnaise

• 1/4 cup ketchup

• 1 1/2 tbsp mustard

• 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

• 1 tbsp hot sauce

• 1 tbsp barbecue sauce

• 2 tsp cajun seasoning

Directions

1. Preheat your oven 400 degree F. Bring a large saucepan or skillet to medium-high heat with half the oil in it.

2. In a small/medium pot, bring the rice and 3 1/3 cups of water to a boil, covered. Bring the boil down to a simmer on low and cook covered for about 20 minutes (until no water remains at the bottom). Don't stir the rice. Fluff when done with a fork.

3. In a large sheet pan, coat the sweet potatoes in the remaining oil and 1/3 of the cajun seasoning. Place in the oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes, tossing halfway through to ensure all sides get a nice crisp.

4. Lay the chicken thighs flat on a surface. Coat both sides with 1/3 of the cajun seasoning and rub it into the chicken.

5. Place the chicken in the saucepan/skillet and sear both sides (approx. 3-4 minutes per side - when both sides have a golden crisp on the outside).

6. When seared, transfer the chicken to a sheet pan and place in the oven to cook for 10 minutes.

7. While the chicken and sweet potatoes bake, make the Special Sauce and prepare the vegetables to assemble with the bowl. I would recommend only using 2 tsp of the cajun seasoning in the special sauce, so there may be some leftover.

8. When done, slice the chicken and assemble the bowls. Enjoy

Feel free to switch out the vegetables or meat in this bowl, I'm sure it'll still turn out great. If you try this out, please let me know! I'd love to hear how it went! Let me know down in the comments or message me!