Blackened Chicken Thighs with Mango Salsa
and coriander zucchini spears
Smarts: To insure that this simple meal is hearty enough, we increased the amounts of both the protein and vegetable over our typical portion size. You could also serve some chips or rolls (not on the ingredients list) on the side if you know you'll want something more.
Cooking methods: This recipe includes instructions for using the grill or stovetop. Select your preferred method.
Ingredients
- Jerk or Cajun seasoning - 1 Tbsp
- Brown sugar - 1 tsp
- Tamari - 1 Tbsp
- Vinegar, red or white wine - 1 Tbsp
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
- Chicken thighs, boneless and skinless - 1 1/2 lbs
- Jalapenos - 1, diced, seeds removed for less heat
- Shallots - 1 clove, finely diced
- Bell peppers, red - 1, finely diced
- Mangos, fresh - 3, diced (sub pineapple or oranges)
- Cilantro leaves - 3 Tbsp, chopped
- Lime juice - 1 Tbsp
- Zucchini - 1 1/2 lbs, spears
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
- Coriander, ground - 2 tsp
- Cumin, ground - 1/4 tsp
Nutrition Facts
Choose Cooking Method
Prep
- Make marinade - Whisk together Jerk / Cajun seasoning, brown sugar, Tamari, vinegar, and oil (portion for chicken). (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Marinate chicken - (If prepping right before cooking, get grill heating while chicken marinates.) Add chicken to marinade and tenderize with a fork. Marinate for at least 20 minutes and up to 1 day. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
- Jalapenos / Shallots / Bell peppers / Zucchini - Prep as directed. Combine jalapenos, shallots, and bell peppers. Store zucchini separately. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Mangos / Cilantro - Prep as directed.
- Make salsa - Combine mangos, cilantro, jalapenos, shallots, bell peppers, and lime juice.
- Season zucchini - Toss zucchini with oil (portion for zucchini), ground coriander, cumin, and some salt and pepper.
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Make
- Remove chicken from marinade (discard marinade). Season with some salt and pepper.
- Heat grill to 425F / 218C degrees, keeping one part over direct heat and one part over indirect heat.
- Brush grates with some oil and place chicken and zucchini over direct heat. Sear on all sides until lightly charred.
- Move chicken to indirect heat and continue cooking until chicken is cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes more (165F / 74C degrees). (Zucchini may already be tender, but if not, move it to indirect heat and continue cooking as well.)
- Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let rest, covered, for 5 minutes.
- Taste salsa and season with some salt or sugar if needed. (A pinch of sugar might be good if the mangos aren’t naturally sweet.)
- Serve chicken and zucchini with salsa over top. Enjoy!
Prep
- Make marinade - Whisk together Jerk / Cajun seasoning, brown sugar, Tamari, vinegar, and oil (portion for chicken). (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Marinate chicken - Add chicken to marinade and tenderize with a fork. Marinate for at least 20 minutes and up to 1 day. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
- Jalapenos / Shallots / Bell peppers / Zucchini - Prep as directed. Combine jalapenos, shallots, and bell peppers. Store zucchini separately. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Mangos / Cilantro - Prep as directed.
- Make salsa - Combine mangos, cilantro, jalapenos, shallots, bell peppers, and lime juice.
- Season zucchini - Toss zucchini with oil (portion for zucchini), ground coriander, cumin, and some salt and pepper.
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Make
- Remove chicken from marinade (discard marinade). Season with some salt and pepper.
- Heat a large grill pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Brush with some cooking oil. Add zucchini and sear on all sides until tender (do this in batches if needed). Set aside.
- If the pan looks dry, add some more oil and then chicken. Sear until both sides are deep golden brown, ~3 minutes per side. Cover with a lid or foil and continue cooking for another 3 to 5 minutes (until chicken reaches 165F / 74C degrees).
- Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let rest, covered, for 5 minutes.
- Taste salsa and season with some salt or sugar if needed. (A pinch of sugar might be good if the mangos aren’t naturally sweet.)
- Serve chicken and zucchini with salsa over top. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
Most Helpful
Bought premade mango salsa. Cut down on prep time. Just marinated the chicken and then had to do the zucchini later. Super easy. Added sides of black beans and rice.
2 Helpful33 reviews
Prep was a bit longer than anticipated, but the flavor was outstanding. We loved it! Could have reduced the salsa amount.
0 HelpfulGreat flavors and easy once I remembered to get the tofu marinating early enough. Added some roasted carrots with garam masala because the 7yo will eat them. Mango (from frozen so easy), cilantro and lime only salsa was divine!
0 HelpfulChicken and salsa were perfect! Zucchini could use some more/different seasoning. Note to self: this is a prep heavy recipe, so plan ahead!
0 HelpfulIt was my second attempt at making this with chicken breasts instead of thighs. The chicken was def. less burnt than last time. I bought red mangoes instead of yellow because I’m guessing they’re going out of season :( and they were soooour. Not bad or rotten. Just sour. I added a table spoon of honey to the cut-up mangoes to sweetened them up. Then I added the rest of the ingredients and salt and a splash of oil. It was perfect. The mangoes were edible now 😅. The small change I made to the chicken was I added a teaspoon of salt since the Cajun spice mix did not have salt in it and I’m glad I did because it’s perfect now. I can see myself keeping making this recipe. I made it over stovetop.
0 HelpfulAll the flavors worked really well together! Made 1 cup of rice for the 4 servings instead of chips and served the tofu over it.
0 Helpful