Happy Thursday, friends! I hope you have had a great week so far 🙂 I am finally over a cold that has been sticking around for weeks now. I have an absolutely delicious, super easy meal to share with you, cajun pepper and pineapple rice with jerk chicken!
It’s a one pan meal and doesn’t require too many ingredients.
This cajun pepper and pineapple rice with jerk chicken is perfect for the warmer days we’ve been having because it’s super fast to make, meaning you have plenty of time to get outside and enjoy the warmth! As an added bonus the pineapple adds a tropical vibe that makes me happily anticipate the even warmer weather that is to come!
The most time consuming part of this recipe is marinating the chicken, but once you have chicken in the marinade you’ve got a few hours free, you could even prep this the night before and keep it in the fridge overnight. I use this Seacrets Jamaican jerk marinade. I found it at my local Giant and have been hooked ever since!
You then cook the chicken, remove it to a plate and cook the rice in the same skillet, just one pan to wash!
This cajun pepper and pineapple rice with jerk chicken gets a kick of spicy flavor from both the marinade and cajun seasoning. The pineapple adds a touch of sweet and a nice punch of bright acidity. It is so, so good!
Cajun Pepper and Pineapple Rice with Jerk Chicken
A bright and flavorful rice bowl!
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken thighs
- 1 oz jerk marinade
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
For the Rice
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small sweet onion
- 1 1/2 bell peppers
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- 1 cup white rice
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 1/2 cup pineapple chunks either fresh or canned work
Instructions
For the chicken:
-
Trim the fat off the chicken thighs and cut into ~1" chunks
-
Mix the jerk marinade and olive oil in a bowl until well combined, add the chicken and toss to coat
-
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least two hours
-
After marinating cook the chicken in a large skillet until done, remove to a plate and set aside
For the Rice:
-
While the chicken marinates dice the onion and peppers and press or mince the garlic
-
After removing the cooked chicken from the skillet add the olive oil over medium-high heat
-
Add the onion and cook for a few minutes until translucent
-
Add the bell peppers and cook for five minutes, stirring occassionally
-
Next stir in the garlic and cajun seasoning, cook for a few minutes
-
Add the rice and stir to combine
-
Pour in the water and pineapple juice, stir and bring to a boil
-
Cover the skillet, reduce to a simmer and let cook for 15 minutes, do NOT open the lid for 15 minutes (see note)
-
After 15 minutes remove the lid, stir the rice, and test the rice,the liquid should be gone and the rice should be tender, if necessary add more liquid or cook for a few more minutes
-
When the rice is done stir in the pineapple chunks
-
You can either serve the chicken on the side or stir that back into the rice as well
-
Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- I like chicken thighs in this dish because I think they have so much flavor, but you can also use chicken breasts or any other protein you like, I've also made this dish with shrimp, which is really delicious as well
- I prefer to use fresh pineapple in this dish but I've also used canned in a pinch
- I used to be terrible at making rice because I would constantly open the lid to stir and check on it during cooking, ever since I started resisting the urge to open the lid my rice has come out perfectly every time
- I use white jasmine rice for this dish, you can use whatever rice you like but the cooking time and amount of liquid needed may vary, check the package for directions and adjust accordingly
Yum!
