Blackened Chicken with Avocado Cream

I think the world would be a better place if we could eat some type of delicious sauce on everything. Are you with me on this? Sauces make everything SO YUMMY. Whether it be a chipotle sauce on your sandwich, a cheese sauce on your burrito, a bearnaise sauce on your steak (we just went so fancy [except I had to google how to spell bearnaise, so I think that disqualifies my fanciness there]), or an AVOCADO sauce on a nice piece of blackened chicken, it all just makes everything #BAE.

It takes a regular food item – i.e. chicken, tacos, burgers, etc… – and elevates them to whole new level. I mean, what would life even be without sauce? Would the world still be a fun place to live? I’d say that’s debatable. A sauce-free life is a sad life, friends.

This sauce is extra super awesome because…

1. It’s uber healthy – we’re talking avocados, jalapeno, cilantro, garlic, lime, and water. The end. All healthy ingredients and lots of healthy fats (👋 hi, avocado. Thanks for bein’ you).
2. It’s SUPER easy. Throw ^^^ ingredients into a food processor, turn it on, and bam – you DUN.
3. It’s ultra, crazy delicious. Like, eat on everything in sight delicious. Eat out of the fridge with a spoon delicious. Lick the bowl delicious < catch my drift?
4. It’s pretty and green. Pretty food is fun to eat, don’t you agree?

One of the best things about sauces is when they pair together with what you’re eating like a little food symphony. This recipe is a perfect example of that. We have our bold, blackened chicken that is loaded with tons of delicious flavor from our spice rub, and then we have our cool, creamy, refreshing avocado cream to play off those bold flavors.

When you eat both of them together, it is just the PERFECT combo of flavors and textures – it’s happy-dance-around-your-kitchen-while-you-chew worthy. Do you have those moments when you make and eat yummy food? No? Just me then? K.

Let’s talk about the process here. First you’ve gotta throw your spice rub together – we’ve got some chili powder, cumin, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder workin’ for us here. Salt your chicken breasts and then season each side liberally with your spice rub.

Throw some olive oil and butter in your skillet, sear the chicken on both sides, and pop them in the oven for 8-10 minutes until they are just cooked through! While your chicken is in the oven, throw all of those yummy avocado sauce ingredients in your food processor and blend, blend, blend.

Remove the chicken, let it rest for a few minutes, smother (I SAID SMOTHER), your chicken with the sauce, and devour in less than two minutes because it is impossible to do anything less with the delicious food sitting in front of you. YES TO EVERYTHING.

So, you know how Kansas is known for its tornadoes? It’s goin’ down up in here, peeps. Last night we were shifting between tornado watches and tornado warnings all evening and late into the night. A tornado touched down nearby, but we were safe where we were for the most part. Meaning we didn’t have to go hunker down in the bathroom with our entire family + fur babies.

There wasn’t a tornado super close to us, but the sky was CRAY. It looked like a strobe light there was so much lightning, but you couldn’t see any actual bolts coming down, and there wasn’t any loud thunder, just a constant rumbling that sounded super far away…it was quite ominous. Coming from North Carolina where tornadoes are a rare occurrence, I’m a big baby and get a liiiiiittle (and by a little I mean a lot) anxious about it. Also I didn’t want to wake Ford up and bring him into the bathroom with us.

BUT – they are calling for severe thunderstorms + possible tornadoes tonight, too. WHYYYYY, KANSAS? First you bring us never ending winter. Now, when the weather is finally warm, you bring us endless tornadoes. Question – do you hate us? Do you want us to enjoy none of your seasons? Can you do us a solid and give us a nice, tornado free spring? JK, I know you’re doin’ your best. Love ya.

Sooo…hopefully we stay safe tonight in the midst of tornado craziness! We are making soup in honor of the impending gross and dreary weather. Lemon chicken and barley, so that it’s still slightly springy 😌.

Have a wonderful Wednesday, friends, and stay safe if your area is also going to be stormy stormy tonight!

Blackened Chicken with Avocado Cream

This recipe is paleo and whole 30 approved!

• Author: Annie Chesson
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the chicken

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter (or ghee if paleo/whole 30)
• Salt

For the avocado cream

• 2 avocados
• 1 jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed
• 1/3 cup cilantro
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 3/4 cup water (more if you want a thinner sauce)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

For the chicken

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees
2. Season your chicken breasts on both sides with salt
3. Combine all your spices in a small bowl and stir together
4. Season your chicken breasts on both sides with your spice rub until all the spice rub has been used
5. Heat your olive oil and butter in a large, oven safe skillet (a cast iron is great for this) over medium high heat
6. When your skillet is very hot, sear your chicken for 2-3 minutes per side, until both sides have turned a deep golden brown
7. Place in the oven and bake or 8-10 minutes, or until the chicken is just cooked through (if it is still the tiniest bit pink, it will finish cooking as it rests)
8. Rest your chicken for about five minutes

For the sauce

1. Add all the sauce ingredients to a food processor and turn on until the sauce is very smooth and totally combined. Add more water if you want a thinner sauce, and season to taste with salt and pepper

Notes

Cook time for the chicken will depend on the size of the chicken breasts. When I make this with smaller chicken breasts, a 2 minute sear on each side and an 8 minute cook time makes them perfect. With bigger chicken breasts, a 3 minute sear on each side and a 10 minute cook time is what they need.

This recipe makes about 2 cups of sauce, which gives you an entire half cup to use per chicken breast. I’m greedy and use every last bit, but you might have some extra left over!

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 chicken breast, 1/2 cup of sauce
• Calories: 528
• Sugar: 1 g
• Sodium: 233 mg
• Fat: 26 g
• Carbohydrates: 9 g
• Fiber: 6 g
• Protein: 62 g
• Cholesterol: 167 mg

If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!

In the mood for more yummy whole 30 recipes? Check these out:

Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Coconut Spaghetti Squash Noodle Bowls

Avocado “Toast”with a Sunny Side Up Egg