Cajun Butter Crockpot Chicken Thighs and Rice

Cajun Butter Crockpot Chicken thigh and rice is one of the easiest Chicken dinner recipes where Chicken pan-seared and then slow-cooked with low-sodium chicken broth, Cajun Seasoning, Light brown sugar, and few cloves of minced garlic. It's one of the easiest Crockpot Recipe for Dinner. Don't miss this Baked Cajun Chicken recipe and these Cajun Rub Chicken Wings!

Last week I made Cajun Shrimp and rice in my Instant Pot. It went out so well in the family. My kids loved the recipe.

I loved it way more than I can explain. Today, I wanted to try Cajun Butter Chicken in my Crockpot. I was so excited about it.

Cajun Butter Crockpot Chicken Thighs

You see, I love making Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs. The dark meat is juicy and full of flavors.

And using Chicken Breasts as well - Honey Bourbon Chicken in Crockpot, Crockpot Coconut Lime Chicken, Crockpot Hawaiian Chicken with Sweet Pineapple Glaze, and Chicken Thighs - Crockpot Chicken Thighs in Lemon Garlic Sauce, Crockpot Chicken Thigh Recipe with Asian Glaze.

What is Cajun Seasoning?

Before we begin I would like to tell you about Cajun Seasoning. Do you know the history of Cajun cuisine, where does it come from, how it gained popularity? Learn everything about Cajun Cuisine here.

Also, before we begin here are the spices that you'd need to make cajun seasoning:

MORE Cajun Recipes:

• Creamy Cajun Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
• Salmon Pasta in Creamy Cajun Sauce
• Easiest Cajun Shrimp Pasta

Jump to:

• Cajun Butter Crockpot Chicken Thighs
• What is Cajun Seasoning?
• 🍲Ingredients
• 🍽️Instructions
• 📖Substitutions
• 🔖Variations
• 🧊Storage
• 💡Top tip to make the best Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs
• 🚰How much water is Adequate to cook rice?
• 🥗Side Dishes
• Cajun Butter Crockpot Chicken Thigh and Rice

🍲Ingredients

These are the ingredients you'll need to make Cajun Butter Crockpot Chicken thigh and rice.

• Bone-in Chicken thighs: You can also use chicken breasts. But, chicken thighs are the juiciest.
• Salt, Freshly cracked black pepper, smoked paprika - Some basic spices to get the chicken seared.
• olive oil - You can use any other vegetable oil or canola oil
• melted unsalted butter - I like unsalted butter to give a creamy, buttery touch to my chicken.
• onion powder & garlic powder - Both of these basic spices to coat chicken.
• oregano - just some dry herbs to make the chicken more flavorful.
• cajun seasoning - I love store-bought cajun seasoning.
• Jasmine rice - you can use brown rice in its place.
• Low sodium chicken broth - you can also replace chicken broth with water.
• light brown sugar - brown sugar balances the heat of cajun spice.
• minced garlic cloves - garlic has that sharp kick which I love.
• freshly chopped parsley for garnish

See the recipe card for quantities. Also, check out the video for a visual🎥

🍽️Instructions

Here I'll take you through step by step images so that you can make Cajun butter Chicken thighs with ease.

Step 1: Coat chicken in spices

Pat dry chicken thighs using a paper towel until they are dry. Add the spices and herbs along with melted butter, cajun seasoning, and olive oil. Coat both sides of the chicken evenly.

Step 2: Pan-Sear Chicken

In a heavy-duty non-stick skillet heat some olive oil over medium heat. Once the oil gets hot, add chicken (skin side down) and cook for 3-4 minutes until the skin gets light brown. Flip over and cook another side as well.

Step 3: Dump in Slow Cooker

Grease the bottom of the slow cooker with some olive oil. Add pan-seared chicken pieces along with a cup of rice, low sodium chicken broth, brown sugar, and few cloves of minced garlic. Give this a good toss and then cover the slow cooker with a lid. Slow cook on low heat for 8 hours or on high heat for 4 hours.

Step 4: Garnish and serve

Finally, garnish and serve with freshly chopped parsley.

Hint: Pan-Searing and then the slow cooking of chicken is called braising. This cooking method ensures you get the best taste for your chicken. The chicken gets a crispy golden brown coating on the outside, and after slow cooking, they get juicier, soft, and tender. That's another reason for me to like Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs.

📖Substitutions

• Keto Sweetener: To make a Keto version of the exact same recipe, all you have to do is substitute brown sugar with keto sugar.
• Mild Paprika: You can replace smoked paprika with mild paprika
• Chicken Breasts - Instead of Chicken thighs, you can use chicken breasts to make this Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs.
• Brown Rice - Instead of Jasmine rice you can use brown rice. For 1 cup of brown rice, you'll need approximately 3.5 cups of chicken broth OR 2.5 cups of chicken broth and 1 cup of water.
• Coconut Sugar - For a healthier alternative to light brown sugar feel free to use coconut sugar or maple syrup or honey.

🔖Variations

• Spicy - To add more heat you can add some cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes.
• Potatoes: Along with cajun chicken and rice you can add some Yukon gold potatoes or new potatoes.
• Carrots - You can chop carrots and add it to the crockpot. It would get cooked with chicken and rice.

See this Oven Baked Chicken and Rice recipe and learn more.

🧊Storage

You need to cool down your Cajun Butter Chicken and Thigh before serving. Once the rice cools down, transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate for 2 days.

I do not recommend freezing this chicken.

💡Top tip to make the best Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs

• Make sure you use unsalted butter while coating your chicken.
• Adjust the salt of your recipe as per your taste if using store-bought cajun seasoning.
• Keep a close eye on chicken while pan-searing. It gets cooked in an instant. You don't want to cook them completely.
• Make sure you place your chicken "skin side down" while searing in the skillet and "skin side up" while placing them in the slow cooker.
• Keep the chicken close to the each other in the crockpot. They cook into each other.
• Don't mess up the water and rice ratio while cooking rice in the crockpot.
• Make sure you check the temperature of chicken with an instant read thermometer before serving. It should be at least 165°F.
• Make sure you keep the chicken and rice on the countertop and allow them to cool down completely before transfering them to the refrigerator.

🚰How much water is Adequate to cook rice?

Rice to water ratio is one of the most crucial aspects of this Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs recipe. You don't want your rice to be half-cooked or overcooked.

I follow a rule of thumb that was taught to me by my mom. She says that the amount of water should be almost twice the amount of rice.

Therefore for 2 cups of rice, you need 4 cups of water.

But, I have changed that concept. I love to break rules😜

For 1 cup of Jasmine rice, I use 2.5 cups of low sodium chicken broth and 1 cup of water OR simply 3.5 cups of chicken broth.

🥗Side Dishes

Crockpot Cajun Chicken and Rice is a complete meal in itself. But, if you are looking for some sides then I have the following recommendations for you:

• Ranch Mashed Potatoes
• Broccoli Mac and Cheese
• Miso Carrots (Roasted)
• [2-Ingredient] Crispy Broccoli
• Crispy Fried Green Beans
• Creamy Mashed Sweet Potatoes

If you are making Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs using this recipe, please provide a rating below. Also, take a snap and share it on Instagram with #recipemagik. Tag me @recipemagik so that I can see how it turned out.