This air fryer cajun chicken and vegetables recipe is as simple as throwing some diced chicken breast and veggies in a bowl with olive oil and seasoning, give it a toss, and air frying for about 20 minutes. It makes super high volume servings so if you have trouble staying full, this recipe will help.
For example, you could eat 3 servings (9 ounces!) of this cajun chicken and veggies mix-up and get 33 grams of protein with only 255 calories, 9 grams of carbs, and 3 WW SmartPoints! And the recipe makes 10 servings so you’ll have enough to feed the whole crew or hoard some as meal prep for the week.
Air Fryer Cajun Chicken and Veggies Recipe Walkthrough
This recipe really is as simple as I made it sound above. So, you won’t need much of a walkthrough, but I’ll cover ingredient modification notes below.
You’ll find a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. I’ve included notes in the recipe for making this recipe in a skillet or baking in the oven as well.
Mix Diced Chicken Breast with Cajun Seasoning and Olive Oil
I tested several cajun seasonings and ratios for this recipe, and I ultimately landed on a blend of cajun seasoning and standalone herbs and spices. I used the same Louisiana cajun seasoning I used for my Instant Pot red beans and cauliflower rice, but you could use any cajun seasoning here.
The key difference to take note of will be the salt content. Louisiana cajun seasoning has 290mg of sodium per 1/4 teaspoon. If you’re using the base recipe with another cajun seasoning, you’ll want to come close to avoid an overly salty finished product.
As an example, the Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning I used in my Cajun Pasta Bake and Cajun Mac and Cheese has 340mg per 1/4 teaspoon, and the Louisiana seasoning in my Smoked Cajun Sausage Pasta has 290mg. When you’re using a tablespoon, that 50mg difference adds up to a 600mg difference. That’s probably enough for most to notice in the finished product.
To avoid the salty dilemma altogether, you can use a salt-free cajun seasoning. I tested a batch with 2 tablespoons of Frontier Co-Op’s cajun seasoning (salt free) with added salt and black pepper. You’ll see those notes in the recipe card.
Air Fry the Cajun Chicken and Vegetables for 20-22 Minutes, Shaking Twice
I use a 6.5 quart Ninja Foodi for air frying. You may need to modify the cook time for different types of air fryers, especially different sizes. More surface area (larger baskets) will cook faster. And it’s worth mentioning, I’m not sure you’ll be able to fit all of the chicken and veggies in a smaller basket here.
Important: Be sure to shake multiple times during air frying to achieve even cooking. Like I mentioned in my sweet chili air fryer chicken and brussels sprouts and air fried jerk chicken, a food thermometer makes life SO much easier when it comes to cooking proteins. When you’re cooking a big batch of chicken and vegetables like this, a thermometer allows you to check pieces of chicken in different spots in the air fryer basket.
Here’s the thermometer I use: Kizen Instant Read Food Thermometer ($22 on Amazon)
Serving Notes
Like I mentioned earlier, I tested several variations on this recipe. So I guess you could say I’m an expert at consuming at this point. It’s hard to beat serving it over rice with a squeeze of fresh lemon, but you could certainly get more creative. A few ideas:
- Toss with pasta and an alfredo sauce, top with shredded mozzarella and parmesan, and pop it under the broiler for a few minutes. Inspired by my Italian Sausage Pasta and Veggie Bake.
- Keep it high volume with cauliflower rice or make that decision less meh with a mix of real rice and cauli rice like in my Tex-Mex Ground Beef and Rice Skillet.
- For leftover cajun chicken and vegetables, you could throw some on top of a cast iron pizza or low fat air fryer pizza.
And that’s a wrap. There’s a comment section at the bottom of this post in case you have any additional recipe questions. Otherwise, enjoy your air fryer cajun chicken!
Air Fryer Cajun Chicken and Vegetables
Ingredients
- 1 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, diced
- 2 Tbsp 32g Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp Cajun Seasoning*
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1/8 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1/8 tsp Dried Thyme
- 1 pint Grape or Cherry Tomatoes
- 1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
- 1 large Zucchini, diced
Instructions
- Mix the diced chicken breast with the olive oil, cajun seasoning and additional dry spices/herbs. Stir to fully coat the chicken before adding the tomatoes, bell pepper, and zucchini. Stir well.
- Transfer the chicken and vegetables to the air fryer basket and cook at 400ºF for 8 minutes. Stir and cook for an additional 8 minutes at 400ºF. Repeat once more, cooking for a total 20-22 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temp of 165ºF.
- Serve over rice with a fresh squeeze of lemon juice and enjoy!
Notes
For Stovetop Cajun Chicken
Split the olive oil and spices in half, seasoning the chicken and vegetables separately. Cook the chicken in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes (until chicken reaches 165ºF) and set aside to rest. Cook the bell pepper and zucchini in the same skillet for 6-8 minutes before adding the tomatoes. Cook for 2-3 minutes until they start to wrinkle before adding the chicken back to the skillet and tossing everything together.For Oven Baked Cajun Chicken
Mix everything together and do a sheet pan style bake at 400ºF for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165ºF. You can line the sheet pan with aluminum foil for easier cleanup.Nutrition Information Notes
- Each 3-ounce serving has 1 WW SmartPoint (blue).
- Since veggies come in all shapes and sizes, I recommend weighing your finished product if you need ultra accurate serving sizes. (My finished products averaged ~ 30 ounces total.)
This was flavorful and good! It was a tiny salty but not bad. i made a double batch. I will make this again for sure.
My whole family loved this! It was spicy, but we like spice! I used the sheet pan method because I added extra chicken and veggies to feed my hungry family of 4! I didn’t want to have to do batches in my air fryer. I will definitely make this again soon!
This dish is amazing! I mean everything about it. Definitely has some spice but such good flavor. I love how simple it is to just throw it all in the air fryer. I must have had smaller chicken pieces because mine was done by 16 minutes (thermometer checked) definite make again and again!!
We made this exactly as the recipe said but also added yellow squash. Our air fryer is small so it took a few batches. The chicken stayed tender and we served it over rice with a drizzle of a spicy tomato and sour cream sauce to add moisture to the steamed rice.
My whole family loves this recipe. Depending on available time, I either sous vide the chicken & roast the veggies or I use my stovetop pressure cooker to cook the chicken & prep the veggies separately. It’s really versatile & no matter how I do it-it’s delicious. Don’t skip Mason’s note about saltiness—my Cajun seasoning is really salty so I use a little less and omit additional salt. Taste your seasonings.
This recipe is one of my favorites and is so easy! I’ve made it twice in the past 3 weeks. Yum!!!
I tried this recipe for lunch meal prep. I had chicken that was already marinating in cilantro lime flavors so I just changed up the seasonings a little bit to go with the chicken. I also doubled the veggies, it completely filled my air fryer! I followed the cooking instructions exactly. The chicken came out moist and tender and the veggies were tender but not over cooked. I served it over brown rice with Greek yogurt and salsa verde. 10 out of 10, will make again.
My husband and I loved this dish and after the initial time of making it, we made enough to meal prep for the week! The dish heats up greatly . After the first time we made it, we added all of the ingredients then added the spices. My husband doesn’t handle “spicy” well, and this way the Tony’s was distributed a little more evenly. He noted that it was not as spicy this way.
This was delicious! My husband loved how flavorful the chicken was, and I loved that I could incorporate so many vegetables into the dish without thinking about it! Since I don’t have an air fryer, we used the oven directions and they came out perfectly! It’s already back on our meal list to make later this week.
This was delicious! My husband loved how flavorful the chicken was, and I loved that I could incorporate so many vegetables into the dish without thinking about it! Since I don’t have an air fryer, we used the oven directions and they came out perfectly! It’s already back on our meal list to make later this week.