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Cajun Pesto Spatchcock Chicken

I love, love making spatchcock chickens! They are so easy and great for weekday meal prep. This cajun pesto spatchcock chicken is so succulent, so juicy and so savory!

Chicken is no stranger to pesto but the addition of cajun spices really kicks things up a couple notches.

Spatchcock is funny name but it's serious business when it comes to cooking a whole chicken. Spatchcocking a chicken is when the backbone is remove and the breastbone is broken so that the entire chicken lays flat. Baking a whole chicken this way allows for quicker and ensure it cooks more evenly.

This recipe comes together with very simple ingredients. With just a jar of quality pesto sauce, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, cajun seasoning, some olive oil and fresh basil, you make flavor magic.

How to make Cajun Pesto Spatchcock Chicken

  1. Butterfly the chicken by removing its rib bone and pressing down on the breasts until the chicken flattens. 
  2. Pour pesto sauce from the jar and into a bowl. Stir in the olive oil. 
  3. Generously season chicken on both sides and under the skin with Tony’s seasoning. 
  4. Flip chicken so that it’s skin-side down. Using a bristle basting or pastry brush, coat the chicken in the pesto sauce. Turn the chicken skin-side up and continue to coat the chicken, and under the skin. 
  5. Cook the chicken in the oven at 425 degrees for 30-45 minutes, then at 450 minutes for another 10-15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and skin is crispy. 
  6. Remove the chicken from the oven, squeeze with fresh lemon juice, garnish with chopped herbs and serve.
Cuisine
Time
Prep Time: 15 min Cook Time: 1 hour Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins
Ingredients
  • 1 whole chicken
  • 6-8 ounces pest sauce
  • 1 lemon
  • 1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
  • Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning (to taste)
  • chopped basil or cilantro (for garnish)
Instructions

  1. Butterfly the chicken by removing its rib bone and pressing down on the breasts until the chicken flattens. 

  2. Pour pesto sauce from the jar and into a bowl. Stir in the olive oil. 

  3. Generously season chicken on both sides and under the skin with Tony’s seasoning. 

  4. Flip chicken so that it’s skin-side down. Using a bristle basting or pastry brush, coat the chicken in the pesto sauce. Turn the chicken skin-side up and continue to coat the chicken, and under the skin. 

  5. Cook the chicken in the oven at 425 degrees for 30-45 minutes, then at 450 minutes for another 10-15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and skin is crispy. 

  6. Remove the chicken from the oven, squeeze with fresh lemon juice, garnish with chopped herbs and serve. 

Keywords: chicken, chicken recipes, spatchcock chicken, pesto chicken
Read it online: https://creoleseoul.com/recipe/cajun-pesto-spatchcock-chicken/
Devin Smith

I’m a homegrown food lover, whom influenced by my mama and MoMo, grew into a self-taught foodmaker. Outside of my day job in tech,, I enjoy developing Cajun/Creole and Asian Fusion recipes, and taking pretty, mouth-watering photos of the food I make. When not in the kitchen, find me binge watching a true crime docuseries or collecting passport stamps across the globe!