As an Italian-American, tomato-based sauces are among my absolute favorite. So it should come as no surprise that I crave a good Creole Chicken with a zesty tomato based sauce.
Creole Chicken is a baked chicken recipe featuring a spicy tomato-based sauce with vegetables and seasonings. It’s amazing served over rice.
Two years ago, a friend and I took a master sauce class and although the tomato-based Creole sauce was mentioned, we didn’t get a chance to prepare it that day in the kitchen.
She and I regularly get together to mess around in the kitchen. We would always be trying out new dishes and one day we were chatting about our class and the subject of that sauce came up. We decided that was exactly what we needed to make that day.
We also did a little bit of research. Creole cuisine originated in New Orleans, Louisiana. Another interesting tidbit, Creole and Cajun are two very different cuisines and the names are not to be used interchangeably.
Creole cuisine is what folks were eating in New Orleans proper and Cajun cuisine was established later when the Cajun folks settled in the country.
And the number of cultures that got thrown into a melting pot together to create it is astounding. It is an amalgamation of French, Spanish, African, German, Native American, and Portuguese just to name a few. It is known for its use of ingredients like paprika, red pepper, garlic, and onion.
Using the recipe given to us by the instructor as an outline, we stamped out a new recipe that included our spin on things.
Our taste buds were craving andouille sausage but the chicken variety so we added that in. We also added more veggies to beef it up a bit.
For your purposes, you can use any cut of chicken you like. We used drumsticks that day but chicken thighs or even chicken breasts would be a great substitute. If you aren’t feeling the andouille made with chicken try it with the classic andouille.
Creole sauce is super simple and requires more prep than actual cook time. Full of fresh vegetables and delicious spices. It is a great choice to serve for dinner and great to freeze and reheat later.
Double or triple the just the spices together and keep handy in a jar or a shaker in the pantry with your other seasonings for a quick hit of creole seasoning on everything from eggs in the morning or your grilled chicken at night.
Serve over some rice. My choice here would be a nice long-grain, white rice to soak up the flavor of the sauce.
It is a delicious meal with a little bit of heat to spice up the dinner table. I am sure it will become part of the regular rotation in no time.
If you like this baked chicken recipe, you might like these as well!
Baked Creole Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 bell pepper seeded and diced
- 1/2 cup scallions chopped
- 30 ounces diced tomatoes un-drained
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce
- 1 tablespoons paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon marjoram
- 3 1/3 pounds chicken drumsticks
- 4 links chicken andouille sausage sliced into discs
- 6 cups cooked rice optional
Instructions
- In a large sauce pan or Dutch oven, heat vegetable oil. Add yellow onion, bell pepper and scallions. Saute until soft, approximately 5 minutes. Add canned tomatoes through marjoram. Stir and cook down for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pat drumsticks with a paper towel and then season with fine sea salt and pepper. In a large skillet, brown chicken in 4 batches, rotating drumsticks as you go. Each batch should take about 5 minutes.
- Transfer chicken to 9×13 or larger roasting pan. Add andouille sausage discs. Cover with Creole vegetable sauce.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Remove and make sure chicken internal temperature has reached 165 and juices run clear. Spoon over cooked rice and enjoy your Creole Chicken!
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was!
My friend used to make this ALL the time! It was her go to dish. So good!
Looks like a colorful and tasty dish. Will save this recipe.
We are always looking for fresh ways to prepare chicken legs as they are kiddo’s favorite but the rest of us get a little bored. This reminds me of the south and I am pretty sure I would devour more than my fair share. Pinned!
Wow I haven’t ever heard of this before. But it looks really delicious and filling! Yum
I would love to try this but I would have to make it not too spicy for me.Sounds like a really great meal.
OOOOH that looks good. I love Cajun food. Spicy food has always been my thing.
This looks like an amazing dish. So many healthy ingredients in it. I am excited to make this for my family.
This looks so tasty. I am positive we would love this – we love Creole food.
This is definitely going in my bookmarks. I’m a big fan of chicken recipes so this is right up my alley.
This looks SO good! I love anything with Créole seasonings.
I have never had Creole chicken in this way. I am definitely going to have to try this recipe!
That looks yummy. what makes something Creole? is it the spices?
That looks delicious! I love a little spice!
I love that it is only 15 minutes of prep time. It looks delicious!
This looks so good. I love all the flavor combinations and the colors are fantastic.
That sounds SO good. I love stuff like this with a little kick to it.
I can’t even tell you how much I love Creole food. This looks phenomenal and I can’t wait to make it!
I love Cajun food. This dish looks so comforting. I think I could eat the whole tray in one sitting.
Such a beautiful dish too! I love a good spice on my meal, and love that it’s baked
This looks really good. I have never had Creole Chicken, but I would love to try it. Thanks for the recipe.