Whole30 Slow Cooker Cajun Chicken Recipe (2024)

This Whole30 slow cooker Cajun chicken recipe is the perfect weeknight dinner idea! Great for tacos, salads or served with rice for a quick and simple dinner on busy nights! Gluten free, paleo, Whole30 and low FODMAP!

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Why you’ll love this recipe

• Easy to make – since everything cooks together in the slow cooker, this recipe is just about dumping all the ingredients in and letting them cook all day. What could be easier than that?
• Simple ingredients – you can find all the ingredients for this crockpot Cajun chicken in the grocery store. If you can’t find Cajun seasoning, you can make your own!
• Versatile! Use the shredded Cajun chicken in so many ways! In tacos, lettuce wraps, on salads, with rice or cauliflower rice for a quick and easy dinner!
• Great for meal prep! The leftovers of this slow cooker Cajun chicken are great too! This would be a great recipe to make in advance and use all week!

Ingredients

• Boneless, skinless chicken breast (or chicken thighs) – be sure to use boneless, skinless chicken so that the Cajun seasoning can be in direct contact with the meat. If you know you will be using this for leftovers, I recommend boneless, skinless chicken thighs as they are more forgiving when reheating them the next day (as chicken breast can sometimes get dry when reheated).
• Olive oil – the olive oil coats the chicken and helps the spices stick. If you are low FODMAP, you can use garlic olive oil to help increase the flavor profile of this recipe.
• Spices: Cajun seasoning and salt – Cajun seasoning provides so much flavor and will infuse the chicken with flavor making it great in lettuce wraps, tacos or wraps.
• Frozen bell peppers (optional) – adding frozen bell peppers is a great way to add some veggies to this recipe. If you don’t have them on hand, you could also use fresh, but that would increase the prep time.

How to make slow cooker Cajun chicken

Start by drizzling the chicken with olive oil then sprinkling with Cajun seasoning. Be sure that both sides of the chicken are well coated.

Add the frozen bell peppers to the bottom of the slow cooker and sprinkle them with 1 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning.

Add the chicken on top of the bell peppers and turn the crockpot on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.

Once the chicken is done cooking, shred the chicken with two forks in the crockpot or use a hand mixer or Kitchen Aid Stand mixer and a bowl to shred the chicken.

Top tips

• You can make the Cajun chicken recipe in the slow cooker without the frozen sliced peppers, however, the peppers add moisture and keep the spices from burning!
• Coat the chicken in olive oil to add more flavor. This also helps the seasoning stick to the chicken, however, the olive oil is not required to make the seasoning stick!
• Be sure to generously coat your chicken breast in Cajun seasoning!
• To save time, you can use a store bought Cajun seasoning! I love the Frontier brandif you don’t have issues with garlic and don’t want to measure your own spices!
• Make a double or triple batch of Cajun seasoning so you can make this recipe in minutes on days when you are too busy to measure out spices! Be sure to store you extra spices in a glass container! I like to save my spice containers when they are empty and reuse them!
• Make a double batch of this recipe and use the leftovers cold or hot for salads, to add to soups, to put in wraps or to serve in lettuce wraps with your favorite red cabbage slaw or cilantro lime slaw!

How to serve shredded Cajun chicken

• In tacos
• On salads with dairy free ranch or homemade French dressing
• In lettuce wraps
• In wraps or on sandwiches
• On top of cauliflower rice or rice
• With air fryer baby potatoes or creamy mashed potatoes and your favorite veggie.

Common questions

What is Cajun Seasoning?

Cajun seasoning is a blend of spices that are commonly used in Cajun cuisine. It is usually a mixture of:

• paprika
• garlic
• thyme
• fennel
• cumin
• salt
• cayenne pepper

Check out my go to recipe for making Cajun seasoning at home! If you use this recipe, your Cajun chicken will also be low FODMAP, Whole30 and keto friendly!

Is Cajun Chicken Spicy?

When you make Cajun seasoning from scratch, you can control the level of spice by how much cayenne pepper you add. If you want to add more spice, you could also add red pepper flakes to the bell peppers in the slow cooker.

Can you make this in the instant pot?

Yes! If you want to make this in the instant pot, you will add the chicken breast to the instant pot then sprinkle the Cajun seasoning on top (omit the olive oil).

Pour 1 cup of water on the side of the chicken then add the lid. Cook high pressure for 15 minutes (chicken breast) or 13 minutes (chicken thighs).

Once done cooking, allow the pressure to naturally release (at least 10 minutes). Once pressure is released, remove the chicken from the pot and shred in a bowl. Add some of the cooking water to the chicken to help it retain it’s moisture.

How to shred chicken

• Two forks – Use two forks to pull apart the chicken in a bowl. This helps to make for easy clean up but can be time consuming, especially if you double or triple the recipe.
• Hand mixer or Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer – place the chicken in a bowl or in the kitchen aid mixer bowl and use the mixer to shred the chicken. This creates more dishes but is so fast. You can shred 2-3 pounds of chicken in under 1 minute this way.

Storing leftovers

• Fridge: Store leftover Cajun chicken in the fridge for up to 3 days. Be sure to put it in an airtight container.
• Freezer: Store leftover shredded Cajun chicken in the freezer up to 2 months. I would not recommend freezing the bell peppers, as they will get really mushy when defrosted. Use 1/2 – 1 cup Soupercubes to store the leftovers in single serving cubes for easy reheating!

If you love this recipe, you should try

Slow Cooker Ranch Chicken

Slow Cooker Balsamic Beef

Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken

Instant Pot Cajun Chicken and Rice

10 Minute Skillet Italian Chicken