July 15, 2026

Paul Prudhomme Started a Redfish Craze With Blackening in 1980. The Same Trick Turns a Chicken Breast Into a 58-Gram-Protein Dinner.

A 25-minute Louisiana plate that borrows chef Paul Prudhomme's cast-iron blackening for a lean breast instead of butter-drenched redfish, sets it over the Creole Monday staple of red beans and rice, and finishes with a cool yogurt remoulade that does the job of New Orleans mayonnaise for a fraction of the fat. Fifty-eight grams of protein and nine grams of fiber, and it eats like a French Quarter lunch counter, not a diet plate.

Blackening, the technique that coats a protein in a paprika-thyme-cayenne crust and sears it in a screaming-hot cast-iron skillet, was invented and popularized by the Cajun chef Paul Prudhomme), who first served it at his New Orleans restaurant K-Paul's in March 1980. The original blackened redfish became such a national mania that it overfished red drum until a commercial fishing ban took effect by 1987. The trick outlived the fish. Pressed onto a boneless, skinless chicken breast and seared with almost no butter, it gives you a deep, smoky, nearly charred crust over meat that stays juicy inside.

This plate sets that blackened breast over red beans and rice, the New Orleans Creole staple that households simmered on Mondays (traditionally washday) with Sunday's leftover ham bone and the holy trinity of onion, celery, and bell pepper. The cool white drizzle on top is a remoulade, the French-born sauce New Orleans loaded with horseradish, mustard, and cayenne, here rebuilt on nonfat Greek yogurt instead of the usual mayonnaise. That swap is the move that lets the plate hit fifty-eight grams of protein with only eight grams of fat: the yogurt does the creamy, tangy job of mayo for a fraction of the fat and adds about eight grams of protein besides. Blackening is the Cajun technique; red beans and rice is the Creole Monday pot. Put them on one plate and you have the whole Louisiana story.

Per serving (serves 2; macros computed by me from USDA FoodData Central ingredient data, links inline): about 550 calories, 58 g protein, 55 g carbohydrate (9 g fiber), 8 g fat.

Ingredients

For the blackened chicken:

• 12 oz (340 g) boneless, skinless chicken breast, 2 small breasts, about 120 cal and 22.5 g protein per 100 g raw
• 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp homemade blackening seasoning (recipe in step 2), or store-bought
• 1 tsp avocado or canola oil

For the red beans and rice:

• 1 cup canned red kidney beans, drained and rinsed, 124 cal and 8 g protein per 100 g
• 1/2 cup each diced onion, celery, and green bell pepper (the trinity)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth (or water)
• 1 bay leaf, 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 1/4 tsp cayenne, salt to taste
• 1 cup cooked brown rice (from about 1/3 cup dry), about 112 cal per 100 g cooked

For the yogurt remoulade:

• 2/3 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt, 59 cal and 10 g protein per 100 g
• 1 tbsp Dijon or whole-grain mustard (Creole mustard if you have it)
• 1 tsp prepared horseradish
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp chopped capers or dill pickle relish
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (this gives the pink New Orleans hue)
• pinch of cayenne, pinch of salt

Steps

1. Stir the remoulade. Combine the yogurt, mustard, horseradish, lemon, Worcestershire, capers, paprika, cayenne, and salt in a small bowl and refrigerate while you cook. It gets better as it sits.
2. Mix the blackening seasoning. In a small bowl combine 2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 3/4 tsp cayenne (less if you are heat-shy), 1 tsp kosher salt, and 3/4 tsp black pepper. You will have extra; keep the rest in a jar.
3. Prep the chicken. Slice each breast horizontally through the middle into two thinner cutlets (4 total), then pound them between sheets of plastic wrap to an even 1/3 to 1/2 inch. Pat completely dry with paper towels. Dredge each cutlet in the seasoning, pressing so it sticks, and shake off the loose powder.
4. Cook the beans. In a saucepan, sweat the onion, celery, and bell pepper in a splash of broth over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the beans, the rest of the broth, the bay leaf, thyme, and cayenne. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until thick and saucy. Smash a few beans against the side of the pot to make it creamy. Taste for salt. Cover and keep warm.
5. Sear the chicken. Get a cast-iron or heavy skillet medium-high hot until a flick of water dances, then add the oil and swirl to film the pan. Lay the cutlets in and do not touch them for 2 to 3 minutes, until a dark crust forms. Flip and cook 2 to 3 minutes more, until the center hits 165 F or is just opaque. Move to a plate and rest 5 minutes.
6. Build the plate. Scoop 1/2 cup brown rice and a generous ladle of red beans into each bowl. Slice the chicken and lay it on top. Spoon the cool remoulade over the chicken and finish with a squeeze of lemon if you like.

Make it better. A 15-minute salt brine is the single biggest upgrade for a lean breast under a brutal blackened sear. Dissolve 1.5 tbsp kosher salt and a pinch of sugar in 2 cups of cold water, soak the cutlets 15 minutes, then pat them bone-dry before seasoning. The breast holds onto more water, so it stays juicy where a blackened breast usually dries out at the edges. It is the same keep-it-juicy idea as grated zucchini in a turkey meatball or pulling pork at 145 F: lean meat rewards a little help, and the aggressive sear is exactly when it needs it most.

Batch prep. This plate is built for the week. The blackening seasoning and the remoulade both keep for a week refrigerated, and the remoulade actually improves by day two. The red beans double easily and freeze for three months; reheat with a splash of broth and they taste like the Monday pot all over again. Blackened chicken reheats best sliced in a dry skillet over medium heat. Make a double batch on Sunday and you have three lunches that come back to life in two minutes.

Adapted from the America's Test Kitchen blackened chicken technique (cutlet-thin, dry-spice dredge, minimal butter); the red beans and rice, the yogurt remoulade, and all the macro math are my own.