Grilled Blackened Chicken with Romesco Sauce
Spicy, sweet and flavorful this grilled blackened chicken with romesco sauce checks all the boxes. Perfect as a quick and healthy weeknight meal, you’re going to love this combination. The homemade blackening spice includes a combination of delicious herbs and spices that will have your tastebuds craving more. It tastes great with the grilled, juicy chicken. Serve this chicken with the most delicious romesco sauce, and you’re in for a wonderful meal.
What is Romesco Sauce?
Romesco is a Spanish sauce that originated in the Catalan region of Spain. It’s commonly made from roasted peppers, garlic, nuts, and olive oil. However, versions of this sauce can slightly vary. In any case, this is a versatile sauce used for grilled meats, vegetables or fish. This sauce is commonly served cold, room temperature or warmed. It whatever you prefer most.
Ingredients Needed for Grilled Blackened Chicken with Romesco Sauce
Chicken _ You’ll need one pound of chicken breasts for this recipe. Butterfly the chicken into four thin cutlets for quick, even grilling. Coat the chicken cutlets in the blackening spice mixture and drizzle it with olive oil before adding it to the grill.
Blackening Spice – Combine garlic powder, dried oregano, paprika, salt, black pepper and cayenne in a small mixing bowl. Omit the cayenne pepper if you do not like spice. Mix well and use to season the chicken cutlets.
Avocado Oil – Brush the grill grates with avocado oil right before you add the cutlets to the grill. This will prevent the chicken from sticking to the grill.
Romesco Sauce – In a blender or food processor combine, the drained roasted red pepper strips, roasted tomatoes, raw almonds, whole garlic cloves, olive oil, warm water, sherry vinegar, salt and black pepper. Mix until smooth and creamy. Romesco sauce is best served at room temperature. Option to serve it warm too. Enjoy romesco sauce over grilled fish, vegetables, or poultry. Option to serve with a crudité platter as well.
How to Make Grilled Blackened Chicken with Romesco Sauce
Make the Romesco Sauce
Combine the drained roasted red pepper strips, roasted tomatoes, raw almonds, whole garlic cloves, olive oil, warm water, sherry vinegar, salt and black pepper. Mix until smooth and creamy.
Combine the Blackening Spice
Combine garlic powder, dried oregano, paprika, salt, black pepper and cayenne in a small mixing bowl. Omit the cayenne pepper if you do not like spice. Mix well and set aside.
Prepare the Chicken
Butterfly two chicken breasts into four thin cutlets. Season with the blackening spice mixture making sure all sides are well coated. Drizzle the cutlets with olive oil and set aside.
Grill the Chicken
Preheat the grill to 400-450 degrees. Brush the grill grates with avocado oil right before you add the blackened chicken cutlets. Grill for 5-6 minutes per side depending on thickness. You’ll want the internal temperature to reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure doneness. Remove from the grill and let the chicken rest before slicing.
Assemble the Dish
Add a spoonful of romesco sauce to the bottom of your serving plate. Spread it out. Top the sauce with the grilled blackened chicken. Finish the dish with freshly chopped Italian parsley. Serve with extra sauce on the side.
Storage
Store any extra sauce or chicken in separate airtight container in the refrigerator. The sauce will last four to five days, and the chicken will last three to four days. Reheat the chicken in the microwave until warmed through.
Looking for more grilled chicken recipes?
- Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken with Mango Salsa
- Peruvian Inspired Grilled Chicken with Green Goddess Dressing
Grilled Blackened Chicken with Romesco Sauce
Ingredients
Grilled Blackened Chicken
- 1 lb. chicken breasts, butterflied into 4 cutlets
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, drizzle over the spiced chicken
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛-¼ teaspoon cayenne, omit if you do not like spice
Romesco Sauce
- 15.1 ounce jar roasted red pepper strips, drain water
- ½ cup roasted tomatoes, packed in oregano and garlic infused olive oil
- ½ cup almonds, whole raw almonds work best
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, whole raw cloves work best
- 2 tablespoons warm water
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Garnish
- 1 tablespoon Italian parsley chopped small
Equipment
- 1 gas grill
- 1 brush for grill brush grates with avocado oil
- 1 mixing bowl for spice
- 1 mixing bowl for chicken
- 1 food processor / blender for sauce
Instructions
How to Make Grilled Blackened Chicken with Romesco Sauce
Make the Romesco Sauce
- Combine the drained roasted red pepper strips, roasted tomatoes, raw almonds, whole garlic cloves, olive oil, warm water, sherry vinegar, salt and black pepper. Mix until smooth and creamy.
Combine the Blackening Spice
- Combine garlic powder, dried oregano, paprika, salt, black pepper and cayenne in a small mixing bowl. Omit the cayenne pepper if you do not like spice. Mix well and set aside.
Prepare the Chicken
- Butterfly two chicken breasts into four thin cutlets. Season with the blackening spice mixture making sure all sides are well coated. Drizzle the cutlets with olive oil and set aside.
Grill the Chicken
- Preheat the grill to 400-450 degrees. Brush the grill grates with avocado oil right before you add the blackened chicken cutlets. Grill for 5-6 minutes per side depending on thickness. You’ll want the internal temperature to reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure doneness. Remove from the grill and let the chicken rest before slicing.
Assemble the Dish
- Add a spoonful of romesco sauce to the bottom of your serving plate. Spread it out. Top the sauce with the grilled blackened chicken. Finish the dish with freshly chopped Italian parsley. Serve with extra sauce on the side.
3 Comments on “Grilled Blackened Chicken with Romesco Sauce”
What roasted tomatoes do you use? are these different than the “fire roasted” canned tomatoes, like the ones muir glen makes? or same thing?
I used Delallo jarred orated tomatoes that are marinated with oregano and garlic. You can grab them on the Delallo Foods website!
This was an easy and flavorful recipe. I served it with the Lebanese rice recipe on this site and it was a great pairing. The only thing off was I did not find the marinated roasted tomatoes with garlic and oregano so I used a can of roasted tomatoes with garlic and added a little oregano to it. It made the flavor a little too tomato forward and since I can’t get that product locally, I think I will use some sundried tomatoes in olive oil next time maybe a quarter of a cup instead of the half a cup used in the recipe since it has a more concentrated flavor. Oh, and I added a half a teaspoon of smoked paprika to the seasoning spices to give the chicken a little smokey flavor.