This creamy cajun chicken pasta is loaded with juicy chicken, tender peppers, and a rich cajun Alfredo sauce. A quick and easy meal perfect for weeknights!
Complete this delicious pasta recipe with my cheesy stuffed bread rolls and my crunchy cucumber cabbage salad.
How to Make Cajun Chicken Pasta
Prepare the chicken
- Once the cajun chicken in seasoned, it can be cooked to your liking. I prefer to grill my chicken but you can easily pan sear it in or even bake it in the oven.
- After the chicken is fully cooked, chop it into cubed and set it aside for later.
Cook the vegetables
- You’ll want to use a large pan here: in the pan, you can melt the butter along with all the vegetables and seasoning. Cook the veggies until they are crisp but still tender.
Make the Cajun Alfredo Sauce
- For the sauce, all you really need to add is some cream and let it come to a simmer. Then take it off the heat and add your grated parmesan, cubed chicken, and cooked penne. Let the flavors infuse for a few more minutes and serve it hot.
Ingredients for Cajun chicken pasta
- The vegetables: green onion (or scallions), red bell pepper, green bell pepper, plus penne
- The chicken and seasoning: chicken breast works best here. Salt, pepper, cajun seasoning.
- The cajun alfredo sauce: butter, cream, and parmesan cheese
What’s in cajun seasoning?
Cajun seasoning or spice is a mixture of several different spices that you probably have in your pantry. You can make your own cajun seasoning by adding together some black pepper, onion powder, salt, paprika, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and some red pepper flakes. You can try different ratios based on your preference. It gets its red/orange color from the cayenne pepper.
What pasta to use for this chicken pasta?
Most people make this dish with penne pasta. However, if you don’t have penne on hand then any pasta will work as a substitute.
Can I make this chicken pasta in advance?
Fresh is always preferable. However, you can make it in advance and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. The flavors will actually absorb together really well and develop, so you won’t lose on the flavor. The creamy alfredo sauce, on the other hand, will also get absorbed so your chicken pasta will be less creamy.
TIP: One thing you can do is to make the creamy chicken alfredo sauce in advance but only cook the pasta when you want to serve this dish. Then you reheat the sauce together and you get fresh cajun chicken pasta.
How long with cajun chicken pasta last?
If properly stored in the fridge in an airtight container, this pasta dish will last about 4-5 days.
More creamy chicken recipes:
- Blackened chicken alfredo
- Chicken marsala
- Creamy chicken and mushroom pasta
- Chicken cannelloni pasta
- Best chicken lasagna
- Chicken scampi
Cajun Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 bunch green onion
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp Cajun seasoning
- 1 quart heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 lb penne pasta
Instructions
- Slice 1 pound of chicken breast into thin cutlets and each side with salt, pepper, and Cajun seasoning.
- Now you cake cook the chicken or a skillet, on the grill, or even in the oven.
- Once the cooked chicken is cooled, cut it up into small cubes and set is aside.
- Now begin making your pasta sauce by adding 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, 1 bunch of chopped green onion, 1 sliced red bell pepper, 1 sliced green bell pepper, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and 2 tbsp Cajun seasoning in a large skillet.
- Stir all the ingredients together until the bell peppers become tender.
- Now pour in 1 quart of heavy cream into the skillet and let it come to a simmer.
- Remove the Cajun pasta sauce from the stove top and add in 1 1/2 cups of grated Parmesan cheese.
- Let the cheese melt, then all the chicken back in, along with 1 pound of cooked penne pasta. Stir together and enjoy!
Nutrition
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Julie says
Do you think leftover chicken from cooking chicken broth will work well here?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Julie, technically you can use any chicken. However, it will taste different. Boiled chicken doesn’t taste the same as a grilled/seared chicken, and grilled chicken gives a bit of a smoky flavor. Personally I don’t like the taste of boiled chicken. You may need more cajun seasoning to mask some of that taste. Let me know how it turns out, and I hope you enjoy this recipe!