The tastiest Cajun Chicken Pasta! You get lightly charred flavor from grilled chicken, a creamy Alfredo-style sauce, plenty of sautéed veggies, all seasoned with an incredibly flavorful and perfectly spicy cajun seasoning.
Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta Recipe
I am on a roll with pasta lately, and I still have yet another pasta recipe coming soon (and guess what, it has grilled chicken in it. Imagine that.)!
I live for pasta, in other words I could never give up my carbs. And oh how I LOVE this creamy Cajun chicken pasta! It is packed with goodness and totally irresistible flavors.
If you are like me and you love heat, go with 1 tsp of cayenne pepper in the cajun seasoning (or even more). I had to make this so that my husband and my kids would still eat it so I just went with 1/2 tsp, and even then my kids were still noticing heat (I’m trying to break them in slowly).
You can always add more cayenne to your own serving and take it easy on the full amount so everyone’s not complaining.
Cajun Chicken Pasta Ingredients
For the Cajun Alfredo sauce and chicken, you’ll need:
- Chicken breasts
- Olive oil
- Cajun seasoning
- Dry linguine or fettuccine pasta
- Butter
- Garlic
- Flour
- Milk
- Heavy cream or half and half
- Shredded Parmesan
- Red and yellow bell pepper
- Red onion
- Button mushrooms
- Fresh parsley, for garnish
How to Make Cajun Pasta
- Season chicken with Cajun seasoning and grill until cooked through.
- Boil pasta until al dente, and reserve some of the cooking liquid before draining.
- Heat butter in a saucepan, then add garlic and flour and whisk.
- Slowly pour in milk and Cajun seasoning, to taste. Bring mixture to a boil, then turn heat down.
- Add cheese and cream and stir until smooth.
- In a skillet, sauté bell peppers and onion in olive oil. Add additional Cajun seasoning and mushrooms and continue cooking.
- Toss together pasta, Cajun Alfredo sauce, cubed chicken and veggies. Garnish with parsley and serve.
How to Make Cajun Seasoning
If you have a store-bought Cajun seasoning you like, feel free to use it in this recipe.
Otherwise, you can make homemade Cajun seasoning by combining 2 1/2 tsp paprika, 2 tsp salt, 2 tsp garlic powder, 1 & 1/4 tsp dried oregano, 1 & 1/4 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper and 1/2 tsp cayenne.
Can I Omit the Cream in the Sauce?
If you make the Cajun Alfredo sauce with just milk and no cream, I think it’d be too runny to stick to the pasta. If you want to make this dish lighter, I suggest using half and half instead of cream.
Tips for the Best Cajun Chicken Pasta
- You can swap out the chicken for shrimp for another tempting version of this unbelievably delicious creamy cajun pasta dish.
- Whisk the sauce constantly as you pour in the milk. You don’t want any lumps to form!
- You need to use shredded Parmesan cheese in this Cajun pasta recipe, not the grated stuff in a shaker can.
The perfect pasta recipe! Linguine is tossed with chicken, bell peppers and topped with a creamy alfredo style sauce and filled with delicious cajun seasoning.
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (shrimp can be substituted)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil , divided
- 6 tsp cajun seasoning , divided (recipe in notes below)
- 12 oz dry linguine or fettuccine pasta
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 3 Tbsp flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or half and half
- 1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 medium red bell pepper , sliced into thin strips then strips halved (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 medium yellow bell pepper , sliced into thin strips then strips halved (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1/2 large red onion , sliced into thin strips
- 2 cups sliced button mushrooms (about 8)
- Fresh parsley , for garnish
Instructions
-
Heat a grill over medium-high heat. Brush chicken with 1 Tbsp of the olive oil and sprinkle with 2 tsp of the cajun seasoning (I used 2 chicken breasts and this is 1/2 tsp per side). Grill chicken until cooked through, about 8 – 10 minutes, rotating once halfway through grilling until chicken registers 165 degrees on in instant read thermometer in center of chicken. Transfer to a plate, cover with foil and let rest 5 minutes then cut into strips.
-
Boil pasta in salted water according to directions listed on package. Reserve 1/3 cup pasta water before draining.
-
In a medium saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Stir in garlic and flour and cook 1 minute, whisking constantly. While whisking slowly pour in milk and whisk vigorously to smooth lumps. Stir in 1 – 3 tsp cajun seasoning, to taste (season with additional salt as needed). Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly, then reduce heat to low, stir in parmesan and cream and cook until cheese has melted. Remove from heat and set aside.
-
Heat remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add red and yellow peppers and red onion and saute 2 minutes. Add 1 tsp cajun seasoning and mushrooms and saute 2 minutes longer.
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Toss drained pasta with sauce mixture, adding reserved pasta water 1 tbsp at at time to thin sauce as desired. Toss in pepper mixture and chicken. Serve warm sprinkled with parsley and additional cajun seasoning to taste.
Recipe Notes
- For the cajun seasoning, whisk together 2 1/2 tsp paprika, 2 tsp salt, 2 tsp garlic powder, 1 & 1/4 tsp dried oregano, 1 & 1/4 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper and 1/2 tsp cayenne (use 1 tsp or more if you like a lot of heat).
- Recipe source: pasta – Cooking Classy