Cajun Chicken Pasta is a restaurant-quality dish you make in the comfort of your kitchen in just 30 minutes from start to finish.
This Louisiana-inspired recipe includes juicy cubed chicken pieces, veggies, penne pasta, and a rich and creamy tomato sauce!
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- This is a quick and easy spicy chicken pasta dish that requires minimal, budget-friendly ingredients!
- The Cajun seasoning adds delicious flavor without being overly spicy - perfect for all, kids and adults alike.
- You can make this Cajun Chicken Pasta stores ahead of time and store it in the fridge then reheat for a busy midweek evening meal.
Cajun Chicken Pasta is a comforting one-pan meal that you can serve in 30 minutes from scratch!
🛒 Ingredients
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Note: The full list of this Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta recipe ingredients with their amounts and options are in the recipe card below.
- Cajun seasoning -- we used Slap Yo Mama brand but you may use your favorite homemade or store bought brand
- olive oil
- boneless skinless chicken breast
- pasta -- we used penne
- fire roasted diced tomatoes
- chicken broth
- bell peppers - yellow and red
- cream cheese
- green onions -- for garnish on top
🗒 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Place cubed chicken in a mixing bowl.
- Season with Cajun seasoning and stir to coat.
- Heat oil and butter in a skillet over medium-high heat until melted and foamy.
- Add the chicken and cook for a few minutes on each side but don’t cook through.
- Add diced onion to the skillet.
- Saute for 2 minutes or more.
- Add pasta to the skillet.
- Add the fire-roasted tomatoes and chicken broth to the skillet.
- Place the lid on the skillet and allow the mixture to boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
- 2 minutes before the pasta is done, stir in the bell pepper slices.
- Add the cream cheese in chunks, stirring until fully melted.
- Top the dish with sliced green onions and serve.
🔪 Equipment
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You’ll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.
- sharp knife
- cutting board
- large skillet
- measuring spoons
- liquid measuring cup
🤔 FAQs
These are frequent questions about making this Cajun Chicken Pasta recipe.
Cajun chicken is made with chicken that’s seasoned with a Cajun seasoning blend and cooked in a skillet. It can be added to rice or a vegetable side dish or turned into a pasta dish like my Cajun Chicken Pasta recipe.
Add the leftover Cajun chicken pasta to an oiled pan over medium-high heat and reheat for about 5 minutes, stirring often and adding milk or chicken broth to loosen the mixture if required.
A meal is considered Cajun if it includes Cajun seasoning and other typical ingredients such as bell peppers and green onions.
The three main ingredients in Cajun cooking include onions, bell peppers, and celery. Many different kinds of Cajun dishes start in preparation with these ingredients as a base.
👩🏻🍳 Tips
- Allow the cream cheese to sit at room temperature before adding it to the other ingredients for easy incorporation.
- If you’ve chosen to use pre-cooked or leftover cooked chicken, only add it to the skillet with the rest of the ingredients towards the end of the recipe so that it doesn’t dry out and become tough.
- Don’t cook your chicken all the way through when initially adding it to the hot skillet since it will continue to cook with the rest of the recipe ingredients for the remaining cooking time.
- Try to cut the chicken into uniform-sized cubes for even cooking.
- I’ve used a 4-quart deep skillet. If you use a different-sized skillet, you must adjust the heat to maintain a good simmer in the broth. Stir often to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
📚 Variations
- Add some chopped bacon to this dish - it’s a winning combination with chicken!
- I’ve used penne pasta for this cajun chicken pasta, but you can use elbow pasta, ziti, or other types of pasta that will catch the creamy sauce well.
- I’ve used red and yellow bell peppers in this dish, but you could use one color or a combination of red, green, and yellow. You can also add other vegetables, such as mushrooms and zucchini to this dish.
- Use gluten-free pasta for dietary needs.
- Give your cajun chicken pasta an extra kick of spice by adding cayenne pepper, paprika, or red pepper flakes.
🥫 Storage
Store Cajun chicken pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a skillet, adding in some water, chicken stock, or milk should the pasta have soaked up a lot of sauce during storage.
You could also freeze this dish for up to 1 month and thaw it overnight in the fridge.
📗 Related Recipes
If you love soul food like Cajun cooking, then be sure to try these Cajun/Creole-inspired dishes:
- Louisiana Shrimp Gumbo - This seafood gumbo is a rich stew with shrimp, smoked sausage, okra, and a darkened roux.
- Spicy Shrimp Creole With Italian Rustic Polenta - The juicy shrimp are smothered in rich tomato sauce seasoned with garlic, onion, cayenne, and hot sauce. Serve it over rustic polenta, white rice, or crusty French bread.
- Creamy Garlic Shrimp Pasta - This dish is creamy and comforting, loaded with flavorful shrimp and tender pasta with a homemade Alfredo sauce!
🍽 Serve with
Serve this Cajun chicken pasta with crusty bread, dinner rolls, biscuits, and a simple tossed green salad.
📞 Chiacchierata (chat)
Cajun Chicken Pasta is another one-pan favorite of mine that I love to feed the family when I have minimal time for cooking but won’t compromise on flavor and texture. It’s a winner every time with classic Cajun/Creole ingredients for the ultimate soul food that will instantly transport you to Louisiana!
Tutti a tavolo, è pronto!
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📝 Recipe Card
Cajun Chicken Pasta is a rich and creamy one-pan meal made with juicy Cajun-seasoned chicken, diced onions, bell peppers, penne pasta, fire-roasted tomatoes, chicken broth, and melted cream cheese.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
📖 Recipe
Spicy and Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 8 ounces penne pasta uncooked
- 15 ounces fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 bell peppers - 1 yellow and 1 red seeds and stem removed then sliced
- 3 ounces cream cheese
- 3 green onions sliced for garnish top
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into ½ to ¾-inch cubes. Place the cubed chicken in a bowl, sprinkle the Cajun seasoning over the top, stir to coat the chicken in the spices.
- Add the olive oil and butter to a large deep skillet. Heat the oil and butter over medium-high heat until the skillet is very hot and the butter is melted and foamy.
- Add the seasoned chicken to the skillet and cook for a couple minutes on each side, or just until the outside gets some color. The chicken does not need to be cooked all the way through at this point.
- Add the diced yellow onion to the skillet and continue to sauté for about 2 minutes more, or just until the onion begins to soften. All the moisture from the onion to dissolve any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- Next, add to the skillet, the pasta, fire roasted diced tomatoes with the juices, and the chicken broth. Stir just until everything is evenly combined, then place a lid on top and allow the broth to come to a boil.
- Once the broth is boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low and let the pasta simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir every couple of minutes until the pasta is tender and the liquid is thick and saucy.
- About 2 minutes BEFORE the pasta is done, add the red and yellow bell pepper slices and stir.
- When the pasta is done, add the cream cheese to the skillet in chunks, then stir until the cheese has melted into the sauce.
- Top the pasta with sliced green onions and serve.
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