Creamy Cajun-Style Chicken Pasta

Updated Sept. 5, 2024

Creamy Cajun-Style Chicken Pasta
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
50 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Rating
5(171)
Notes
Read community notes

A little spicy, a touch sweet and incredibly rich chicken pasta is a modern take on chicken Alfredo inspired by the bold flavors of Cajun cuisine, integrating bell peppers, scallions and a heat-forward spice blend into the creamy sauce. The origin of this dish is a bit unclear — it’s not a traditional Louisianian dish — but it’s become a cult classic, with several national chain restaurants featuring versions on their menu and even more copycat recipes. For this version, chicken breasts are rubbed with a Cajun-style seasoning (see Tip) and browned in the same skillet that’s later used to build the sauce. A big squeeze of lemon juice and chopped tomatoes help perk up the pasta. For extra acidity and heat, drizzle with Louisiana-style hot sauce at the table.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings
  • Salt
  • 1pound fettuccine or linguine
  • 1pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 breasts)
  • 3teaspoons store-bought or homemade Cajun-style seasoning, plus more to taste (see Tip)
  • 3tablespoons olive oil
  • 2large bell peppers (red, yellow, orange or green, or a mix), cored and thinly sliced
  • 1bunch scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
  • 4large garlic cloves, minced
  • 1lemon, zested and halved
  • cups chicken broth
  • ¾cup heavy cream
  • cup grated Parmesan
  • 2medium vine or Roma tomatoes, cored and chopped (8 ounces)
  • 2tablespoons butter
  • Louisiana-style hot sauce (optional), for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

637 calories; 27 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 69 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 30 grams protein; 869 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Stir in fettuccine and return to a boil. Cook to al dente according to package directions. Remove 1 cup of cooking water from the pot, then drain linguine. Return the empty pot to the stove.

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, pat chicken dry with paper towels. Season lightly with salt, then rub all over with 2 teaspoons of the Cajun-style seasoning.

  3. Step 3

    Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Pour in 2 tablespoons of the oil, then add the chicken. Cook until it’s fully cooked, about 8 minutes per side. Remove to a cutting board.

  4. Step 4

    Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the same skillet. Increase heat to medium-high, then add the bell peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to soften, about 5 minutes. Set aside a handful of sliced scallions for serving, then add the remaining to the skillet, along with the garlic. Cook, stirring once or twice, for 1 minute. Stir in the lemon zest and remaining 1 teaspoon of Cajun-style seasoning; cook for 30 seconds.

  5. Step 5

    Pour in the broth. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and stir in cream. Bring to a low simmer and cook until the mixture just starts to thicken, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the Parmesan and juice from half the lemon; stir and taste for seasoning, adding more salt and Cajun-style seasoning, if needed. Turn off the heat. Thinly slice the chicken.

  6. Step 6

    Return the drained pasta to the reserved pot and pour the sauce on top. Add chicken, tomatoes and butter. Using tongs, gently toss until butter melts and everything is coated in the silky sauce, adding reserved pasta cooking water a couple tablespoons at a time, if needed.

  7. Step 7

    Slice remaining lemon half into wedges, and serve alongside pasta. Top with remaining sliced scallions and hot sauce, if using.

Tip
  • Cajun-style spice blends are available at grocery stores and online. Versions vary, but most feature some combination of paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, black pepper, dried thyme and dried oregano. Many mass market blends also include salt in the mix, and they work just fine in this recipe. If your spice blend comes without, make sure to increase the salt when seasoning the chicken.

Ratings

5 out of 5
171 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Rather than cream, since there is none in Alfredo either,Cajun. why not stick to Louisiana influence and start with a roux. It will be creamy and more cajun.

What's wrong with cream? 3/4 cup for six servings is not going to hurt anyone but it will make it taste good!

I doubled the spice, and then added more, and should have doubled it again. Good enough recipe except that 3 teaspoons of spice in all this is going to get you nothing but bland. Certainly it is not going to get you anything remotely Cajun. Blackening the chicken helped a bit. Anyway, if you want Cajun, dump in a whole lot more spice on the front end.

Or perhaps milk thickened with corn starch instead of heavy cream.

This recipe has wonderful flavor. Made a half batch given there is only two of us ( and still had leftovers); used Joes Stuff for Cajun seasoning ( a bit more than the recipe called for) and linguine ( less heavy than fettuccine) otherwise followed the recipe. We will make this over and over again. Be sure to add the Louisiana Hot Sauce.

We've had a variation of this pasta in rotation for years now. A few suggestions: I like to saute a handful of thinly sliced onion with the peppers and add some andouille sausage. Either brown the sausage between the chicken and peppers, or add it in after step five and just let it heat up in the sauce. We were once out of parm and had to substitute shredded pepper jack cheese. Now it's my go to - extra creamy and delicious!

Called Pasta-laya in Louisiana!

I agree with another reviewer that it needs more spice as we found it to be pretty bland, although topping it with Louisiana hot sauce really livened it up. I also would have preferred a thicker sauce since the broth-cream mixture was awfully watery. We liked it well enough, but if I make it again, I'll be making some adjustments to the recipe.

First, learn how to velvet chicken breast. Then use your velvetted chicken breast in this recipe. Game changer. You're welcome.

how do you velvet chicken?

I've tried a few different recipes for this dish, this one was pretty good, and I'll be trying it again, as cajun-style pasta is a family favorite. Adding the sauce to the pasta, make sure the sauce is a little thinner because the noodles absorb a lot of moisture. I also sliced the chicken first, next time I'll follow the recipe and cook the whole breasts.

Agree with others that a roux would be better, and I had to double the spice. I did not have broth so used the pasta water and it worked fine. Decadent fall comfort food, yum!

This was really good, fast and easy. Rather than frying the chicken breasts, I seasoned them, added a little olive oil to them, browned the breasts on 1 side for 1 minute on very high heat, turned them, covered them, turned heat to minimum, set a timer and left them undisturbed for 10 min. After 10 min. turn the heat off, do not peek, and then wait 10 more min. Produces perfect chicken; never overdone, always juicy. Pan juices are delicious.

Made this earlier this week and it was yummy. As others noted it could be a bit spicier so will add extra Cajun spice next time. It's a keeper.

I loved the Cajun chicken pasta at Chili’s when I was a kid, and I was hoping this would hit that nostalgia spot. It was good but not great. If I make it again I would use less chicken broth, maybe a little more cream and parm, and probably triple the spice. It was a tasty but a little bland and definitely not spicy. Might also do penne instead of fettuccine.

Used the spice blend recipe linked here and added baby spinach. Initial result was a bit bland and runny. But the leftovers (with a pinch of extra spice on top) were excellent!

This was really good. 25 years ago I cooked in restaurant that had a similar recipe based on a Paul Prudhome recipe called Big Mamou. This isnt that, but has has some similar themes. It was always one of my favorite dishes and this took me back.

Made this exactly following the recipe. Only because I had all the ingredients in the house. It was so good! Much to my surprise. Will have to do again. We held back on some of the spice but will not the next time.

There are lots of Cajun seasonings available in grocery stores, but if you can find some Tony Chachere's you'll be eating like you're one of us in South Louisiana!

I’ve been making this for years in an attempt to copy “Rattlesnake Pasta”, an entree at a local restaurant. I make a true Alfredo sauce without any chicken stock and add Cajun seasoning. For a lighter take I skip the cream and just dress the dish with fresh Parmesan and Cajun seasoning, also delicious.

This missed the mark for me. I'll go back to my default when I need something like this; the Kia Damon Blackened Chicken recipe and combine that with Elaine’s Fettuccine Alfredo (both on NYT).

Ramped up amount of seasoning, which I made according to the "Tip" (thanks, that was great!) which rendered the flavor perceptible. But the amount of broth - which I cut in half - made the pasta seem more like very wet dandan noodles.

I have also made a version of this where I stir in whipped or softened (room temp) cream cheese at the end instead of using cream. It’s creamy and fab. An option if you have cream cheese but no cream on hand.

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