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A creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta recipe tossed in a delicious cajun sauce with your favorite vegetables. It's made all in one pan and on the table in 20 minutes!
Do you love 30 minute meals? Make sure to try Shrimp Alfredo, Chicken Marsala Pasta, Honey Mustard Chicken, and Mediterranean Meatball Bowls!
Cajun Chicken Pasta is our favorite one-pot-meal.
Weeknights just got an upgrade with this easy cajun chicken pasta! It's made all in one pan with simple pantry ingredients that come together so harmoniously. It's easy to customize with your favorite veggies, and it has a mild to medium spice, so my kids love it too. Check out my tips below for adjusting the spice level for your family, and if you want a healthier version. I've also included adaptations and information for anyone counting their macros or looking for high protein meals.
How to Make Cajun Chicken Pasta:
Sauté Chicken and Veggies: Cook pasta then drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside. Add butter to a skillet then add garlic and cook for a couple minutes. Add chicken and vegetables then season with cajun seasoning. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until chicken is almost cooked through. Add milk and cream cheese then stir for 2-3 minutes until cream cheese is melted and sauce is smooth.
Serve: Add pasta and cheese to the pan then stir to combine and season with salt and pepper if needed.
Recipe Variations:
- Spice Level: This pasta has a mild to medium spice level, if you want it less spicy, start with just 1 teaspoon of cajun seasoning, or more than 2 teaspoons (or a sprinkle of cayenne), for more spicy pasta.
- Pasta: I usually use farfalle (bowtie) pasta, but you can substitute 8 oz of penne, shells, rotini, linguine, or your favorite pasta.
- Make it Healthier:
- Use whole grain pasta.
- Add extra veggies: Look in your fridge and use up what you have. Some of my favorites are: sliced bell peppers, spinach, asparagus, mushrooms, broccoli, zucchini, etc.
- Use olive oil instead of butter, or reduce the butter in half.
- Use low fat cream cheese and skim milk in the sauce, and don't add the parmesan cheese.
Make Ahead Instructions:
Cook vegetables and chicken in the creamy sauce. Store in the fridge until ready to serve, when you can reheat it and stir in cooked pasta and shredded cheese.
More Pasta Recipes:
- Manicotti
- Pasta Primavera
- Tuscan Chicken Pasta
- Pastalaya
- Harissa Pasta
- Baked Ziti
- Crock Pot Baked Ziti
- Chicken Parmesan
Cajun Chicken Alfredo Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces farfalle pasta, (or your favorite type)
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 3 cloves garlic, , minced
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, (about 2 breasts), cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning, , more or less, to taste
- 4 ounces cream cheese, , softened and cut into small pieces
- 1 cup milk
- 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, , more to taste, if needed
- Fresh vegetables, if desired, , see note*
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.
- Cook chicken: In a large pot or skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chicken pieces (and any desired vegetables*) and season with cajun seasoning. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until chicken is nearly cooked through.
- Add milk and cream cheese, stirring well until cream cheese has melted and sauce is smooth, 2-3 minutes. Stir in pasta, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe December 2014. Updated April 2020 and September 2024.
Was super yummy! I used cajin and ghost pepper seasoning! Definitely will make again.
This is a great recipe! I did not have cajun spice, so I made my own. Didn’t have the bow tie pasta so I used extra wide egg noodles and I used 1/2 whole milk with 1/2 heavy whipping cream. The kids said it was a “make it again” recipe! Will definitely make it again! Thank you!
Sooo Yummy…I am allergic to chicken ( i know i know) so I switched this to pork. Still yummy. A lot of the recipes I change the chicken to turkey or pork. The shrimp ( yes, allergic to shellfish as well) is a little harder, but have used pork of beef instead.
Absolutely delicious! Next time we are adding more Cajun seasoning and maybe some paprika! Other than that it was perfect, thank you so much for the recipe! Definitely sending out to family!
This was fantastic! Didn’t dice my chicken tenders, browned them in the garlic butter with broccoli, bell pepper and carrots around. Used penne as that was what I had, still plenty of sauce (added a bit more parmesean as I increased the enoodles and chicken about 50%, didn’t increase anything else) which was awesome! Printed out to keep in my recipes, keeper for sure.
Tastes great and so filling. Added two bell peppers and one zucchini.
I just wanted to mention that I made this tonight and even with some major dietary changes, it was INCREDIBLE.
Listen. Normally when you take all the meat and cheese components out of a dish it takes all the flavor as well.. NOT THE CASE. I made it as a side dish, omitting the chicken and cheese but using veggies (red onion & sweet pepper) instead. I used lactose-free cream cheese and oat milk in place of the full dairy components.. amazing. Just as good as alfredo full of cream. I just made sure to season the veggies and the sauce liberally. Everything was perfect. I even used leftover pasta from the fridge. It was that easy.
I am so happy to have found a simple and delicious recipe that could be adjusted so heavily to our plant-heavy diet!! It impressed me so much I felt compelled to leave this review for anyone else worried about if this alfredo could ever be made dairy pain-free.. YES!!
This was so good! Thank you so much!
My fiancé and I like spicy food, so I added about a tablespoon of hot sauce and some extra chili power, paprika, and cumin, and it was perfect for us.
I made this and for the spicy addition I used Tony Chachere’s Bold Creole Seasoning on the chicken and in the pan. You can find this spice in the spice aisle or near the cajun food section. I also used zucchini and mushrooms and also added Andouille sausage along with the chicken breast. It was amazing. Great leftover too! I want to make it again right now because it’s so delicious but I don’t want to get burned out on it. I can’t wait to make it again. I can’t wait to make this for the rest of the family.
Not too spicy but sooo delicious! Instead of pasta, I roasted butternut squash separately and added it in at the very end. Definitely a good addition!