Cajun Chicken Pasta

This Cajun chicken pasta is a weeknight hero. Vegetables, protein and carbs are all loaded into one dish, so you’ll hardly have to meal plan for anything else that night. Smoky and spicy Cajun-seasoned chicken is tossed with al dente penne, a rainbow of sauteed vegetables and a creamy, glossy sauce with Parmesan and basil to finish. It’s almost a one-pot wonder—you’ll just have to boil the pasta in a different pot. The action mainly happens in one skillet, in just under an hour!

Ingredients for Cajun Chicken Pasta

• Chicken: Prepare your chicken by slicing boneless, skinless chicken breasts into 2×1/2-inch strips. Try to keep them as uniform in size as possible so they cook evenly, and never wash meat before cooking!
• Seasonings: This chicken Cajun pasta recipe absolutely does not lack in flavor. We use 3 tablespoons spicy Cajun seasoning to really give this dish its smoky, spicy namesake, plus dried basil, lemon-pepper seasoning and garlic powder to kick things up a notch.
• Pasta: Our creamy Cajun chicken pasta recipe calls for penne pasta, but you can use any pasta shape you like best.
• Butter: A few tablespoons of butter keep this creamy Cajun chicken pasta dish saucy, glossy and flavorful.
• Veggies: A chicken Cajun pasta recipe isn’t the carb-heavy, meat-filled dish you may think! There’s actually a surprising amount of vegetables packed in, including peppers, mushrooms, onions and plum tomatoes.
• Heavy whipping cream: The creamy sauce comes from 1 cup heavy whipping cream. We don’t recommend swapping in milk or a cream with less fat since that would make the sauce broken, watery and grainy.
• Basil: To easily cut fresh basil, try the chiffonade technique! Stack basil leaves on top of one another, roll them up tightly lengthwise and use a sharp chef’s knife to slice crosswise.
• Parmesan: If you can, try to grate your own Parm right from the wedge. It’ll taste fresher, nuttier and more savory, plus you’ll avoid the anti-caking cellulose found in shredded cheese. I always always keep a wedge of Parm in my fridge for this reason!

Directions

Step 1: Boil the pasta

Toss the chicken strips with the Cajun seasoning and let them stand for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package directions, then drain the water from the pasta.

Editor’s Tip: Toss your finished pasta with 1 tablespoon olive oil so the noodles don’t stick together while they sit.

Step 2: Cook the chicken

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat. Saute the chicken until it’s no longer pink, five to six minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and set the chicken aside.

Step 3: Saute the vegetables

In the same pan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat. Saute the peppers, mushrooms and green onions until the peppers are crisp-tender, six to eight minutes.

Step 4: Make the sauce

Stir in the heavy cream and the rest of the seasonings. Bring the heavy cream to a boil, and cook and stir until the sauce is slightly thickened, four to six minutes.

Step 5: Bring it all together

Stir in the cooked pasta and chicken, and heat through. Top the dish with the fresh tomatoes and basil, and sprinkle with the cheese to finish.

Mark Derse for Taste Recipes

Recipe Variations

• Add more meat: In place of all or part of the chicken, you can use shrimp or sliced andouille sausage.
• Include extra veggies: You can easily add more vegetables to this creamy Cajun chicken pasta recipe. Cut green beans, sliced zucchini or small broccoli florets would go in nicely.
• Change up the spices: You can also use the basic chicken Cajun pasta recipe as a springboard for other flavor profiles. Instead of Cajun seasoning, use Italian seasoning and stir in some spinach in the final steps for a chicken Florentine skillet. Southwest seasonings would go well with a drained can of black beans or corn.

How to Store Cajun Chicken Pasta

To store leftover chicken Cajun pasta, let the pasta cool completely to room temperature, then transfer it into an airtight container. Leftovers can be stored for up to two days in the fridge. Reheat the pasta in a skillet over medium heat with a splash of water to make it saucy again.

Can you freeze Cajun chicken pasta?

You can freeze this Cajun chicken pasta recipe, but your approach should be different if you’re freezing the whole dish as meal prep or freezing leftovers. For leftovers, let the pasta cool completely to room temperature, then freeze it in airtight containers. Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat the pasta in a skillet just long enough to heat through. Fair warning—fully cooked pasta can get mushy during the reheating process, so be careful not to overcook.

If you’re cooking the whole meal as a freeze-it-for-later meal prep, cook the pasta just to al dente. Freeze the pasta and the chicken mixture separately. Reheat the chicken mixture in a skillet; drop the pasta in boiling water for just a minute or two to heat it through, then add it to the chicken mixture.

Cajun Chicken Pasta Tips

Mark Derse for Taste Recipes

What is the best Cajun seasoning to use?

The best Cajun seasoning is the one you like best! There are lots of spice blends on the market, everything from major spice labels to smaller independent merchants. What they’ll all have in common is peppers (black pepper, cayenne and potentially more), garlic and paprika. You can make your own homemade Cajun seasoning and then add different spices to suit your preference.

What do I serve with chicken Cajun pasta?

Since our creamy Cajun chicken pasta recipe has carbs, meat and veggies all packed into one dish, there isn’t too much else you need to serve alongside it for a weeknight meal. However, if you’re hosting, serve creamy Cajun chicken pasta with a loaf of easy garlic bread or spongy focaccia, a fresh arugula salad to break up the heavy richness from the pasta dish or these zesty sugar snap peas that come together in about 15 minutes from start to finish.