Cajun chicken pasta marries creamy comfort with bold spice. Tender pieces of chicken are seared until golden brown in Cajun seasoning, then simmered in a rich sauce packed full of flavor. Toss it all together with some bowtie pasta for a delicious chicken dinner!
My husband said that this is the best chicken dish that I’ve made. It’s pretty darn tasty! Plus, the meal can be made in one pot, which makes cleanup easy. Whip up this Cajun chicken pasta recipe for yourself and see what the fuss is all about!
Why KJ Loves
Cajun Chicken Pasta
I love how zesty and comforting this pasta dish is! It’s such a fun twist on your classic pasta dinner. Bright, bold flavors marry perfectly with the creamy decadence of the sauce. We love to cozy up to bowls of this pasta during the colder months of the year, but it’s also perfect year-round!
Opposites Attract
The creamy, cheesy sauce is perfect for balancing out the heat and bright flavor of the Cajun seasoning. They’re better together.
If you’re not a fan of the heat, you can easily cut down on the spice.
Want to kick it up a notch? Try a little extra cayenne pepper.
Cajun Chicken Pasta Ingredients
Chicken
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders work best for this recipe. But you can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs if you prefer dark meat.
Cajun seasoning
Choose between store-bought seasoning and making Cajun seasoning yourself. (You may already have most of the ingredients on hand!)
Bell pepper
I like the flavor of red bell peppers in this recipe. However, you can use green, yellow, or orange if you prefer.
White wine
Deglazing the pan with a little white wine releases all the goodness from the bottom of the pan and adds a depth of flavor to the sauce. If you don’t want to use white wine, try using additional chicken stock instead.
Heavy cream
This makes the sauce creamy and decadent!
Cream cheese
Make sure that the cream cheese is softened and at room temperature before adding it to the sauce. If you add cold cream cheese to a warm sauce, the cream cheese won’t melt down properly—it will end up clumping 😱
If you forgot to soften the cream cheese until the last minute, no worries! Just warm it in the microwave until it’s softened.
Pasta
Use whatever small pasta shape your heart desires! Bowtie, penne, shells, or rotini are all great options. My personal favorite is bowtie.
Making Cajun Chicken Pasta
This Cajun chicken pasta recipe is packed full of flavor, AND it comes together without a lot of hassle! Here are the steps you’ll need to follow:
- Toss the cubed chicken with Cajun seasoning and sear until golden brown on all sides. Remove the chicken from the skillet.
- Use the same skillet to make the sauce—you only have to dice a couple of veggies!
- Submerge the chicken back into the sauce to simmer.
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water, then drain.
- Combine the pasta in with the sauce and toss until completely coated!
You’ll have dinner on the table in no time.
Cajun Chicken FAQs
What is Cajun seasoning?
Cajun seasoning uses flavors typical in Cajun cuisine, like paprika, garlic, and cayenne pepper. If you make your own, you can easily adjust the level of spice by changing how much cayenne pepper you add.
What is deglazing?
To deglaze a pan, you add liquid (usually cold) to a hot pan to release all the tasty, caramelized food at the bottom of the pan. In Cajun chicken pasta, we do this right after searing the chicken and sautéing the aromatics and peppers.
What pasta shape can I use?
You can easily customize this dish! Don’t have bowtie pasta on hand? That’s ok! You could make this with rigatoni, penne, elbow, cavatappi, egg noodles—or even spaghetti or linguine!
Serving Cajun Chicken Pasta
Garnish your pasta with some diced green onion and lemon wedges to add bright flavor to this creamy Cajun chicken pasta. Plus, you can’t go wrong with a little extra parmesan cheese.
Bon appétit!
Cajun Chicken Pasta
(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Cajun chicken pasta marries creamy comfort with bold spice. Tender pieces of chicken are seared until golden brown in Cajun seasoning, then simmered in a rich sauce packed full of flavor. Toss it all together with some bowtie pasta for a delicious chicken dinner!
My husband said that this is the best chicken dish that I’ve made. It’s pretty darn tasty! Plus, the meal can be made in one pot, which makes cleanup easy. Whip up this Cajun chicken pasta recipe for yourself and see what the fuss is all about!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders cut into 1-inch cubes
- 3 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 pound Farfalle (bowtie) pasta
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, gently toss the chicken together with 1 tablespoon of the Cajun seasoning until completely coated. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Working in batches to not over-crowd the pan, sear the chicken pieces for a couple minutes on all sides, or until golden brown. Do not worry about cooking the chicken all the way through at this point. Once seared, transfer to a plate for later use.
- In that same skillet, add in the onion, bell pepper and garlic and sauté for a couple minutes, avoiding any browning or burning. Add in the remaining 2 tablespoons of Cajun seasoning and combine. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and stir to combine. Add in the heavy cream, chicken stock and cream cheese.
- Reduce the heat to low and bring the sauce to a simmer, stirring occasionally until the cream cheese is melted into the sauce. Add the chicken back into the sauce and allow to simmer on low for 15-20 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly and the chicken is cooked through.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain. When the sauce has thickened slightly and the chicken is cooked through, add the pasta into the sauce and gently toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve garnished with chopped green onion or parsley if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- If your cajun seasoning is more spicy, start off with only 1 teaspoon and add on from there.
- If you want some extra heat, add in 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper at a time until desired heat level is reached.
- If your sauce gets too thick after simmering, add in 1/2 cup of additional chicken stock until desired consistency is achieved.
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs can be used in place of the chicken breasts if desired.
- This pasta makes great leftovers and reheats very nicely!
- Nutritional information for this recipe is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Sauté
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 678
- Sugar: 4.8g
- Fat: 28.5g
- Carbohydrates: 61.6g
- Fiber: 3.2g
- Protein: 41.7g
- Cholesterol: 136mg
Keywords: Cajun Chicken Pasta
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Recipe originally posted on February 23, 2020 – updated on October 18, 2022.
Hi, I’m KJ!
Here you’ll find simple, delicious recipes for the home cook. I strive to make wholesome meals with easy-to-find ingredients that you feel comfortable making in your own kitchen—but I won’t shy away from a few indulgences! (I see you: butter, bacon, cookies!)
