This Cajun Chicken Pasta is a dinner winner with it’s creamy cajun sauce and bites of tender pasta and chicken. It’s one of the easiest dinners, ready in less than 30 minutes.
There’s few things I love more than 30-minute meals! This cajun pasta is quick, easy, and completely customizable! Serve it with Homemade Breadsticks, Rolls, a Salad, or a side of Roasted Vegetables.
What I LOVE about this recipe:
- 30 minute meal
- Customizable: Choose your pasta and veggies, and make it healthier if you want to! I share all of my ideas below in the post.
- Easy to make healthier (see ideas below).
How to Make Cajun Chicken Pasta:
1. Cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.
2. Cook chicken and veggies. In skillet, melt the butter, add garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the chicken pieces (and any desired vegetables) and season with cajun seasoning. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until chicken is nearly cooked through.
3. Finish sauce. Add the milk and cream cheese, stirring well until cream cheese has melted and sauce is smooth, 2-3 minutes.
4. Add pasta and cheese. Stir together and season with salt and pepper if needed.
Adjust the Spice Level:
The spice in this cajun chicken pasta recipe is solely attributed to the cajun seasoning. The recipe calls for 2 teaspoons, which gives it a mild to medium spicy flavor. Add more for spicier pasta, add only 1 teaspoon for mild.
Choose your pasta:
I used farfalle (bowtie) pasta but you can substitute 8 oz of your favorite pasta, like penne, shells, rotini, linguine, etc.
For Healthier Cajun Chicken Pasta:
- Substitute whole grain pasta
- Add veggies: Add any vegetables you’d like to use up from your refrigerator including but not limited to, sliced bell peppers, spinach, asparagus, mushrooms, zucchini, broccoli etc.
- Substitute olive oil for the butter or cut the butter amount in half.
- Use low fat cream cheese
- Use skim milk
- Omit the parmesan cheese
Make Ahead Instructions:
- To make this cajun chicken pasta ahead of time, prep steps 2-4 of the recipe (make the creamy sauce with cooked vegetables and chicken). Allow it to cool and store in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, cook noodles, reheat sauce and stir in pasta and cheese.
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Recipe
Cajun Chicken Alfredo Pasta
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.
- 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 the 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
- Substitute whole grain pasta
- Add veggies: Add any vegetables you'd like to use up from your refrigerate including but not limited to, sliced bell peppers, spinach, asparagus, mushrooms, zucchini, etc.
- Substitute olive oil for butter or cut the butter amount in half.
- Use low fat cream cheese
- Use skim milk
- Omit the parmesan cheese
Macros Recipe Adaptation
1 Tablespoon of butter, ½ Tbsp Neufchatel cream cheese, ½ cup of both chopped zucchini and green bell pepper, use unsweetened almond milk.Per Serving Amount
247 grams.Macros
415kcal, Fat: 11g, Carbs: 38g, Protein: 39g (serves 5) | MFP: Cajun Chicken Pasta (TBFS Macros)Nutrition
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Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
I originally shared this recipe December 2014. Updated April 2020 with process photos, a video, and additional instructions for making it healthier and making ahead of time.
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I made the recipe. My Wife and I absolutely loved it. all the ingredients were blended perfectly.
It WOULD be good. We’re going to adjust it a lot next time. Very very very salty. So salty I almost can’t eat it. And too much parmesan. I would definitely not add the salt or pepper that it calls for and just salt it to taste instead. The cajun spice would probably add enough salt on its own. I’d probably go half with the parmesan as well.
Delicious!!! A big hit with all of my children. We added spinach & bell peppers…yum!!! This will be added to the rotation. Thank you!
Even after adding a small additional garlic clove, and a decent portion of Cajun seasoning, both myself and my spouse felt that this tasted a bit bland. It wasn’t terrible, but it simply wasn’t flavorful, which is something that we both enjoy from our meals. I was disappointed.
This was SO GOOD! I did lessen the cajun seasoning to be more kid friendly, but my family of 5 raved about it. Definitely going on our regular meal rotation.