Grilled Cajun Ranch Chicken Pasta

Grilled Cajun Ranch Chicken Pasta – a restaurant-quality meal in about 20 minutes! Chicken marinated in a cajun ranch mixture and grilled, then tossed in a homemade creamy Cajun Alfredo. I wanted to lick the plate! Chicken, olive oil, ranch dressing, Worcestershire, cajun seasoning, lemon juice, vinegar, pasta, heavy cream, butter, garlic, and parmesan. We loved this so much that we made this two days in a row! #chicken #pasta

Grilled Cajun Ranch Chicken Pasta - restaurant quality! Chicken marinated in a cajun ranch mixture and grilled, then tossed in a creamy cajun alfredo. I wanted to lick the plate! We made this two days in a row!!

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Restaurant-Quality Chicken Pasta

This Cajun Ranch Chicken Pasta is one of our new favorite dishes! We wanted to try something new for dinner last weekend and came up with this grilled chicken pasta dish. One word – delicious! The chicken was so juicy and packed full of flavor. It would be good on its own, but the creamy pasta really put it over the top. Chicken Legs is still raving about this dish! We both agreed this was the best thing we ate last weekend.

How to Make Cajun Ranch Chicken Pasta

This chicken pasta is super easy to make. Start with making the chicken marinade. Whisk together olive oil, ranch dressing, Worcestershire sauce, cajun seasoning, lemon juice, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Pour over chicken and let marinate a few hours to overnight.

When ready to eat, prepare the grill. Remove chicken from marinade and discard the excess marinade. Cook the chicken on the grill until it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF. While the chicken is cooking prepare the pasta. Boil the pasta noodles. Start the sauce. In a large skillet, melt butter, add garlic, heavy whipping cream, Cajun seasoning, pepper, and parmesan cheese. Whisk together on low heat for 5-6 minutes. Add the cooked pasta and top with cooked chicken.

  • Can use any cut of chicken you prefer: breasts, thighs, or tenders. Adjust the cooking time to ensure an internal temperature of 165ºF.
  • I don’t have a grill. Can I cook the chicken on the stove? Yes! To cook chicken breasts without a grill, pan sear the chicken 3 to 4 minutes per side. Place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 400ºF for 10 minutes.
  • What is Cajun seasoning? Cajun seasoning is a spice blend used in cajun cooking. Cajun seasoning uses garlic powder, onion, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. You can use store-bought or homemade. For store-bought, I like Slap Ya Mama or Tony Chachere.
  • Here is the link to our homemade Cajun/Creole Seasoning: https://www.plainchicken.com/creolecajun-seasoning-secret-recipe/
  • If using store-bought cajun seasoning, I would omit the salt.
  • Can use gluten-free pasta for a gluten-free recipe.
  • The sauce uses heavy cream, but you can substitute evaporated milk if you are counting calories.

What to Serve with Grilled Chicken & Pasta

This Grilled Cajun Ranch Chicken Pasta is a favorite at our house. We have made it at least once a week for the past month. We LOVE It! I usually marinate the chicken the night before we make it. While Chicken Legs cooks the chicken, I make the sauce. Dinner is done in about 20 minutes! This is easy enough for a weeknight and fancy enough for a dinner party! Give this a try ASAP! I promise you won’t be disappointed.

We usually serve this dish with a salad and some rolls. Here are a few of our favorite recipes from the blog that go great with this yummy chicken:

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Garlic Roll Cupcakes

Garlic Roll Cupcakes – great with pasta! Super easy to make with only 4 ingredients! Refrigerated bread sticks, garlic seasoning,…

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plate of chicken pasta

Grilled Cajun Ranch Chicken Pasta

Yield: 4 people
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Grilled Cajun Ranch Chicken Pasta – restaurant-quality! Chicken marinated in a cajun ranch mixture and grilled, then tossed in a homemade creamy Cajun Alfredo. I wanted to lick the plate! We made this two days in a row!

Ingredients:

Chicken

Pasta

Instructions:

Chicken

  • In a medium bowl, stir together the olive oil, ranch dressing, Worcestershire sauce, cajun seasoning, salt, lemon juice, white vinegar, pepper, and sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes.
  • Pound chicken breast to 1/4″ thickness. Place chicken in the gallon size ziplock bag, and stir to coat with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (the longer the better).
  • Preheat the grill for medium-high heat. Grill chicken for 8 to 12 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and the juices run clear. Slice and serve over pasta.

Pasta

  • Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; set aside.
  • In a small saucepan, melt butter, add garlic, whipping cream, Cajun seasoning, pepper, and parmesan cheese. Whisk together on low heat for 5-6 minutes.
  • In a large bowl, pour over cooked, drained pasta. Top with Cajun ranch chicken and sprinkle a little bit more shredded parmesan cheese on top.

Notes:

Can use any cut of chicken you prefer: breasts, thighs, or tenders. Adjust the cooking time to ensure an internal temperature of 165ºF.
To cook chicken breasts without a grill, pan sear the chicken 3 to 4 minutes per side. Place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 400ºF for 10 minutes.
Cajun seasoning is a spice blend used in cajun cooking. Cajun seasoning uses garlic powder, onion, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. You can use store-bought or homemade. For store-bought, I like Slap Ya Mama or Tony Chachere.
Here is the link to our homemade Cajun/Creole Seasoning: https://www.plainchicken.com/creolecajun-seasoning-secret-recipe/
If using store-bought cajun seasoning, I would omit the salt.
Can use gluten-free pasta for a gluten-free recipe.
The sauce uses heavy cream, but you can substitute evaporated milk if you are counting calories.
Here is our recipe for Homemade Ranch Dressing: https://www.plainchicken.com/copycat-outback-ranch-dressing/

Steph

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bowl of cajun chicken pasta
bowl of cajun chicken pasta

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Comments

  1. I love what you guys tend to be up too.
    This kind of clever work and reporting! Keep up the
    fantastic works guys I’ve included you guys to our blogroll.

  2. Oh my goodness, this was delicious!!! It had just enough cajun kick without being too spicy. Simple to make! Thanks again for another repeat recipe!!!

  3. Are you kidding me? I just finished this and have added it to the rotation! My Mama said she thinks it’s better than a restaurant. I agree. I grilled boneless skinless chicken thighs on our new Power XL grill air fryer combo. The only thing I changed was the amount of black pepper. I only added 1 tsp instead of 1 T. Keep ‘em comin’!

  4. Oh my stars!!! This is amazing! The chicken, the pasta…it's a total home run!!! My entire family loved it! Thanks Steph for sharing this! I can't wait to make this over and over again!

  5. The marinade was great. However, there was enough for double the amount of chicken. We found that the sauce was very thin and made a lot! I will cut back on the butter and try to thicken the sauce a little next time. It is well worth cooking again.

  6. Hi, this is ridiculously amazing. We always make a double batch but it still disappears way too quickly. I was wondering if you've ever tried it in a crock pot or if you think it would work in a one. I'd like to bring it to a party.

  7. This was delicious 🙂 I baked my chicken in the oven to save some time (no access to the outdoor grill and I don't have an grill pan for the stove top). I made a few small tweaks. Will post it on my blog later this month. Thanks for the recipe!

  8. My daughter recommended this recipe and said, "Mama, it is the best dish I have ever cooked!" And it is absolutely delicious!!!

  9. I can't say enough great things about this recipe! The chicken marinade is amazing, we use it so often and I have gotten many compliments on it!

  10. I made this for dinner and yummy, however if you're not one for spicy cut back on the pepper a bit. I also added some more parm (I subed it for the kind you put on spaghetti so 2x the grated kind for anyone who wants to know) BUT DELICIOUS! thank you for this.

  11. Can't wait to try this one. Every recipe of yours has been a hit with my family. BUT my husband is on low-sodium so can you share your homemade Cajun recipe? Thanks again for all the work you put into this blog – it has expanded our menus tremendously. Love all you do.

    1. Thanks Stephanie! My laptop didn't show it as a link so I had to hunt a little. Perfect! I've added both recipes to my next week's menu! Can't wait. You are AWESOME!

  12. this is BY FAR the BEST homemade alfredo sauce recipe I've ever used. not too cheesy, not too thick. the chicken marinade is SO good as well!

  13. Made this the other night. Delicious. The person who said this was restaurant quality was absolutely right. My very, very, picky eater asked for seconds! Stores well too. Made a big batch and portioned it off for lunches.

  14. Absolutely fantastic. I made this exactly as directed except two things: I only used 1 tsp of pepper in the sauce (for the kids.) And I used Emeril's Cajun Seasoning rather than her homemade version. I may try the evaporated milk next time, as I'm sure the calories are outrageous! Will definitely make again and again.

  15. OMG, this was absolutely amazing. I'm making it again in a few days (I was crushed there were no leftovers and wanted to eat it the next day already) The best thing I've eaten in a while. I've begun counting calories to lose some weight however, so I had to do some major portion control with the pasta and all. Going to eat very light so I can have more next time and make more so I can have amazing leftovers.

  16. This has become a family favorite in my house!! Any special event we do everyone wants me to make it! Thanks so much for this amazing recipe! And the homemade seasoning makes it just right!

  17. WOW. I was really skeptical when comments said, "Restaurant quality," but they were right on! My husband said this is the best dish I've made from Pinterest BY FAR. I wish I wasn't full so I could eat more right now. Thank you so so so much!

  18. If you haven't tried this yet, you're really missing out. It's in all honesty, restaurant quality, if not better. Everyone in my family (including extended) is obsessed with this meal. Push it to the top of your "must try" list , it's worth it.

  19. This recipe is so good! The seasoning is absolutely perfect!! My sauce was also a runny, but hopefully will turn out better next time.

  20. Hi just had to comment to say thank you for this recipe.and who ever pinned it. My son and husband loved it and i'm actually making it for second time. know I know make extra! 🙂

  21. This was great! Not too much heat, so even the kids loved it! I wished I had leftovers for lunch tomorrow but my son just finished it off!

  22. Abby – you can pan sear the chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side and then finish it off in the oven at 425 for about 10 minutes

  23. I want to try this but don't have a grill or a grill pan. Any suggestions on the best way to cook the chicken without these?

  24. I made this for dinner this week and the flavors were great. I did let the chicken marinate overnight since I don't have a two hour window before dinner on weekdays.

    Everything tasted great, but I did have one question. I went with evaporated milk instead of cream, and my sauce didn't thicken at all. Even when I let it sit. Did I miss a step somewhere? 🙁

  25. My husband and I LOVED this! I made half of the recipe and we had enough for two meals. I think I could have eaten it for at least 4 more days before moving on to something else!

  26. I cooked this last night and it turned out amazing!!! Everyone that came over to my house asked me for the recipe! The marinade for the chicken is amazing! Love it! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!!

  27. Love the marinade for the chicken but I can't seem to get the sauce for the pasta to thicken. What am I doing wrong? I even added more cheese and less whipping cream…

  28. Made this for dinner tonight and my husband (a picky eater) said it was the best pasta dish I had ever made. My 23 year old son loved it too.

    Having a group of people over for a casual dinner and I am going to serve this grilled chicken topped with cheese as a sandwich!

  29. i dont think I have seen one thing on your blog that I wouldnt enjoy cooking and eating! This is going into this week's menu plan! Thank you for sharing!! BTW – pinning on my board too!!

  30. I agree with the commenter who said this one is "restaurant quality!" DELICIOUS!

    Thank you! Definitely going in my "make this for company" rotation!

  31. I made this last night, but didn't realize I would have to marinate for 2 hours. SOOO, I changed it up a bit. I used a plain rotisserie chicken, chopped it up, and mixed it with the marinade. I heated up the mix and then combined it with the my buttered noodles. The family loved it!

    I LOVE your blog. I have already made several of your delicious recipes and plan on many more!

  32. This was fabulous! I have liked many of your recipes, but, so far, this is my favorite. Restaurant-quality! Thank you for sharing.

  33. This was Fab-U-Lous! A new favorite for my whole family! Used mostly milk/evap milk instead of cream and toned down the pepper in the sauce (1 tsp) because of the kiddos, but it still had a nice kick and was SOO delicious! I'll be back for more recipes!

  34. Jamie – we use a charcoal gill. You are probably over cooking the chicken. We grill ours about 12-15 minutes.

  35. This dish looks so yummy!

    Just curious what kind of grill do you use? (charcoal/gas & indoor/outdoor). I usually don't grill chicken because it ends up dry–what am I doing wrong?

    1. Probably overcooking. I take chicken off the grill when it reaches 155-160 degrees. It will continue to cook a little more after it is taken off the heat.

  36. Goodness! You post amazing-looking recipes faster than I can try them! So glad now that I can "save recipe" so that I don't forget to come back to try later!! 🙂

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