Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta – THE BEST! Reminded me of Red Lobster’s Cajun chicken pasta. Chicken, linguine, cajun seasoning, butter, heavy cream, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, garlic, and parmesan cheese. Ready in about 15 minutes! Super quick and super delicious! Everyone always cleans their plate!
Originally posted June 22, 2009
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Pin This RecipeRed Lobster Cajun Chicken Pasta
This Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta is a favorite at our house. I’ve been making this for as long as I can remember. It is super simple to make and everyone loves it. The best part about the recipe is that it only takes about 15 minutes to make. Cook the pasta, sauté some chicken tossed in cajun spices, make the homemade alfredo sauce, toss and enjoy! This reminds me a lot of Red Lobster’s Cajun Chicken Pasta. SO much amazing flavor! Whip up a batch of Homemade Cheddar Bay Biscuits and you are set!
How to Make Cajun Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
This pasta is super easy to make with only a few ingredients. Cook pasta according to the package directions for al dente. Drain and set aside. Cut up some boneless skinless chicken breasts and season it with cajun seasoning. Melt butter or olive oil in a skillet. Add the chicken and cook until it is no longer pink. Stir in basil, garlic, pepper, sundried tomatoes, and heavy cream. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer until the sauce has thickened. Add the cooked pasta and toss to coat. Garnish the pasta with some parmesan cheese, if desired.
- What is Cajun seasoning? It is a combination of paprika, salt, garlic, onion powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, oregano, and thyme.
- Here is our recipe for Homemade Cajun Seasoning: https://www.plainchicken.com/creolecajun-seasoning-secret-recipe/
- If using a store-bought Cajun/Creole seasoning, I suggest a salt-free seasoning to cut down on the sodium in the dish.
- You can use any type of pasta that you prefer. Penne, bowtie, fettuccine, linguine are all good.
- Is Cajun Chicken Pasta spicy? There is a small kick from the cajun seasoning, but this isn’t a spicy dish.
- Can use any cut of chicken – chicken breasts, tenderloins, or thighs all work great.
- What can I add to Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo? Feel free to add some smoked sausage, shrimp, artichoke hearts, bell peppers, onion, spinach, mushrooms, and/or green peas.
What to Serve with Creamy Chicken Pasta
We are obsessed with this easy pasta. It is better than anything in a restaurant! We usually serve this with some crusty garlic bread and a salad. It is also great with some quick Creole Green Beans. It is also delicious on its own. Add this to your menu ASAP! I promise you won’t be disappointed!!
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Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta
Equipment:
Ingredients:
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips or chunks
- 4 -oz linguine, cooked al dente
- 2 tsp cajun seasoning
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1½ cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 Tbsp chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp dried basil
- ⅛ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 garlic clove, minced
Instructions:
- Place chicken and Cajun seasoning in a bowl and toss to coat.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté chicken in butter or margarine until chicken is tender, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add heavy cream, tomatoes, basil, salt, garlic, black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the sauce has thickened.
- Pour over hot linguine and toss to coat. Garnish with Parmesan cheese.
Notes:
- Here is our recipe for Homemade Cajun Seasoning: https://www.plainchicken.com/creolecajun-seasoning-secret-recipe/
- If using a store-bought Cajun/Creole seasoning, I suggest a salt-free seasoning.
- You can use any pasta that you prefer. Penne, bowtie, fettuccine, linguine are all good.
- Is Cajun Chicken Pasta spicy? There is a small kick from the cajun seasoning, but this isn’t a spicy dish.
- Can use any cut of chicken – chicken breasts, tenderloins, or thighs all work great.
- What can I add to Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo? Feel free to add some smoked sausage, artichoke hearts, bell peppers, spinach, mushrooms, and/or green peas.
Steph
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Can you make this ahead and keep it warm in a crock pot for a pot luck dinner???
I have never tried that, so I can not say.
Just made this tonight, it was yummy! I used her recipe for the cajun seasoning, except I left out the cayenne pepper.
Sounds good, but in the recipe it says one garlic clove minced, but the instructions say garlic powder. If using garlic powder, how much should be used?
Either is fine
I added 2tbsp of flour and parm cheese to thicken it. Turned out amazing 🙂
I made a dish similar to this, but it was called Pasta YaYa. I’m thinking it is that name because you could use either chicken, shrimp, or crawfish, and had one additional ingredient, smoked sausage, sliced. But, to my way of thinking a name is just a name, it’s still gonna taste good.
WOW! I cook every day and rarely does something “blow my socks off”, but this recipe, although very simple, was WINNER for us! I made it last week and am still thinking about how good it was and am tempted to make it again so soon because I am craving it already! I did add about 1/4 cup of shredded monterey jack (parmesan would be good too) to thicken it up a bit and I squeezed 1/2 a lemon into the sauce. I used quite a bit of seasonings, I like my food more heavily seasoned than some and I never really follow the “seasoning” part of any recipe, I just go by taste. Great recipe!
Red Lobster does make a great seasoning. My supermarket stopped stocking it, so glad to hear that Walmart has it also. Thanks. It rivals 'Slap Yo Mama' brand and is less expensive.
Red Lobster sells the seasoning, it's called Seafood Seasoning, bought some from Wal-Mart. You can also buy their Cheddar Bay biscuit mix.
Loved this! I made a roux by melting the butter and then adding 1 tbsp flour, cooking it for about a minute, then added 1 cup milk. I let it come to a boil and then added the spices and spicy sausage, my substitute for the chicken. The sauce was thick and delicious!
I'm definitely going to try this recipe OUT tomorrow. Thx to everyone for the results ????
omg!!! sooooooo delicious! I just finished eating and i just couldn't believe it turned out soooo good! 🙂 Thank you sooo much!!!
I just have to leave my kudos. I have two picky eaters and I very rarely make the same meal twice in a month, let alone in two months. But, this is requested often!! I just had leftovers for lunch and a coworker tried it and asked for the recipe!! I had to tell him that the leftovers aren't nearly as good as it was last night. He said that it is "restaurant quality". So, thank you for making me look like quite the chef!!
I've made this recipe a few times now and I have to say it's one of my favorites! It's just like what you would order in a restaurant. I do have to admit, though, that the first time I made it I used 2 Tbsp of cajun seasoning and it was WAY too spicy for me and my husband! I couldn't figure out why… until I made it again lol. But since I've made it the right way I LOVE it!!! 😀 Thanks for posting this! P.S. I don't usually have sun dried tomatoes on hand as I don't use them in much. BUT I do usually have a tube of sun dried tomato paste! It turns out just as good in my opinion 🙂 Plus having the tube makes it easy to use only a little bit and not have to throw anything away!
Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning is what I use. It can be found on the spice aisle at your local market or purchased online. Great, spicy flavor!
I've been making the original recipe from Recipezaar (now food.com) for a couple of years. I use Rotisserie chicken and whole wheat thin spaghetti. This stuff is like crack, we never get tired of it! Love that you featured it here!
Man Satchel – thank you! I will try this next time.
I actually found you through the Zip List. I have made several of your recipes, as we are 3 women with many different taste styles I find your recipes to fit in perfectly! (ages 85 *Mom*; 63 and 55, sisters in retirement. Going to have to make this dish, I'll add more "Tony's" to mine!!!!!
Found this via Pinterest – Very delicious and so easy! I used half & half instead of heavy cream (still split with milk) since that's what I had. Will be back to make it again!
I found you via pinterest. This is one of my favorite recipes on food.com (formerly recipezaar)! I don't have cajun seasoning, so I substituted italian seasoning, and it turned out really good that way.
Paola – you can use milk. You might need to add a little flour to help thicken the sauce a bit
Hey i don't know if this is a silly question or not but if i don't have the heavy cream can I use milk in place or should i use a can of cream of mushroom?
This is now our favorite dish!
YUM!!! And I love your changes! I'll be making it that way also! Oh, and I'll probably blog about it too! I'll send my readers here! Thanks!
Thanks for the recipe! Mine looked totally different – I used whole wheat fussili pasta (already had it at home, one less ingredient to buy). Used less cajun seasoning – I have a low spice tolerance. Overall, excellent recipe suggestion. LOVED it!
using Kraft parm cheese helped to thicken it up. It was very good, but a bit salty for my taste. Will try again with something salt free for the seasoning. Glad I found you.
This is one of my all time favorite "cheat" meals!! I add extra spice because I like it hot!
This dish was AMAZING! I made it for my family a few nights ago, and it was a hit! It's like a restaurant meal, at home! I added more sun-dried tomatoes, and also added some shrimp. The seasoning was a little to spicy for my young kids, but was perfect for my husband and myself. This is going to make our meal rotation, for sure! I am totally enjoying your blog, and trying your recipes!
I made this tonight for supper but I had to do some substitutions and they proved to be great.
Instead of breast I used chicken tenders and left them whole
I used thin pasta instead of linguine
Since I am cajun I used the 2 teaspoons of cajun seasoning as called for
I also used 2 tablespoons of olive oil with 2 tablespoons of real butter
I didn't have heavy cream, green onions or sun dried tomatoes, so I substituted 1 can of cream of onion soup & 1 small can of Old El Paso Jalepeno Relish…..from this point on I followed the recipe ingredients and directions to a tee. Let me report it was quite spicy…..It was delish says the hubby. So there you go, substitutes can be made with the right thought process…..Bon Appetitte!
I think i'm going to make this tonight! It sounds quick and easy. Also, as I read the recipe and saw "cajun seasoning", I thought to myself that I can use the creole seasoning we have. Then I saw in another comment that they're basically the same. While I thought I was being creative (ha!), i'm glad that they're basically the same. Then I know I won't mess it up. 🙂
This was yummy! I used shrimp and 1% milk & heavy cream. Added 2 tbsp of flour to thicken it. Delicious!,
Wow! This was SO good and SO simple.
I'm already looking forward to making it again!
This is SO good! It is my new favorite meal!! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Ann – evaporated milk is a great substitute for heavy cream. I'm not sure how the Greek yogurt would work – I'll have to try it sometime.
Found you on Pinterest! I would say you could even substitute Greek yogurt in place of the whipping cream if you are really wanting to cut some fat/calories. One thing about sun-dried tomatoes is that once you open them and then refrigerate, the oil solidifies and it's like picking tomatoes out of butter, yuck, but giving them a good rinse makes them fine. I think I will make this!
Nevermind…just saw your answer above! Thanks!
Lauren – you can leave them out and it will taste fine. I've made it with and without the sundried tomatoes and it is good both ways
Do you recommend anything in place of the sundried tomatoes? I want to make this tonight and I have everything but the tomatoes!
Sara, I found them on the same aisle as tomato paste. They were on a top shelf in a small jar. Only 2 brands, so it's not a huge selection, easy to overlook.
So I looked for sun dried tomatoes today when I went to the grocery. Couldn't find them/didn't know where to look. Help!
I realized after I commented that you can add flour. Trying that next time!
You can add some flour if your sauce doesn't thicken on it's own. Start with 1 tbsp
This pasta was really good! My sauce wasn't nearly as thick looking as yours but by the next day it was perfect! Any tips on how to make it thicker? I didn't use half of the cream it called for. This was really good though! Definitely making this again in the future 🙂
Corn Starch
misplaced.hoosier – I left it out of the ingredients! One green onion chopped is good.
An you freeze the Cajun chicken pasta?
I’ve never frozen this.
i've made something similar to this but used a can of cream of mushroom or chicken soup instead of heavy cream, if you don't have heavy cream on hand. it tastes great just add milk to get the consistency you want.
I've used a jar of alfredo sauce instead as well with great results.
I could just be completely looking right over it..but it says to add green onion, and I don't see that listed in ingredients or how much. Am I just spacing over it? (That is entirely possible..lol)
This sounds superb…think I may make it with shrimp for dinner tomorrow night 😉 I also found you via pintrest!
You can also make your own – I posted a homemade cajun seasoning on Monday – go to the home page to check it out.
Krista, cajun seasoning is a spicy seasoning mix, and yes it does say "Cajun Seasoning" on it. Try "Tonys" or I like "Slap yo Momma" (: Btw this is a great recipe, I've made it many times
Hey Krista! It will say Creole/Cajun seasoning at the grocery store. Tony Chachere is a popular brand.
Hope you like the pasta!
So excited to try this, but I have a stupid question. What exactly is cajun seasoning? Does it say "Cajun Seasoning" at the grocery? THanks!!
PS. found you via pinterest 🙂
You can also make your own from spices you might already have too, just Google Cajun spice recipes
Use 'Slap Yo Mama' brand.
I'm glad you liked it!
Tried the Uncle Idiot version of "Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta," using the Purdue Short Cuts roasted chicken. Took about ten minutes to cook and boy, was it good!
I'm going to try the idiot uncle version of this tonight, which is to say, with some pre-cooked Purdue chicken. I'll let you know how it turns out …