Bold creamy Cajun chicken pasta (Printable)

Creamy pasta with Cajun-spiced chicken, sautéed peppers, and a garlicky cream sauce.

# What You Need:

→ Chicken

01 - 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (16 oz), sliced into strips
02 - 1 ½ tablespoons Cajun seasoning
03 - 1 tablespoon olive oil

→ Pasta

04 - 12 oz penne or fettuccine pasta

→ Vegetables

05 - 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
06 - 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
07 - 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
08 - 2 cloves garlic, minced

→ Sauce

09 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
10 - 1 cup heavy cream
11 - ¼ cup chicken broth
12 - ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
13 - Salt and black pepper, to taste

→ Garnish

14 - Fresh parsley, chopped
15 - Extra Parmesan cheese

# How To Make It:

01 - Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, reserving ¼ cup of pasta water, and set pasta aside.
02 - Toss chicken strips with Cajun seasoning until evenly coated.
03 - Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté chicken strips for 5 to 7 minutes until browned and cooked through. Remove chicken and set aside.
04 - In the same skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add bell peppers, red onion, and garlic; sauté for 4 to 5 minutes until softened.
05 - Pour in heavy cream and chicken broth. Stir well, scraping any browned bits from the pan. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until slightly thickened.
06 - Reduce heat to low. Stir in Parmesan cheese until melted and sauce is creamy. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
07 - Add cooked pasta, chicken, and reserved pasta water to the skillet. Toss to coat evenly and heat through.
08 - Plate immediately and garnish with fresh parsley and extra Parmesan cheese.

# Helpful Tips:

01 -
  • It tastes like restaurant-quality comfort food but comes together in less time than ordering takeout.
  • The Cajun spices give it personality without demanding any fancy or hard-to-find ingredients.
  • One skillet does most of the work, which means fewer things to clean up later.
02 -
  • Don't let the cream boil or simmer too hard, or it can break and look grainy—keep it at a gentle, easy bubble.
  • That reserved pasta water is magic; the starch in it helps the sauce cling to the noodles, so don't skip it even if it seems unnecessary.
  • Taste as you go, especially with the salt, because the Cajun seasoning already brings saltiness and Parmesan does too.
03 -
  • Keep the pasta just slightly underdone when you drain it, because it'll continue cooking a bit when you toss it in the warm sauce.
  • If the sauce ever looks too thick, whisk in a bit more pasta water or even a splash of cream to get it back to that perfect coating consistency.
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