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Cajun Chicken Pasta

Cajun Chicken Pasta is full of chicken, andouille sausage, peppers, onions, and garlic all in a creamy and rich Parmesan sauce.

  • Prep15 min
  • Cook20 min
  • Total35 min
  • Serves4
  • Rating5.0
Cajun Chicken Pasta

Cajun Chicken Pasta is full of chicken, andouille sausage, peppers, onions, and garlic all in a creamy and rich Parmesan sauce. You can make this New Orleans-style dish a little or a lot spicy and it is super tasty.

Cajun Chicken Pasta in a skillet.

Type Of Pasta To Use

I love penne pasta for this recipe but any pasta shape will work including rigatoni, cavatappi, or linguine.

Type Of Chicken To Use

I typically use boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe, but boneless skinless chicken thighs can be used instead. They have a higher fat content and will stay juicier and have a little more flavor. Whichever type of chicken you use, cut it into bite-sized pieces and be careful not to overcook it.

Chicken Pasta in skillet and a bunch of parsley.

Andouille Sausage

The andouille sausage gives this dish a lot of its flavor. A good andouille sausage has a fair amount of spice in it. There are many different brands and they vary quite a bit in flavor. You should be able to find several at a well-stocked grocery store. Kielbasa sausage can be substituted for it but it doesn’t have the spice that andouille has. You can add a little extra cayenne pepper to compensate.

Cajun Chicken Pasta in serving bowl.

Type of Seasoning

You can use either Cajun or Creole seasoning for this recipe. They are very similar and I use them interchangeably. My favorite is Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning. It does have a high amount of salt so you have to be careful with how much you add. It does come in a low-sodium version if you need to watch your salt intake.

How Spicy Is This Dish?

You can make this pasta a little or a lot spicy. To cut back on the spiciness, use kielbasa sausage instead of andouille and just add a pinch of cayenne pepper. Or you can use andouille sausage, but leave the cayenne out. To make it extra spicy, serve with hot sauce.

Cajun Chicken Pasta in pasta bowl.

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Ingredients

Steps

  1. 1

    Cook penne according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water before draining. Drain and set aside.

  2. 2

    Sprinkle the chicken with the black pepper and half the Cajun or creole seasoning.

  3. 3

    Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add chicken. Cook until browned and cooked through. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

  4. 4

    Add Andouille sausage, onion, and red bell pepper and cook until sausage is browned and onion and bell pepper is softened, about 5 minutes.

  5. 5

    Add garlic and cook 1 minute.

  6. 6

    Add diced tomatoes and cream cheese and stir it in until it is melted. Add half-and-half and remaining Cajun seasoning and bring to a simmer.

  7. 7

    Stir Parmesan cheese in and return chicken to skillet. Stir in the penne.

  8. 8

    If sauce is too thick, add a little of the reserved pasta water. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Notes

Nutritional info is provided as an estimate only and will vary based on brands of products used.

Nutrition

  • Calories831
  • Carbs60
  • Protein41
  • Fat47
  • Sodium1261
  • Fiber4
  • Sugar10

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