Quick, easy and delicious, this Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta features perfectly cooked pasta, fried chicken, coated with delicious Cajun spices, and a simple cream and tomato sauce. Ready in just 30 minutes this easy Cajun pasta recipe is set to be your new favourite weeknight dinner!
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Where have you been all my life?
Every now and again, I create a recipe that I love so much I end up thinking, ‘Where have you been all my life?’ This Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta is one such recipe. It’s the sort of recipe that is just so delicious, I wish I had created it sooner!
The Cajun spices complement the chicken breast pieces and simple cream and tomato sauce so well and the whole thing just really works with pasta. (Yeah, Italian-Cajun fusion cooking, who knew?)
Better still, this whole recipe takes just 20 minutes from start to finish.
Honestly this easy Cajun pasta recipe is set to be your new favourite weeknight dinner! (And it will almost certainly make you think, ‘Where have you been all my life?’)
How to make Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta
This Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta is so easy to make!
All you need to do is coat diced chicken with Cajun spice rub, then fry the chicken until browned. Remove to a plate, then fry the diced onions, peppers and garlic. Add the passata and simmer until reduced.
Next, add the cooked chicken back to the pan, together with some double cream and black pepper, and simmer for 2 more minutes. Finally add the cooked pasta and chopped fresh parsley, and stir to combine.
(Full recipe given in the recipe card below.)
What is the best spice mix for Cajun Chicken Pasta?
I have tried out several Cajun spice blends and rubs while developing this recipe and, hands down my favourite is Cape Herb & Spice Rub Louisiana Cajun Seasoning.
For me the balance of flavour, spice and salt is just perfect. (And my kids agree – they now put this on EVERYTHING!!!)
It gives a mild to medium level of heat (depending on how much you use!) – but one thing to be aware of, this rub contains quite a bit of salt – the perfect amount IMHO, but it might be a bit much for some people.
What to serve with Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta
This delicious Cajun-flavoured chicken pasta is a complete meal in its own right and really doesn’t need any other accompaniments.
But if you are feeling extra hungry, you could serve it with garlic bread and/or a side salad.
What to drink with Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta
Normally, I would recommend a red wine to go with Cajun Chicken, but because of the cream, white wine works much better here. (Generally cream + red wine is not a good combination.)
I recommend a gutsy oaked chardonnay, from somewhere with a bit of sunshine – like Australia, California or the South of France. Alternatively a zingy Sauvignon Blanc from somewhere like NZ, Chile or South Africa would also work well here.
Definitely don’t go for something too delicate – the flavours of a light and delicate wine will get swamped by the Cajun spices.
Love easy pasta recipes?
Then you’re gong to love:
- Creamy Prawn Tomato Pasta
- Sausage and Tomato Pasta
- Easy Chorizo and Prawn Pasta
- Super Simple Creamy Tuna Pasta Bake
- Easy Chicken and Chorizo Pasta
Creamy Prawn Tomato Pasta
Cajun Chicken Pasta – make it your own!
This recipe is very flexible, so feel free to adapt it to suit your tastes and/or whatever you have available to you in your kitchen! Here are a few ideas:
- Use chicken thigh instead of chicken breast
- Use pork, turkey or prawns instead of chicken
- Use a different spice rub, such as Caribbean Jerk, Portuguese Peri Peri, Texan Steakhouse or Smokehouse BBQ.
- Add lardons or diced chorizo (fry first and add back in at the end)
- Use a different colour pepper
- Use diced courgette, aubergine, carrots or mushrooms, as well as or instead of the red pepper
- Use basil instead of the parsley
(Did you adapt this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Let me know in the comment section below.)
What to do with leftover Cajun chicken pasta
This recipe really is a dish that is best served fresh, but if you do end up with leftovers, I recommend turning the leftovers into a pasta bake.
Simply, put any leftovers in a plastic lidded container and place in the fridge, where they will keep for up to 3 days.
To reheat, put the leftovers in an ovenproof dish and sprinkle with cheese. Place into an oven preheated to 180C (160C fan / gas mark 4 / 350F). Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until piping hot all the way through.
Can you freeze Cajun chicken pasta?
I don’t recommend freezing Cajun chicken pasta. This recipe really is a dish that is best made fresh.
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
- Cajun Chicken Traybake
- Creamy Chicken Carbonara with Bacon
- Chicken Alfredo Linguine
- Chicken and Chickpea Curry with Spinach
- Chicken and Prawn Fried Rice
Creamy Chicken Carbonara With Bacon
Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons Cajun Spice Mix/Rub (I recommend THIS ONE – See Note 1)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 500 g chicken breast cut into small pieces
- 300 g penne (Or any pasta shape you like! This also works well with fusilli, spaghetti, tagliatelle and fettucine.)
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 small bell peppers cut into small pieces (I use 1 red and 1 yellow)
- 2 cloves garlic grated or crushed
- 400 ml passata
- 300 ml double cream
- Salt and pepper to taste (See Note 1)
- 2 tablespoons parsley finely chopped, plus extra for garnish
Instructions
- Place the Cajun spice mix and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large bowl and stir to combine.
- Add the diced chicken to the bowl and stir to coat the chicken evenly with the spices. (I find it easiest to do this with my hands, but you can use a spoon if you don’t like getting messy fingers!) Set aside for 10 minutes to marinate. (You can use this time to put the pasta on to boil and prepare the rest of the ingredients.)
- Cook the pasta according to packet instructions / your own preferences. When cooked, drain, reserving some of the pasta cooking water. (See Note 2.)
- Meanwhile, heat a non-stick frying pan over a high heat for 1 minute.
- Place the chicken in the pan and fry for 3 minutes or until browned on all sides but not quite cooked through. (It will finish cooking in the sauce later – See Note 3.)
- Remove the chicken and all of the juices to a plate.
- Turn the heat right down and place the frying pan back on the heat. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, plus the diced onions and peppers. Fry for 3 minutes until softened.
- Add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds, stirring frequently, taking care not to let the garlic go brown or burn.
- Add the passata, then turn the heat up to medium-high and cook for 3 minutes until reduced.
- Add the cooked chicken back to the pan together with the double cream, salt (if using – see Note 1) and pepper.
- Bring back to the boil, then simmer for 2 minutes until a little reduced and thickened.
- Add the chopped parsley and stir well.
- Add the drained pasta, together with a very small splash of pasta cooking water. Stir together well. (If the pasta is looking too dry at this point, you can add an extra splash of pasta cooking water – but don’t go too mad. The sauce is supposed to be quite thick and cling to the pasta.)
- Turn off the heat and serve, scattered more chopped fresh parsley.
Notes
- Cajun spice mix/rubs vary enormously in their spice levels and salt content. The quantities are for one I recommend, and will give a mild to medium level of heat. If you don’t have a very high spice tolerance and/or you are using a Cajun spice mix/rub you have not tried before, I recommend you err on the side of caution the first time you make this! Additionally, check to see how much salt your spice mix/rub contains. The one I use contains a lot of salt, so I don’t add any additional salt, but if the one you use contains no salt, I recommend you add a little salt.
- I recommend cooking the pasta until it’s nearly but not quite your desired texture as it will cook a little bit more in the sauce.
- Take care not to overcook the chicken for this recipe. You should initially fry the chicken for 3 minutes – at this point it should be golden brown on the outside but still not cooked through on the inside. You will then cook the chicken for an additional 2-3 minutes in the sauce which will fully cook it through on the inside, without overcooking it. If you are at all unsure if your chicken is cooked or not, simply pick out the largest piece and cut it in half. If the middle is at all pink, cook for 1 minute and check again. If it is fully cooked, you are good to go!
- Not suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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This blog post contains affiliate links, this means if you click on a link and go on to buy the product I recommend, I will get a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more – thanks in advance!
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