Creamy Cajun-Style Chicken Pasta
Updated Sept. 5, 2024
- Total Time
- 50 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 40 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- Salt
- 1pound fettuccine or linguine
- 1pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 breasts)
- 3teaspoons store-bought or homemade Cajun-style seasoning, plus more to taste (see Tip)
- 3tablespoons olive oil
- 2large bell peppers (red, yellow, orange or green, or a mix), cored and thinly sliced
- 1bunch scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
- 4large garlic cloves, minced
- 1lemon, zested and halved
- 1½cups chicken broth
- ¾cup heavy cream
- ⅓cup grated Parmesan
- 2medium vine or Roma tomatoes, cored and chopped (8 ounces)
- 2tablespoons butter
- Louisiana-style hot sauce (optional), for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
676 calories; 28 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 69 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 37 grams protein; 944 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Stir in fettuccine and return to a boil. Cook to al dente according to package directions. Remove 1 cup of cooking water from the pot, then drain linguine. Return the empty pot to the stove.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, pat chicken dry with paper towels. Season lightly with salt, then rub all over with 2 teaspoons of the Cajun-style seasoning.
- Step 3
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Pour in 2 tablespoons of the oil, then add the chicken. Cook until it’s fully cooked, about 8 minutes per side. Remove to a cutting board.
- Step 4
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the same skillet. Increase heat to medium-high, then add the bell peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to soften, about 5 minutes. Set aside a handful of sliced scallions for serving, then add the remaining to the skillet, along with the garlic. Cook, stirring once or twice, for 1 minute. Stir in the lemon zest and remaining 1 teaspoon of Cajun-style seasoning; cook for 30 seconds.
- Step 5
Pour in the broth. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and stir in cream. Bring to a low simmer and cook until the mixture just starts to thicken, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the Parmesan and juice from half the lemon; stir and taste for seasoning, adding more salt and Cajun-style seasoning, if needed. Turn off the heat. Thinly slice the chicken.
- Step 6
Return the drained pasta to the reserved pot and pour the sauce on top. Add chicken, tomatoes and butter. Using tongs, gently toss until butter melts and everything is coated in the silky sauce, adding reserved pasta cooking water a couple tablespoons at a time, if needed.
- Step 7
Slice remaining lemon half into wedges, and serve alongside pasta. Top with remaining sliced scallions and hot sauce, if using.
- Cajun-style spice blends are available at grocery stores and online. Versions vary, but most feature some combination of paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, black pepper, dried thyme and dried oregano. Many mass market blends also include salt in the mix, and they work just fine in this recipe. If your spice blend comes without, make sure to increase the salt when seasoning the chicken.
Private Notes
Comments
I doubled the spice, and then added more, and should have doubled it again. Good enough recipe except that 3 teaspoons of spice in all this is going to get you nothing but bland. Certainly it is not going to get you anything remotely Cajun. Blackening the chicken helped a bit. Anyway, if you want Cajun, dump in a whole lot more spice on the front end.
This was really good, fast and easy. Rather than frying the chicken breasts, I seasoned them, added a little olive oil to them, browned the breasts on 1 side for 1 minute on very high heat, turned them, covered them, turned heat to minimum, set a timer and left them undisturbed for 10 min. After 10 min. turn the heat off, do not peek, and then wait 10 more min. Produces perfect chicken; never overdone, always juicy. Pan juices are delicious.
What's wrong with cream? 3/4 cup for six servings is not going to hurt anyone but it will make it taste good!
As per earlier comments, I doubled the cajun spice used on the chicken. I also made a roux once they were out of the pan, so I kept the amount of stock as indicated. I ended up with a good pasta sauce, not runny at all - in fact I had to use some of my pasta water. Plus I think de-glazing the roux with the stock added flavor. I did not adjust the final spicing at all. Next time, I will likely add a third pepper and cut back on the chicken a bit. That ratio in the finished product was a bit off for me.
Watery and bland.
I cut my chicken up before blackening and cooked 1/2 at a time with a pat of butter to blacken. Next time I will slice up a small red onion, add an extra clove of garlic and add another roma tomato. My sauce did not thicken, so I added 2 Tbsp flour to 1Tbsp melted butter to create a thickener. Ended up adding another Tbsp of cajun spice. Family declared this good enough to repeat!