Cajun Chicken Pasta alfredo is definitely a foodie favorite. It is one of the most popular dishes on restaurant menus across the globe. With hints of spiciness, herbiness, and earthiness, cajun is the perfect blend of spices for meat, seafood, and even vegetables.
Every restaurant has its own different variation of a cajun chicken pasta alfredo, and for our version of this recipe, we will concentrate on a very simple, healthy, and delicious cajun chicken pasta that is creamy rich, and full of flavor.
Table of Contents
You Can Watch The Video Here!
Where did Cajun Chicken Pasta Alfredo come from?
This recipe is a blend of European and American Cuisine. Cajun coming from the Southern part of America, more specifically Louisiana and, pasta alfredo coming from Italy. The two cuisines come together and produce this beautiful dish a.k.a Cajun Chicken Pasta Alfredo. I will do you one solid and share one of the best store-bought cajun spice blends I have ever used and still use to date when I don’t feel like witching up a homemade cajun spice mix.
What Exactly is Alfredo?
Alfredo is a pasta sauce that was invented in Italy by Alfredo Di Lelio in 1914 when his wife was with child, and couldn’t keep anything she ate because of nausea. So Alfredo decided to toss some fettuccini pasta with butter and parmesan cheese and, VOILA! pasta alfredo was born. Even before the child was delivered, lol!
We have Ines (Alfredo’s wife) to thank for this amazing pasta sauce that we have experimented with for decades now. Over the years, the alfredo recipe has been tweak by chefs as they experimented with new dishes. That’s, why you’ll find the alfredo sauce in America, is very creamy and saucy as compared to what the original actually was.
What kind of Pasta is the best for the Cajun Chicken Pasta Alfredo?
As discussed above, the original pasta alfredo was made with fettuccini, however, there is no definite restriction as to which specific kind of pasta you have to use for this recipe. The kinds of pasta that I personally find go best with this recipe are, fettuccini, penne, and fusilli. Try and make sure you don’t overcook your pasta as that will destroy the overall outcome of the dish itself. Trust me when I tell you, NOBODY likes overcooked pasta!
Which part of the chicken should I use for this cajun chicken pasta alfredo recipe?
Use the Whole Damn Chicken! Ahahaha… I remember when growing up back home in Kenya, we used to only have chicken during “special” occasions when we had respected guests or when it was a holiday like Easter or Christmas. I used to dream of the day when we could have chicken on normal days of the year. Now that am all grown up and living in a different country, we have chicken as an option in every meal! This is to tell you that my dream finally came true and am even sharing a chicken recipe with you (insert smiley face with a chicken drumstick in my mouth).
Anyway, coming back to which part of the chicken is the best for this recipe, I prefer the breast because it’s easy to work with and, has more meat, and cooks faster than the thighs. This is not to say that you can not use the meat from the chicken thighs, it’s just what I prefer to use. Word of caution though, chicken breast dries out real quick when overcooked so make sure to leave some juice in there BUT also make sure the chicken is well cooked.
Cajun Chicken Pasta Alfredo Recipe Variations
The kitchen is a fun place to be and here at Cook jungle, we don’t like being boring. So here are a few variations you can try to enjoy this recipe to the fullest.
- Swap out the chicken for shrimp and enjoy it just the same. If you are a seafood lover, you can take it to the extreme and even do mixed seafood. For example, calamari, clams and mussels.
- Try out the other different pastas and see which you like best with this cajun chicken recipe.
- If you are gluten free, you can try out this recipe with Gluten-Free pasta or use my next recommendation.
- On a Keto Diet? Don’t worry, I havent forgoten you! You have one of two options; either completely omit the pasta from the recipe and enjoy the cajun chicken alfredo with broccoli or you can make some zucchini noodles famously known as “zoodles” and still enjoy this recipe.
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Ingredients needed to make Cajun Chicken Pasta Alfredo with Broccoli
- 2 lbs Chicken Breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 16 oz Penne Pasta
- ½ cup Yellow Onion, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon Cajun Seasoning
- 2 cups of Buttermilk
- 2 cups of shredded Parmesan
- 3 cups of Broccoli Florets, steamed
- 2 tablespoons Sesame oil
- 1/3 Rice Wine
- 3 Garlic Gloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons of Unsalted Butter
- Salt, Pepper
How to make Cajun Chicken Pasta Alfredo
- Add 2 tablespoons of sesame oil and 3 cloves of minced garlic into a pan. Cook until golden
- Add 2 lbs of chicken breast, Cajun seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook for 15 minutes until cooked through and remove from the heat
- Add unsalted butter, onion, and rice wine into the pan
- Reduce the heat by half and add 2 cups of buttermilk and 2 cups of shredded parmesan
- Steam 3 cups of broccoli florets
- Boils for 8-10 minutes 16oz of penne pasta and drain the pasta
- In a bowl add all the ingredients together and mix them
- Serve and enjoy!
Easy Cajun Chicken Pasta Alfredo with Broccoli
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Chicken breasts cut into 1 inch pieces
- 16 oz Penne Pasta
- 1/2 cup Yello onion finely chopped
- 2 tbsp Cajun Seasoning
- 2 cups Buttermilk
- 2 cups Shredded Parmesan
- 3 cups Broccoli florets Steamed
- 2 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1/3 cup Rice wine
- 3 pcs Garlic cloves Minced
- 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Add 2 tablespoons of sesame oil and 3 cloves of minced garlic into a pan. Cook until golden
- Add 2 lbs of chicken breast, Cajun seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook for 15 minutes until cooked through and remove from the heat
- Add unsalted butter, onion, and rice wine into the pan
- Reduce the heat by half and add 2 cups of buttermilk and 2 cups of shredded parmesan
- Steam 3 cups of broccoli florets
- Boil for 8-10 minutes, 16oz of penne pasta and drain the pasta
- In a bowl add all the ingredients together and mix them
Video
To make this recipe even faster and in less time, you can first put your pasta water for boiling before cooking the chicken and also steam the broccoli while cooking the chicken. That way, everything will all be ready at the right time and cuts your wait time by at least 10 minutes.
Did you try out this cajun chicken pasta recipe? It would be amazing to see how yours came out. Tag me on Instagram or use the #cookjungle. You can also pin this image below on your pinterest.
What do you think about this recipe? Leave a comment with your thoughts and tweaks you would make to this recipe to make it your own.
Happy Cooking!
I love love the recipe I will definitely be trying this ????????????????
Easy to cook
Very nice… would love to try it soon
Thanks for the platform ????????
You are welcome. And thanks for being part of the cook jungle family 🙂
Will try and cook…hope it comes out as good as it looks????
If you follow the recipe, it might even come out better than mine did lol