It’s been a while since I’ve made a one-pot pasta! But this weekend I got a craving for a creamy, smoky, spicy, easy one pot dish, so I set to work! This One Pot Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta is incredibly easy to make, so it’s perfect for weeknight dinners. I have a few variations for you below (spicy, non-spicy, creamy, non-creamy) so be sure to read on! :)
Check out my One Pot Recipe archives for more one pot goodness!
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“Amazing!!! Just made it…..home run!! Easy, simple, yummy!! I did add spinach at the end which was a great addition. Thanks!!”
charles
Customizing the Pasta
There are several ways you can customize this super simple and delicious one pot pasta. Check out these ideas for substitutions, add-ins, or omissions:
Adjust the Heat
This pasta is spicy. BUT you can adjust the heat by adjusting the amount of cayenne pepper in the Cajun seasoning. You can cut it in half for just a little heat, or if you are completely spicy intolerant, leave the cayenne out all together. That makes me kind of sad, but I completely understand. Sometimes your body and brain don’t want the same thing. :)
Make it Creamy (or not)
If you can’t do cream cheese, feel free to replace it with a splash of heavy cream or half-and-half. I’d probably use about 1/4 cup heavy cream, or 1/2 cup of half-and-half. OR, if you don’t want it creamy at all, that works too. This pasta was quite delicious even before I added the cream cheese, but the creaminess does balance the heat and acidity very well.
Make it “Extra”
If you want this pasta to be super over the top, try adding some cooked bacon, or a final dusting of Parmesan cheese. That little bit of extra umami flavor will really take this Cajun Chicken Pasta over the top! Or, in place of or in addition to, you could add shrimp.
One Pot Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta
Servings 4Ingredients
Cajun Seasoning
- 2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.20)
- 1 tsp oregano ($0.10)
- 1 tsp thyme ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.03)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
Chicken Pasta
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 1 Tbsp butter ($0.13)
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast ($5.47)
- 1 yellow onion, diced ($0.32)
- 1/2 lb. penne pasta (uncooked) ($0.75)
- 15 oz. fire roasted diced tomatoes ($1.00)
- 2 cups chicken broth ($0.26)
- 2 oz. cream cheese ($0.50)
- 3 green onions, sliced ($0.25)
Instructions
- Combine the ingredients for the Cajun seasoning in a small bowl. Cut the chicken into 1/2 to 3/4-inch cubes. Place the cubed chicken in a bowl, pour the Cajun seasoning over top, and stir to coat the chicken in spices.
- Add the olive oil and butter to a large deep skillet. Heat the oil and butter over medium-high until the skillet is very hot and the butter is melted and foamy. Add the seasoned chicken to the skillet and cook for a couple minutes on each side, or just until the outside gets some color. The chicken does not need to be cooked through at this point.
- Add the diced yellow onion to the skillet and continue to sauté for about 2 minutes more, or just until the onion begins to soften. Allow the moisture from the onion to dissolve any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- Next, add the pasta, fire roasted diced tomatoes (with the juices), and chicken broth to the skillet. Stir just until everything is evenly combined, then place a lid on top and allow the broth to come up to a boil.
- Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low and let the pasta simmer for about ten minutes, stirring every couple of minutes, until the pasta is tender and the liquid is thick and saucy.
- Add the cream cheese to the skillet in chunks, then stir until it has melted into the sauce. Top the pasta with sliced green onions and serve.
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Notes
- The deep skillet I use is a 4-quart capacity.
- Depending on your cookware, you may need to adjust the heat up or down to maintain a simmer in the broth. Be sure to stir often to prevent the pasta from sticking.
Nutrition
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Other Chicken Pasta Recipes You Might Like:
- One Pot Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta
- White Cheddar Mac and Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli
- Chicken Broccoli Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce
- Greek Chicken Pasta Salad
- Monterey Chicken Skillet
How to Make Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta – Step by Step Photos
Stir together the ingredients for the Cajun seasoning in a small bowl (2 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp cayenne, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp salt). Cut one pound boneless, skinless chicken breast into 1/2 to 3/4-inch cubes. Place the chicken cubes in a bowl, pour the Cajun seasoning over top, then stir to coat the chicken in the spices.
Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Once the skillet is very hot and the butter is melted and foamy, add the seasoned chicken pieces. Cook for a couple of minutes on each side, or just until they get some color. The chicken does not need to be cooked through at this point.
Add one diced yellow onion and continue to sauté for just a couple minutes more, or until the onion just begins to soften. The moisture from the onion should help dissolve any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
Add 1/2 lb. penne to the skillet along with one 15oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes (with the juices) and 2 cups chicken broth.
Give everything a brief stir to make sure it’s all combined, then place a lid on top and allow the broth to come up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn it down to medium-low, and let it simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes.
Simmer until the pasta is tender and the broth has become thicker and more saucy in texture.
Add 2 oz. cream cheese to the skillet in small chunks. Stir until the cheese has melted into the sauce.
Top with sliced green onions and SERVE! This One Pot Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta is going to be on regular rotation in my house. :)
I think this bowl of pasta is begging for some Freezer Garlic Bread, what about you?
I was hoping to use the app while cooking this recipe, but I can’t seem to find it in the app. Are some of your recipes not available on your app?
Yes, it can be found in the app’s marketplace. The app comes pre-loaded with 500 recipes and everything I’ve created for the blog since the app was launched is loaded into the marketplace where you can pick and choose which recipes you want to download into your app. Just tap the little shopping bag icon in the bottom center of your screen, tap over to “recipes” (instead of “bundles”), then in the search bar at the top type “cajun” and it will come up. :)
Thanks! I was able to find it. Great recipe! I took out most of the Cayenne for my little kids, and topped with Parmesan cheese.
I made this today with cauliflower instead of chicken. Very tasty! I didn’t have any cream cheese, so I used some sour cream, and it added that nice touch of creaminess. Thanks for a great recipe, Beth! I loved the Best of 2018 article and plan to try most all of them.
Made this tonight and it was so delicious! Thank you for an easy recipe that my whole family loved! I’ll be making it again!
It’s dying for some lime! Just squeeze a few slices on top, makes a world of difference. I also added some sliced bell peppers, which worked nicely.
Very nice, very quick, just a little bland as written.
Ooooh, that sounds SO GOOD!
This was a really great base recipe and I hope next time to actually have cream cheese on hand- I had already started cooking before I realized. So I used chicken thighs instead and made sure they were cooked through before adding the other ingredients. I added green bell pepper in with the onion. Delicious, even without the cream cheese and adding a bit of milk and cornstarch to thicken it up a bit. I know, lots of tweaking but I really think this recipe will turn out awesome as originally written.
Oh my gosh. Absolutely delicious! Will serve to company!
A fantastic addition to our menu. I come from Louisiana and I like add a true Cajun flavor with this dish by adding andouille sausage and using Crystal’s hot sauce to flavor the dish. I will experiment by adding broccoli next time to add more vegetables to the dish.
Good base recipe. Tweaking it a bit, to your own personal taste, makes it awesome. Im not a huge fan of really spicy food, but I like a little bite. I like a little sweet after-taste, when it comes to pasta, so I added a little sugar. I also put a splash of basalmic vinegar to give it a more pronounced flavor. Along with the green onion, I topped it off with some fresh diced tomatoes. Tastes great, not too spicy, but still gives it that cajun bite.
Do you think greek yogurt would work instead of cream cheese?
Personally I don’t think that would be a good substitution because both the flavor and texture are quite different. But I know a lot of people sub Greek yogurt for a lot of different ingredients and enjoy it, so it might just be a personal call.
This was amazing! I loved it so much! It’s definitely going to be a household classic. Everything about it was perfect. Next time I’ll add some more veggies to make it a little healthier.
My sauce didn’t really thicken (had to add closer to 4 oz of cream cheese) but the flavors were amazing! So yummy.
Used a storebought spice mix (without added salt) and added a green bell pepper and a handful of spinach for some veggies. This is a very easy dish to prepare and tasty. The spicy and creamy make for a perfect comfort food.
Maybe I should give up on one pot pastas. The texture was really strange. It seemed like the pasta was sticky and the cream cheese made it worse. Or maybe I did something wrong because it didn’t have very much flavor at all. I had to cover it in red peppers until I finished it.
Recipe was very easy to make and follow.
Unfortunately, too much thyme seasoning for my taste. Will add more garlic and onion powder next time.
THIS IS SO AWESOME! I cooked the pasta separately in the broth, and wanted more veggie action so sautéed a diced red pepper and a couple brocolli crowns in with the onion…added the tomatoes and let everything bubble until the pasta was done. We served it over the pasta and more steamed broccoli along with a handful of torn fresh spinach (because we needed to use it up).
Another favorite! Thank you Beth!