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Cajun chicken alfredo square edit

Creamy Homemade Cajun Chicken Alfredo Pasta

Creamy Homemade Cajun Chicken Alfredo Pasta rivals any pasta dish at your favorite restaurant for a fraction of the cost. Tender chicken and a creamy Cajun parmesan sauce take this recipe to the next level. The best part is that it only takes about 35 minutes to make!
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Pasta
  • 3 to 4 quarts boiling water
  • 1 and ½ Tablespoon kosher salt
  • ½ pound dried pasta
Chicken
  • 3 medium chicken breasts thawed and cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning blend without salt - see note 2
Vegetables
  • 1 large yellow onion
  • 1 red bell pepper or any color you prefer
  • 6 to 8 cloves garlic minced
Sauce
  • ½ cup unsalted butter divided. See note 1.
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning blend without salt - see note 2
  • ½ cup pasta cooking water reserve this before you drain the pasta.
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon fine sea salt to taste
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper to taste. I usually add a little more.
  • ½ cup grated parmesan cheese to taste
  • 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
  • chopped Italian parsley to garnish if desired

Equipment

  • 1 pot for boiling pasta
  • 1 pasta strainer or colander
  • 1 cutting board and knife
  • 1 large skillet ideally with deep sides
  • 1 plate for resting the chicken
  • 1 liquid measure for reserving pasta water

Method
 

  1. Bring 3 quarts of water up to a boil in a medium to large pot. You need enough water to cover the pasta by a couple of inches.
  2. While the water comes up to a boil, dice 1 onion, 1 red bell pepper, and mince 6 to 8 cloves garlic, depending on your preference. set aside.
  3. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning and a little pinch of salt and pepper. Mix the chicken and spices with your hands on the cutting board. Wash your hands.
Pasta
  1. Add 1 and ½ Tablespoons of Kosher salt to the boiling water. Cook your pasta according to the package directions. Right before you drain the water, reserve ½ cup of pasta water with a liquid measure. Don't burn yourself.
  2. Drain the pasta and set aside.
Chicken
  1. While the pasta is cooking, preheat a large skillet, or Dutch oven over medium heat (really a little more toward medium high). Add 2 Tablespoons of butter. Once the butter is foamy, add half of the chicken. Cook until cooked through and browned, about 10 minutes. Set aside on a plate. Repeat with the other half of the raw chicken. You may not need to add more butter for the second batch.
Vegetables
  1. After the chicken is done, add another 2 Tablespoons of butter to the pan, then add the onions and peppers. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper and cook until soft and the onions are translucent - about 10 minutes.
  2. Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Sauce
  1. Add the remaining unsalted butter and pull the pan off the heat. You will have added ½ cup of butter in the total recipe.
  2. After the butter is mostly melted, add the cream and the egg yolks, still off the heat so the egg yolks don't scramble. Stir to combine well. Put the pan back on medium heat (this time closer to medium low).
  3. Add 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper (all to taste of course).
  4. Add the pasta water, a couple of Tablespoons at a time, and stir well. The pasta water is optional, but the starch that is released as the pasta cooks adds a silkiness to the sauce. You probably won't use all of the pasta water. Add a couple of Tablespoons, and then add a couple more if the sauce is looking too thick.
  5. Bring the veggies and sauce to a simmer, stirring often.
  6. Add ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese, and stir it through the sauce. Add 2 teaspoons of white wine vinegar. Stir to combine.
  7. Add the chicken and cooked pasta to the sauce. Stir to combine and cook for a couple of minutes to heat through. Sprinkle the pan with chopped parsley, if desired. Serve with extra parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Notes

  1. Two tablespoons of the butter will be used to cool the chicken and vegetables, then the rest will be added when making the sauce.
  2. If your Cajun seasoning has salt in it, just reduce the added salt to ¼ teaspoon, or to taste.