Cajun Chicken Alfredo

This one-pot Cajun Chicken Alfredo is a comfortingly creamy and spicy pasta dish. It's so easy that you don't even have to break a sweat to make the sauce. It's just pure cream, milk, cheese, and creole-cajun seasoning. Saucy goodness in one meal!

Course chicken, comfort food, Lunch, Main, Main Course, soul food

Cuisine American, Italian

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings

Calories 497kcal

Author Imma

Equipment

5 qt. cast iron pot, saucepan or 12- inch skillet

Ingredients

Cajun Chicken Alfredo

8 oz (100 g) linguine pasta, cooked according to package instructions, reserve 1 cup pasta water
2 chicken breasts, cut in half horizontally
salt to taste
1 tablespoon (12 g) Creole seasoning

Cajun Alfredo Sauce

1 tablespoon (14 ml) cooking oil
2 tablespoons (28 g) butter
2 teaspoons (10 g) minced garlic
2 teaspoons (2 g) fresh thyme
1 tablespoon (12 g) Creole or Cajun seasoning, (salt free)
½ cup (120 g) heavy cream
2 cups (480 ml) milk
2 ounces (60 g) cream cheese
½ cup (50 g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 ½ cups (360 ml) chicken stock / broth
salt and pepper to taste
parsley, for garnish

Instructions

Cajun Chicken Alfredo

Pat dry the chicken with a paper towel. Season chicken with salt then rub both sides with creole seasoning and set aside.
Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and brown for about 4-5 minutes on both sides or until golden brown and chicken has been cooked through. Be very careful with the chicken, it shouldn’t burn. Clean the pan if any major burns occur.
Remove chicken from the pan and keep warm. You may cover with foil while you prepare the Alfredo sauce.

Cajun Alfredo Sauce

In the same pan, add butter, let it melt then add garlic, thyme, and Creole Seasoning. Stir for about a minute or until fragrant.
Reduce the heat, slowly whisk in heavy cream, milk, and cream cheese. Keep whisking constantly, until it starts to thicken.
Stir in parmesan cheese and mix just until the sauce is smooth or until everything is well combined.
Pour in chicken stock. Cook over medium heat for about 5-6 minutes or until it thickens. Adjust the thickness of the sauce with more chicken stock, pasta water, or water.
Season with salt, pepper, and extra creole seasoning. Add drained pasta to the skillet. Mix well to fully combine.
Turn off the heat and let it rest for 5-7 minutes in order for the pasta to soak up some of the sauce. It is important to note that sauce thickens as it sits.
Remove slice chicken and serve with pasta.

Notes

Reserve pasta water. Because it adds flavor and it also works as a thickener for the sauce. You won’t need to add extra cream if you have this ready.
Slightly undercook pasta. The residual heat will continue cooking the pasta even for the rest of the ingredients. That is when you drain the pasta and when you rest and soak up the pasta in the Cajun Alfredo sauce.
Keep stirring while adding the cream. This technique is used to prevent the cream from curdling.
Keep it on a low simmer. This is also to avoid curdling the sauce. The dairy-based sauce tends to curdle when the protein starts to bind because of high heat cooking. Don’t let your cream sauce boil.
Make a roux. Yes, you’ve seen it as an alternative but it also works as a stabilizer to prevent the cream sauce from curdling.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.

Nutrition