Description
This Cajun Chicken Pasta is a flavorful one-pot meal featuring tender chicken breast seasoned with homemade Cajun spices, penne pasta, fire-roasted tomatoes, and a creamy sauce. Ready in just 30 minutes with minimal cleanup, it’s the perfect weeknight dinner that tastes like it took hours to make.
Ingredients
Cajun Seasoning (Homemade Spice Mix):
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2 teaspoons smoked paprika
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1 teaspoon dried oregano
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1 teaspoon dried thyme
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½ teaspoon garlic powder
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½ teaspoon onion powder
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¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
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¼ teaspoon black pepper
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¼ teaspoon salt
Main Ingredients:
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1 tablespoon olive oil
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1 tablespoon butter
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1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
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1 yellow onion, diced
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½ pound uncooked penne pasta
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15 ounces fire-roasted diced tomatoes (with juices)
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2 cups chicken broth (or stock)
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2 ounces cream cheese
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3 green onions, sliced (for topping)
Instructions
Throw all the spices in a bowl and mix them up. I make a double batch sometimes and keep it in an old spice jar so I don’t have to measure everything out next time. Way better than the store stuff and you can adjust the heat level to whatever your family can handle.
Cut your chicken into bite-size chunks. I aim for like half an inch but honestly as long as they’re roughly the same size so they cook evenly you’re fine. Toss them with the spice mix. I use my hands because I’m lazy and it coats better that way.
Put your skillet on medium-high and add the oil and butter. Wait till the butter stops foaming around. Add your chicken and let it brown for a couple minutes per side. And here’s the thing that feels wrong but isn’t—don’t cook it through. It’s gonna finish cooking with the pasta later and if you cook it all the way now it’ll be dry and nobody wants that. You just want the outside brown for flavor.
Dump in your onion and cook it for maybe 2 minutes till it gets soft. The water from the onion helps scrape up all those crusty brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Don’t skip this part, those crusty bits are where the flavor lives.
Now throw in your dry pasta straight from the box, the whole can of fire-roasted tomatoes including all the juice, and your broth. Mix it around, put a lid on it, and crank the heat till it boils.
Turn it down to medium-low so it’s just bubbling gently. Let it cook about 10 minutes. You have to stir this every 2 minutes or so or the pasta sticks to the bottom and burns. I know it’s annoying but I learned this the hard way. Set a timer if you’re distracted like me. The liquid reduces down and gets thick and saucy while the pasta cooks. Sometimes it takes longer than 10 minutes depending on your stove and how you like your pasta so just keep tasting it.
Chop up your cream cheese into small pieces and mix it in. Keep stirring till it melts and the sauce gets smooth. Takes maybe a minute.
Put the green onions on top and call everyone to dinner. Done.
Notes
If your sauce is too thin just cook it longer without the lid. Mine turns out different thicknesses depending on what broth I used. If it’s too thick splash in more broth or even water. Some people cook the chicken all the way, take it out, then add it back at the end. That’s fine too if you’re paranoid about dry chicken but I’m usually too impatient for that.
Do not ever use regular paprika instead of smoked unless you want boring pasta. I will die on this hill. If you’re nervous about spice use less cayenne or skip it completely. My neighbor won’t eat anything spicy and I make it with zero cayenne for her and it’s still good. You can always put hot sauce on the table.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop, One-Pot
- Cuisine: American