This Cajun Chicken Pasta with sausage, peppers, and a creamy cajun sauce is one of our favorite one-pot pasta recipes! It’s super quick and easy to make, too!
Cajun Chicken Pasta
You can have this meal on the table in less than 30 minutes from start to finish. It’s the perfect quick and easy weeknight dinner, but impressive enough to serve to guests!
This Cajun Chicken Pasta is another one of our favorite One Pot Meals. Everything cooks in one pan (even the pasta!) so you only have one dish to wash at the end of the night. I love recipes that are easy. I especially love recipes that are good. But the best kind of recipe is when they’re BOTH easy and delicious! Just like this Cajun Chicken Pasta! Make it for dinner ASAP!!
Cajun Chicken Pasta Ingredients & Recipe
Here’s all you need for this Cajun Chicken Pasta recipe: boneless, skinless chicken breasts, smoked sausage (I use smoked turkey sausage), your favorite pasta shape, garlic, onion, bell peppers, chicken broth, cream, shredded cheese, and green onions.
Start by heating 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat.
When the oil is very hot, add the smoked sausage, chicken, onion, and bell peppers.
Season generously with cajun or creole seasoning.
There are several good brands of cajun seasoning like Zatarain’s and Slap Yo’ Mama but today I used Tony Chachere’s, because it’s the first one I grabbed out of the pantry.
Cook the chicken, sausage, and vegetables, stirring occasionally, until edges are browned. Add the garlic and stir to combine until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
How Do You Make Creamy Cajun Sauce?
For the creamy cajun sauce, add the chicken broth, cream, pasta, and more cajun seasoning to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon) to the skillet. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until pasta is tender, about 15 minutes.
Most of the liquid should be absorbed, like above. If not, you may need to increase the heat and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Turn off the heat and stir in 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Evenly distribute an additional 1/2 cup cheese over the top and sprinkle with scallions. Place under the broiler in your oven and broil until cheese is golden brown and bubbly.
Creamy. Cheesy. Cajun Chicken Pasta.
It’s a whole meal in one pan!
We seriously love this Cajun Chicken Pasta. I hope you love it as much as we do!!
Cajun Chicken Pasta
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Prep Time: 15 minutes -
Cook Time: 15 minutes
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Total Time: 30 minutes
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Yield: 4 servings 1x
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Category: Dinner
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Method: Stove
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Cuisine: American
Prep Time:
Yield:
Category:
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This Cajun Chicken Pasta with sausage, peppers, and a creamy cajun sauce is one of our favorite one-pot pasta recipes! It’s super quick and easy to make, too!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 pound smoked sausage, sliced
- 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 cups diced onion (about 1 whole onion)
- 2 cups diced bell peppers (about 3 bell peppers, I like to use 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 green)
- cajun or creole seasoning
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 8 oz (about 3 cups) penne pasta
- 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- 1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions
Instructions
- Add olive oil to an oven-safe skillet over medium high heat until it just starts to smoke. Add sausage, chicken, onions, and bell peppers. Season with cajun seasoning (about 1-2 teaspoons). Cook until lightly browned. Add garlic stir to combine until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the broth, cream, pasta, and more cajun seasoning to taste, about 1/2 teaspoon. Stir to combine and bring to a boil, then cover skillet and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until pasta is tender, about 15 minutes.
- Remove skillet from heat and stir in 1/2 cup cheese. Top with remaining cheese and sprinkle with scallions. Broil until cheese is melted, golden brown, and bubbly.
More Easy One Pot Meals
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My family (husband, 11yo, and 7 yo) love this recipe!! I have to be careful with the amount of Tony’s I add (sometimes I get it a little too spicy) but we all love it! I’ve made it quite a few times!
Do you think this could be made in a crockpot? If so, any suggestions on how to go about it?
I love this dish – thanks so much for the recipe!
Have you ever made this into a freezer meal, and if so how did it turn out?
We made this tonight but our chicken and peppers made a lot of juice in the pan so it never browned per say but we just forged ahead. We both enjoyed the end result, but are going to add in 1’4 tsp cayenne to up the spice factor. Also we skipped broiling adding in all the cheese for a creamy sauce like texture and used homogenized milk and it was very creamy. Thanks for sharing
Made this for a group of 15 cajuns. I multipled the recipe by 4. It was a hit! Thanks for sharing!
My family loves this recipe! We usually double everything and add 1/2 lb – 3/4 lb of uncooked prawns after the pasta is done. They cook right up while I’m adding cheese. Thanks!
This was absolutely amazing!!! My husband makes Jambalaya all the time, but this was by far superior in my opinion! Shhh don’t tell him! :) He had numerous helpings. Perfect blend of jambalaya and pasta and the sauce was incredible! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!!!
This sounds sinfully awesome!!!! But I’m lactose intolerant. Whatdo u recommend as a substitute? I really want to make it ASAP!!!! TIA
Really its looking so yummy! Another great recipe! Thanks kevin & amanda
Made this pasta tonight. It did not turn out to way yours did at all. Here’s the problem, way too much liquid. In your picture you have zero liquid after cooking the meat, bell peppers, onions and garlic. For me, and I’m assuming others, there was a ton of water that was created as the chicken and veggies cooked. So, I think you may be missing a step on what you are doing to not have any liquid before adding more. Any ideas?
You have to turn the heat higher with the lid off for a few extra minute 3-5.
Another great recipe!
Wow! This jambalaya is delicious!! I love the pasta instead of using rice – it is definitely a new family favorite. Thanks for sharing.
Oh my goodness! Made this for dinner last night and it was amazing. I used 3 links of Aidell’s smoked Andouille chicken sausage and added 1 can of diced tomatoes.
I made this for dinner tonight and it was amazing, thank you for sharing.
This is BOMB.com, so good I have made it many times. I like that it is a very flexible recipe i just throw in however much pasta I want and however much meat, and I will add more chicken broth and cream. I have used the creole seasoning pictured and safeway’s o organics cajun seasoning and the organics cajun seasoning is hands down the winner it is such a good flavor withpout makimg it too spicy. The creole seasoning pictured is too spicy to me. My husband thanks you for this recipe!
This sounds like dinner tonight! I love that the ingredients are things I almost always have on hand. But what kind of pasta did you use in the pictures? It sure doesn’t look like penne. Thank you and thank you for these one-pot dinners.
Hi Teri! It’s Campanelle. I can only find it at Costco. Wish more places around here carried it! :)
doubled the recipe and fed 9 people. We loved it! It was cheap and easy and delicious! too spicy for some but perfect for me!
I have a question concerning the jambalaya recipe. Does the pasta cook in the sauce?
It looks so yummy.
I will make it for my kids.
I ‘m sure, they like it.
Thank for share. i have a new repice.
I also love Jumbalaya, but combined with pasta introduces a delicious new approach. I roughly halved the recipe as there are two of us. It was delicious!
Love the sound of this pasta. I bet it is so good. You can bet I will be finding out soon.
Hi!I live un Spain and I really would like to make this recipy but here de don’t have cajun seasoning…what ingredientes does it have?maybe I can do it knowing which spices does it contain ?
Many thanks!
Silvia
Silvia, here’s a link to a directions for Cajun and Creole seasoning mixes. Enjoy!
http://cosmopolitancornbread.com/homemade-cajun-and-creole-seasonings/
I love your recipes and this one looks awesome as well. I love that you used Barilla pasta, because I only use Barilla pasta myself. I can’t wait to try this!
Made this last night and it was incredible! Love your cheese and pasta dishes, as always!
Thanks for a wonderful recipe!! I made this for lunch today, for my hubby and the kitchen still smells awesome & it’s 9:30pm!! He says it’s a 10 for sure!! He had 2 big plates for lunch and another for dinner!! :o) (I couldn’t eat any, as i’m on a diet, where pasta and cheese are a no no)…I am so looking forward, to the time I can make this and enjoy it as much as my hubby!! Thanks again!! :o)
I too am questioning the mention of Rotel in one of your comments above but it’s not listed as an ingredient. Please clarify….Thank you!
Hi Mimi! Sorry, I was confusing this recipe with another one. This recipe does not use Ro-Tel. Thank you so much for letting me know!! :)
You mentioned Rotel in the comments above. Those aren’t listed in the ingredient list. Are they supposed to be in the recipe?
Thanks, I can’t wait to make this!
Hi, you have some great recipes on here, how can I sign up for your blog? Or can you go ahead and put me on your mailing list ? Thanks
I made this for dinner last night and it turned out amazingly delish!! I used my dutch oven and it worked perfect! Can’t wait to make this again!
This was SO good!!! I made it exactly as written and we
loved it. My other Jambalya recipe uses tomatoes,
but we didn’t miss them at all. A winner!!!
I just made this and it was delicious!!! It didn’t look as rich and dark in color like the picture. It also seemed like it was missing a true jambalaya element or two. Perhaps celery and some type of tomato element. I also added shrimp for a true jambalaya feel and two tbsp of tomato sauce since I didn’t have a can of diced tomatoes.
Great recipe tho. Don’t be afraid to make it your own? thanks again?
Same with mine…did not look like the picture. Wish I had thought of the tomatoes. But it was still good.
oo my gosh.. Due to a typo i came across this recipe and decided to make it tonight…….. wow this is the absolute awsome delicious dish…………. Thank you for this
Looks DELICIOUS! If I wanted to make this healthier, rather than using the Heavy cream…would a lighter option work?
Yes, you could definitely use fat free half-and-half. The sauce will not be as creamy and it will look grainy, but it will still taste just as good. I make it this way when serving for just us, but you will for sure want to use heavy cream if you are making it for guests, as it will look much prettier. :) Hope this helps!
Julie, you could also use evaporated milk. It holds well when heated and will give you decently creamy results.
Sorry one more question. I noticed that you have the freezer peppers and onion. Did you use the whole package? Thanks again.
Hi Tammy! I use 2 cups of the package. There are about 4 cups in in the package I buy, so I just stick the other half back in the freezer for later. You don’t have the thaw the veggies before cooking. Hope this helps! :)
How spicy is this recipe? It looks amazing, but we don’t like a lot of spice. Thanks so much!
Hi Tammy! You can control the spice by how much cajun seasoning you add. You could also just use salt and pepper to taste. Hope this helps! :)
So creamy! There is so much about this recipe that I like! It’s a keeper for sure!
Thanks so much! Can’t wait to try it..
Looks Yummy! Any suggestions on how to handle the liquid if I wanted to double the pasta? Not enough to feed my family of 5 (and two starving teenage boys). Thanks!
Hi Tracie! I would just double everything exactly. You may want to make it in a big pot, like a dutch oven, so everything will fit. Good luck! :)
Jambalaya is so good and it’s totally one of my favorite dishes, I even remember the first time I had it! Now Jambalaya Pasta though takes this to whole new level! The flavors are just popping out of this pasta!!
I love that you brought jambalaya and pasta together. This sounds incredible!
This looks so delish!! I can’t wait to make it!
I agree! A party in your mouth =) The 4th of July is coming a little early this year.
Speaking as someone originally from Louisiana, I would add some celery to the veggies to make the flavor more authentically Cajun. Onions, bell peppers and celery — the trinity of Cajun cooking.
This looks delicious, however it doesn’t like like Penne pasta in the photographs of the finished dish. That looks like Campanelle. Could you confirm if you use Penne or Campanelle? Thanks!
It’s Campanella. Target has it as well. DiVinci makes a rattitorre(sp) which is excellent in this type dish. Kinda resembles tini radiators and the juices and cheese catches in the crevices!!
Sounds delicious!
I posted a question on your Cheeseburger Gnocchi… Could you take a look at that? I think you might have a typo in that recipe.