Cajun Chicken Alfredo is like the vanilla ice-cream of American restaurant fare. Enjoyable, inoffensive, and there’s a lot of room for simple improvements to really make them really special. I’m going to give you the keys to the ultimate Cajun chicken pasta at home.
Really this recipe is all about 2 things, super juicy well seasoned chicken breast - the blackened chicken, and an alfredo sauce that is flavorful and not at all gloopy.
Prep Time | Cook Time | Serves |
15 minutes | 30 minutes | 4-6 people |
Juicy blackened chicken
1 - 1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
Salt
5g (2 tsp) Smoked paprika
3g (1 tsp) Cayenne
.5g (1 tsp) Oregano
1/2 tsp sage
3g (1 tsp) Onion powder
3g (1 tsp) Garlic powder
Fresh ground black pepper
White pepper
Celery salt
Alfredo
16 oz (1 box) penne
5 clove garlic - grated
1/2 cup butter - 1 stick
240g (1 cup) heavy cream
1 1/4 cup parmesan cheese - grated (
Lots of pepper
Leftover blackened seasoning
Fresh thyme
Pasta water to taste
Step 1: Butterfly and Season Chicken
Clean up any excess fat on the chicken breasts. Butterfly the breasts so they're equally thin. Season them with salt and set them on a tray to rest in the fridge. Even 30 minutes is enough to make a noticeable difference in the final chicken. While that hangs out in the fridge, you can make the blackening spice. This is essentially a homemade cajun seasoning, so feel free to use Tony’s if you’re that kind of person. My recommendation would be use the low salt ones though. In a container, mix together all of the listed spices. Remove your chicken from the fridge and sprinkle on the cajun seasoning. You should be left with a few teaspoons of spice; save that for the sauce.
Step 2: Cook Chicken
For the chicken, these pieces are thin enough to not have to worry about undercooking them. Heat the pan over medium and be sure to crank your fan so you don’t pepper spray yourself. Add a little oil once hot and then drop in the chicken pieces. Move them around in the oil to ensure even browning. You want to make sure the spices are getting toasted in the oil and not just pooling in pockets on the surface of the meat. Once the first side is nice and toasted, at least 90 seconds, you can flip it and cook on the other side for another 90 seconds. Use a thermometer to check that the internals have reached 165f. This can rest lightly tented with foil to stay warm while you make the sauce.
Step 3: Make Sauce and Combine
At the same time you start the sauce, you can drop your pasta into boiling salted water. Cook the pasta to the lower time on the box. In a large pot, begin melting a stick of butter and add in the grated garlic as it melts. Once the garlic is softened and starting to become brown, add in the heavy cream. Bring this to a light simmer and cook for a few minutes so it thickens slightly. The cream should emulsify with the butter during this cooking stage, so be sure to stir it. Season this with the cajun seasoning to your taste. Turn off the heat and add in the grated parm. If you want the sauce to stay beautifully creamy, it’s important to not overheat the cheese. If you’ve ever had alfredo that tastes grainy and greasy, the cheese was probably heated too much. Once your pasta is done, drain it and mix the penne into the sauce. Be sure to set aside a little pasta water so you can adjust the final texture.
Taste it for salt and use the water to adjust the texture as needed. Add fresh thyme. It should be creamy, slightly spiced from the cajun, and really fragrant from the parm and thyme. Pretty much perfect alfredo in my opinion. To serve this, slice up the chicken and then lay down some of the super creamy alfredo. Top it with the chicken, grate on some parm, and you could hit it with some chopped parsley for those classic restaurant vibes.
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