Creamy Cajun chicken pasta is one of my favorite ways to make dinner on busy weeknights. Oh, so creamy and somewhat spicy, this family favorite chicken pasta recipe comes together in only 30 minutes! This easy pasta recipe an excellent way to cook boneless and skinless chicken breasts when you are short on time.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter - divided
- 1 pound chicken breasts
- 6 ounces smoked sausage - sliced into ¼ inch pieces
- 8 ounces baby Bella mushrooms - sliced
- Cajun seasoning - to taste
- Italian seasoning - to taste
- salt - to taster
- pepper - to taste
Creamy Parmesan Sauce:
- 4 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 cup chicken broth - sodium free
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ cup Parmesan cheese - freshly grated
- sea salt - to taste
Pasta:
- 8 ounces penne pasta
Instructions
Prepare a pot to cook the pasta:
- In a large pot over high heat, start bringing 4 quarts of water to a boil.
While the pasta water is heating, saute the chicken, sausage and mushrooms:
- Generously season the chicken with salt, pepper, Cajun and Italian seasonings. Do not slice it yet – you will be cooking it whole.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.
- When the pan is hot, add the butter.
- When the butter is just melted, add the chicken breasts and cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side until browned for a total of 8-10 minutes.
- Remove chicken onto a plate and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Add the sliced sausage pieces to the skillet and brown them on medium heat for 2-3 minutes on each side.
- Remove the sausage from the skillet onto a plate.
- Deglaze the pan with a splash of water.
- Add the second tablespoon of butter and the sliced mushrooms into the skillet (add more butter as well, if needed). Saute until your mushrooms should look nice and moist, and dark. Once cooked, remove them from the pan as well.
Cook the pasta:
- Add salt to the pasta water.
- Add the pasta and cook according to the package instructions.
To make the sauce:
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter to the pan and allow it to melt.
- Add the garlic and cook it until slightly browned – only for a couple of minutes.
- Add the chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce and heavy cream and bring to a light simmer.
- Add the Cajun seasoning, paprika and garlic powder and mix into the sauce.
- Add the Parmesan cheese and whisk to blend for 2-3 minutes to thicken the sauce.
- Taste and adjust the seasonings to taste.
Finish and serve:
- When the pasta has finished cooking, drain and stir it into the sauce.
- Slice the chicken into strips.
- Stir the chicken, sausage and mushrooms into the pasta.
- Allow everything to heat through for 2-3 minutes.
- Serve immediately!