One Pot Cajun Chicken Alfredo – Tender chunks of chicken with smoky pieces of sausage in a rich and delicious homemade alfredo sauce.
Cajun Chicken Alfredo
This Cajun Chicken Alfredo is one of our favorite meals. I first published this recipe in October of 2015 and it quickly went viral. It’s been a reader favorite since. Because so many have told me that this is one of their family’s favorite recipes, I’m not making any changes to it, just updating the photos and adding some tips.
Cajun Chicken Alfredo is so simple to make and absolutely packed with flavor. Tender chunks of chicken with smoky pieces of sausage in a rich and delicious homemade alfredo sauce. This meal serves a crowd but takes less than 30 minutes to make. You can divide this recipe in half to serve a smaller group too, just keep all the cooking times the same. I like the big batch though, the leftovers are amazing.
Find the Instant Pot version of this recipe here Instant Pot Pasta Cajun Chicken Alfredo and the slow cooker version here Slow Cooker Cajun Chicken Alfredo
How to Make Cajun Chicken Alfredo
- In a large pot – make sure you have a lid that fits – heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to the pot.
- Once the chicken has started to brown, stir in smoked sausage and let brown as well, then stir in fresh garlic. I like to save the garlic for this step so it doesn’t burn in the pan while the chicken and sausage are cooking.
- Add chicken broth, heavy cream, uncooked pasta, and cajun seasoning to pot and bring to a simmer. For the best consistency and results, make sure to use heavy cream versus whipping cream or light cream.
- Once the pot is simmering, cover and turn heat to low. Let cook covered for 15-20 minutes, just until pasta is tender.
- Remove pot from heat and stir in freshly grated parmesan cheese. I grate my parmesan using a microplane so it melts smoothly into the sauce. If you use store-bought shredded cheese, you may have to adjust and use less in the recipe. Pre-shredded cheese has additives that keep the shreds from sticking together in the bag or container, and those tend to over-thicken the sauce or keep the cheese from melting smoothly.
- Stir in freshly chopped flat leaf parsley and sprinkle with additional seasoning to taste.
Recipe Tips
- Make sure to use heavy cream. I prefer Knudsen or Lucerene Heavy Cream. They are thicker and have a higher fat content. That is the key to having the sauce come together.
- If you are using a thinner cream, like whipping cream, decrease the amount of the chicken broth by 1/4 cup or 1/2 a cup to help the alfredo thicken.
- The starch from the cooked pasta also helps the sauce thicken, so the sauce will continue to get thicker as the pasta cools. You can add more cream or chicken broth to loosen up the sauce as needed and for reheating purposes.
- It’s best to use freshly shredded parmesan cheese for this recipe. Shredded parmesan cheese from a bag generally will not melt smoothly.
You are going to love this rich and flavorful pasta! For leftovers, reheat slowly over a low flame and add more chicken broth and cream as needed to keep the sauce from separating.
More One Pot Meals
Check out a few more of my favorite dinner recipes that are just as easy and delicious as this cajun chicken alfredo!
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound chicken cut into bite sized pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 14 oz smoked sausage, sliced on the diagonal
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 quart low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 pound penne pasta, uncooked
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning, plus more to taste
- 4 oz parmesan cheese freshly shredded, more as needed
- Italian Parsley garnish
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Start with a large cooking pot that has a lid.
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Season chicken with salt and pepper and brown in olive oil over medium high heat.
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Add sausage and continue to cook until lightly browned.
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Stir in garlic and cook for for about two minutes.
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Add chicken broth, heavy cream, dried pasta, and cajun seasoning to pot.
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Stir together and bring to a simmer over medium high heat.
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Reduce heat to low and let cook covered for 15-20 minutes, or until pasta is tender.
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Remove pot from heat and slowly stir in parmesan cheese.
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Stir in chopped parsley and sprinkle with additional cajun seasoning to taste.
Cajun Chicken Alfredo Photos originally published in October 2015
5 Easy Dinner Ideas for Busy Weeknights
My five FAVORITE recipes for busy families!
- Quick to make
- Light on your budget
- Easy to clean-up
- and...most important...absolutely DELICIOUS
Looks and sounds wonderful!
Thanks, Kathy!!!
crap I didn’t have shredded cheese and am putting grated in ? will that ruin it ?
Oh yummy!! This looks amazing!
Thanks Melissa! First I had found your One-Pan Chicken Burrito Bowls. And it was wonderful. So I came back for more! Last week this one. It was awesome! My family loved it. After I had already started cooking tho, I realized that I no longer had any cajun spice….but I did have my homemade version of Emeril’s Essence (https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/emerils-essence-recipe.html), so I used that instead. It worked perfectly. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I’ll be back for more! 🙂
Made this recipe for my husband tonight and he loved it. Very flavorful and quick to make!
I’m so glad! Thanks for taking the time to let me know!
This is so easy and tasty!!! Might need to double batch next time kids loved it!!!! They want it again and again.
My family and I love this recipe. Quick delicious and all my boys will eat it. It’s a regular dinner dish here. Thank you!
My fiance and I made this recipe tonight for dinner. It was delicious! This dish has so much flavor and was perfect on a cold winter night like tonight! Thanks, we will definitely be making this one again in the future.
I had to make dinner for 40 high school robotics students and coaches, and I found this recipe. I quadrupled the recipe and then made one version without meat for the vegetarians of the group. My husband cut the chicken the night before and I sliced the sausage, so on cook day it was simply follow the recipe. Turned out great. They all loved it. And it was super easy (wasn’t one pot for that many… but only 3 pots! :-).
That sounds wonderful! That’s an impressive feed:0)
Great Stuart and review!
Wow! This was truly amazing! I made this last night and it was full of flavor. I kicked it up a bit and added a few dashes of cayenne. Great recipe!
the chicken alfredo was the bomb I added shrimp & cajin Greek seasoning
This was excellent! Halved it to serve 3 and we had a little left over. Very flavorful with just the right amount of kick! Def use the freshly grated (microplanned) parm. It melts smooth into the final dish 🙂
I will be trying this tonight. I have a potluck tomorrow with my truck/merchandise team. So praying that it will work.
I tried this tonight and it was delicious. I didn’t need to add any salt to the chicken as the sausage and Parm are already highly salty. I’m so happy I came upon this post. I’m definitely trying out your other one pot meal recipes. Thanks a bunch!
OMGoodness! I made this tonight! My family loves it!?
Hello,
What will happen if use heavy whipping cream instead heavy cream?
Thank You
Any type of heavy cream should work!
Every time I make the dish the sauce is super soupy and just liquid. What am I doing wrong? We love the dish and the flavors though
Hi Samantha!
I’ve notice that some creams, like whipping cream are not as thick as heavy cream. When I pour the heavy cream, you can see how thick it is. If you are using frozen chicken, it may be letting off extra water into the pan when it cooks. Are you making any changes to the recipe?
I added 4 oz of cream cheese and a teaspoon of cornstarch into a splash of cream and mixed it in. Turned out perfect after that.
Thanks very much for this recipe! I’ve made it a few times now using your recipe, and it’s always delicious and seems pretty fool-proof. I had a similar dish at a restaurant and loved it, and was looking to recreate it – this fulfills my craving!
I stopped adding the salt after the first try, as I was using regular chicken stock and it was much too salty. I always use andouille sausage as it’s my favorite. Delish!
Since nobody ever leaves reviews of a recipe they found online AS IS, here it is. I made this recipe without substitution or addition to any ingredients and it is fantastic. There’s a restaurant not far from my house that has rattlesnake pasta on the menu and it’s one of the best dishes they serve. This very much reminds me of that dish.
My household is highly skeptical of a recipe requiring the pasta to be baked directly into the dish with other ingredients. For whatever reason, they just don’t believe it works. Well, this was a major crowd pleaser. My mother, who barely eats anything, went back for seconds and had leftovers for lunch the next day.
People. Don’t fuss with substitutions. Try the recipe as is — there is a reason it was made that way and the reason is that it’s absolutely spectacular!
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment, Alyssa! I’m so glad your family liked it!
Can you use water instead if you don’t have chicken broth ?
I would not recommend using water, you will lose so much flavor.
I made this for dinner tonight and everyone loved it! A top notch recipe! 🙂
Made this tonight! Everyone loved it. Thank u
I loved this meal! Great recipe. My girlfriend also loved it. Thanks.
I absolutely loved the flavor of this dish (so does the hubby!). The only issue is that my sauce came up thin. I’m not sure if it’s becayse I used heavy whipping cream? I saw you said to use heavy cream but I didn’t see any cartons labelled as just “heavy cream”. They only had heavy whipping cream. Ito till delicious though and we’re going to eat it. I tthink I’ll just reduce the liquids next time and grate the cheese instead of store bought. 🙂
Cut the amount of heavy whipping cream by 1/4 cup and add milk. Came out perfect. I have made the as is recipe as well, but this sub works in a pinch when you have to sub. I live in Japan and its not easy to get exact ingredients here.
Tried this tonight – it was an absolute winner with everyone – even the kids!
Made this tonight but didn’t have any penne pasta. Or anything similar so I broke linguini in half. It works ok but I wouldn’t recommend it. The flavor was good, though. I’ll definitely make it again with the correct pasta
Try it with bowtie pasta
I have made this several times since I found the recipe. It is really good! I cooked some shrimp in cajun seasoning and added it on top after I plated it. Family really enjoyed this!
Made this tonight and my family loved it! I didn’t have heavy cream so I made my own(whole milk and melted butter) also made my own cajun seasoning (onion powder, garic powder, paprika, oregano, parsley, oldbay I didn’t have cayenne, salt and pepper) came out awesome
I made this recipe today with what I had on hand, I had some hungry folk in the house, and this recipe seemed fairly quick. I hate really hate substituting ingredients, but next time I make it, I will follow instructions thoroughly.
What I had to do:
I had thin spaghetti, chicken bullion cubes, spinach (my option), and precooked chicken breast pieces that i use for salads. I had the parsley already. I followed the directions, it smelled delicious!
The outcome:
This was wonderful, there weren’t any leftovers, I know that when I make this with all the required ingredients it’s gonna be a regular dish in this household.
BTW, I omitted the cajun seasoning, I can never get it right, and my dishes end up too spicy, I only like the mild afterburn, I don’t like my mouth on fire.
Thanks for sharing, 5 stars to ya!!
What kind of Cajun seasoning would you recommend? Just trying to find the ones that seem to be the best flavor! Thank you!!!
Hi Heather!
I used McCormick Gourmet Cajun Seasoning in this recipe! Hope that helps!
Thank you so much! I will have to give that one a try ?
Holy Crap!!! My husband and I just finished supper and he gave me a high five!! This is by far the best Pinterest meal I’ve ever made to date! Can’t wait to try your others! P.S. I didn’t have Cajun seasoning either but found a “recipe” on line for one and it worked great!
Made this for dinner tonight. Was absolutely delicious!!
Made it for dinner. SO Easy, tastes great, and quick to make! No fuss recipe, I like!
Does this recipe do well as left overs warmed up? It looks amazing!
This dish is fantastic! So much flavor. I didn’t realize though the type of parsley that it called for and I used dried. It was way too much but still an amazing dish.
Made this dish for my husband tonight and he loved it! He is very hard to please when it comes to cooking, but he really enjoyed this dish. Thank you!
Tried it as is and it was absolutely delicious my boyfriend and I both loved it. I was skeptical about cooking the pasta with everything but I am so glad I did it had so much flavor. It is also super easy to make it. Definitely going to be a regular at my house. Thanks for sharing!
This is delicious. Thank you so much!
I made this yesterday and it was really, really good although I only made half the recipe since there are just 2 of us. I know we will have this again (and again and again). Thank you for a super recipe and easy too!
This was so flavorful! It pleased the spicy lovers in my family. It’s rare to find a recipe that is delicious the first time you make it following all directions exactly. Thanks for such a good one!
I made this to bring to a Cajun-themed potluck. After seeing so many comments here about how easy it was to make, I figured I’d give it a try. Ya’ll don’t lie – super easy and a HUGE HIT with the crowd! Definitely adding this into my regular dinner rotation at home. Thank you! (FYI – the grocery store I went to didn’t have Heavy Cream, only Heavy Whipping Cream. Seeing people’s comments that the sauce would be thinner, I decided to double the cheese to help thicken it up. So that might be a good work-around if you only find whipping cream.)
This is a great recipe which my son asks for at least once a week! I swapped the chicken for shrimp and cut the amount of pasta, heavy cream, and chicken broth in half and added some onion while cooking the sausage!
Sounds delicious!
Made this for my hubby ans he absolutely loved it ?? thank you !! I did too ?
Oh my gosh this was so good!!!!
Thank you so much for a great recipe!
Anne
Your one pot Cajun chicken Alfredo was very easy to make and is now one of our favourite dishes. Please keep your recipes coming.
Thanks, Vikki!
This is one of my go-to recipes – we have it at least once every couple weeks. It’s so simple but tastes absolutely amazing. My husband could eat the whole pot himself!
I made this recipe for my husband tonight and we loved it! I used turkey sausage to make it just a tad bit healthier and it was great.
This recipe was DELICIOUS! My husband was really impressed and even my picky toddler ate the noodles and sauce. Very few recipes I find on Pinterest make it into my permanent recipe book but this one is a keeper- impressive enough to serve company yet soooo easy! Thank you! I can’t wait to try some more of your one-pot recipes 🙂
This turned out really good! I think you know my niece Meghan Hoetker. Congratulations on your successful blog.
I made this dish and loved it. Tweaked it a bit though. Used turkey sausage and threw in some fresh baby spinach. Thank you for the recipe.
Made this last night and the entire family loved it. Thank you very much for sharing the recipe.
I am going to make this but kind of wanted to add a vegetable to it… I was thinking red and orange bell peppers diced???
What do you think?
This is a fantastic recipe and my 14 year old son is a big fan of this dish! I substituted shrimp for the sausage and it was tasty! I even added some broccoli!
Sounds delicious!
My husband and I absolutely love this! This is one of our favorite meals, so it gets made a lot!
Do you happen to have any nutrition facts on this meal?
Thanks!
This was delicious. We had this for dinner one night and my husband and son LOVED it!!!
That’s great! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment!
I’ve made this recipes a bunch of times and love it.. now that it’s getting hot out I’m wondering if it can be tweaked for a crock pot…. any suggestions??
This is becoming a staple in my house 🙂 Thanks so much! I needed a different meat other than the basics and something quick. Love it!
Awesome! Thank you so much!
Wow…. it was great. I did add broccoli and shrimp but that was my only alteration. Thank you much – my whole house loved it
I found this recipe from a pinterest search. It was delicious! One of our new favorites. Thanks for a great recipe!
Tried this last night and it was so delicious! I used Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning and heavy whipping cream and it came out just great. Thanks for the recipe, my fiancee loved it.
Made this for dinner tonight. DELICIOUS!!!
Thanks for the great recipe. Will definitely make again.
Easily one my top 5 favorite recipes! So easy and so delicious!
Thank you, Ana!
Made this awesome dinner last week. It was delicious, we just added a little bit more Cajun seasoning as well as cayenne pepper because my husband and I really love spicy. Thank you for a great recipe which I will be making again!
This has been favorite of mine now for a couple years and each time it is amazing. I actually add shrimp and tomatoes to this as well and it always goes over super well. Great recipe and GREAT leftovers.
I cook for a family of 8 every night (almost). From my husband to my granddaughters, everyone loves this meal!
As a few others have stated, I also find that this ends up being very liquid. I always end up thickening it in the end. The highest percentage of cream I am able to find in the store is 33%, is there something higher I am missing? I LOVE this fish, and am just wondering what I might be doing wrong…
I hate to ask this, but any idea how many calories are in a 1 cup serving of this?? Asking for a friend. ?. Honestly, this recipe if absolutely fantastic, and I’m going to make and eat it no matter the calorie count, but MyFitnessPal is asking ?. Just so you know, there are always cheers in my house when they find out were having this for dinner. It gets devoured as everyone fights over seconds.
This recipe looks easy and yummy so I’m planning to make this for 40 servings dinner, (also big thank you for putting the servings changer on site) so my ideas/questions;
• Planning to make them in two batches, my question is would the first batch (20 servings) fit in a 6 Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven? The sizing of the pots are throwing me off since I have never made this mass before.
• For the chicken do I cut then weight the 2.5 lbs OR do I just cut the 2.5 lbs up?
• Would Heavy Whipping Cream work, it’s much cheaper and more available than Heavy Cream.
• I have never seen Italian Flat Leaf Parsley before would just regular parsley work? (In market it just says “Parsley”)
I had made this about a year ago and recently needed something easy to make when I remembered this recipe! It’s so easy and soo good! It’s honestly one of my favorite meals.
Awesome! Thank you, Sarah!
Since I was feeding just myself, I halved the recipe and added 1 cup of broccoli when you brown the chicken and the sausage (cooked covered for a little bit) Made a great addition. Planning on making this with zoodles this week as well! Quick, easy, and super yummy! Great recipe!
Made this recipe once and since it’s become highly requested amongst my kids and husband. This recipe is perfect as is, in my opinion!
How spicy is this if it’s prepared as written?
I’ve made this recipe quite a bit now. Its turned into one of my favorite pasta dishes, and I’m definitely a pasta fanatic. The first few times I made it, I didnt have any cajun seasoning, but I substituted for red pepper flakes (different amount). Ever since then, I havent been able to go back to using the cajun seasoning. I’ve also started switching out the smoked sausage for chicken sausage, and I use whole grain pasta with the recipe. It still tastes great, and makes me feel a little better about eating pasta so much.
How many Calories?
Neat
Let me just say, MASTERPIECE! This recipe is delicious. I don’t even remember how many times I have made this for my family or others. Any time someone has this outside of my home, they are begging for the recipe. This is definitley a go to meal for us! Heavy cream isn’t something I always keep in the fridge so if I’m feeling up for this recipe, I substitute the heavy cream for whole milk in a pinch. Still amazing (and a little healthier) 😉
This is one of my family’s all time favorite recipes. I have four children and all of them eat this well. I am going to attempt to freeze a batch, any tips for that?
I, too, am wondering about freezing and reheating!
Let me just start by saying, this recipe is DELICIOUS!!!! I am a beginner at cooking and I made this tonight and everybody loved it! It is so flavorful. Only thing I would change is add less salt. Other than that, definitely number 1 on my cook book now.
This is one of my family’s favorite recipes. It’s so flavorful and quick to make and everyone loves it. My son came back on military leave and it was the first meal he requested! I add extra cajun seasoning to the chicken instead of salt and pepper for more flavor, and add more cheese since we love our parmesan.
If your sauce is thin, try adding more cheese or a cornstarch slurry (1tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1tbsp water). Or just get sweet rolls to soak up the sauce! 😉
This is a really good recipe, however I did tweek it just a bit. I’m one of those that buys frozen chicken and thaws it as needed. Because of that there’s excess water so I patted the chicken pieces dry before throwing them in the pot. I did season with salt and pepper but next time I wouldn’t because the chicken stock, parmesan sausage add PLENTY of salt. I wasn’t getting the browning I wanted from the sausage so I quickly transferred them to a nonstick skillet and got that browning and then returned them to the pot without the extra oil. While those were browning I added the garlic as instructed and followed the recipe thereafter. At the very end after adding the parmesan I squeezed the juice of half a lemon just to cut that richness of the cream and cheese. It turned out delicious and made 8 servings easily. I will definitely keep this as a go to recipe!
This sounds so good! I don’t have any penne pasta on hand. Would rotini be okay instead?
Yes, for sure!
Love this recipe!! Very easy yet delicious. However, I would not cook the noodles for longer than 8 minutes. I thought 15-20 seemed too long so I cooked them for 8, and they were just right. 🙂
A great addition to my busy weeknight meals repertoire! Quick, easy and delicious – perfect!
This was a five-star meal for my family. We will make it again and again. Loved the flavors.
This is the BEST comfort food!! We love it and it’s perfect for a weeknight dinner!
Are you kidding me!!! This is the best cajun chicken I have ever eaten., This recipe is definitely on repeat!
Love the spices & that it takes no time at all! This is a delicious, hearty meal that the whole family will enjoy!
I made this at home and ate it is very rich and tasty.
My whole family loved this pasta! So easy and only one pan to wash!
We found this recipe on Pinterest and can’t get enough!! Rich and flavorful! Thanks so much!
This was a delicious, comforting meal, one of the easiest dinner recipes I’ve ever made. So easy and delicious, thank you for such a simple dinner.
I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to post my review. I made this more times than I can count it’s absolutely delicious but, I’m not much of a super spicy fan and tried a few different brands of Cajun spice and I prefer Emril Laggasses Cajun spice (sorry I probably butchered his name) because to me it’s spicy without being so spicy it kills you and I also use Half and Half (always) instead of heavy cream …. works great!
This was delicious and easy. I halved the recipe because only two adults and a toddler eating. I also decreased the cajun seasoning to prevent it from being too seasoned/spicy for the toddler. It was a little salty, so I might use low-sodium chicken broth next time.
Loved this! Such great flavor and so easy to make!
I make us at least twice a month, it’s so easy and majorly delicious! Thank you for the easy recipe!
This was so good! Came out creamy and flavorful! Love the seasonings for this pasta!
I had this years ago when you first published it. I saw the sausage at the market and I thought, “I gotta find that recipe from Melissa!” I made it again last night. The kids think I am AMAZING!🤣🤣🤣Thanks for the best recipe Melissa! You rock!
Such a tasty yet easy meal!
I didn’t have heavy cream, so I used a jar of Alfredo sauce instead. I also added half an onion, thinly sliced, and two handfuls of fresh spinach. It was delicious and soooo easy! Will definitely make it again.
I will start with the recipe is fantastic, enjoyed the taste and the easy of clean up for the one pan. Nothing stuck to the bottom like I have had with other one pan meals. My biggest suggestion would be to use a salt free cajun seasoning. My husband and I wanted to add a bit more but the cajun seasoning we had on hand is very high salt and it was on the borders edge of being too much for the recipe. Once I get a new cajun season we will be doing this again!!