Inside: One Pot Cajun Chicken Alfredo
I’m so excited to share this new one-pot recipe with you! This Cajun Chicken Alfredo is one of our new favorite meals. It 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 were amazing.
Find the Instant Pot version of this recipe here Instant Pot Pasta Cajun Chicken Alfredo.
If you love one-pot meals as much as I do, you can check out all of my one-pot recipes here.
How to Make Cajun Chicken Alfredo
Let’s get started! In a large pot, make sure you have a lid that fits:0), 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 and add it in 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 useless 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.
You are going to love this rich and flavorful pasta! It’s one of our new favorites. For leftovers, reheat slowly over a low flame and add more chicken broth and cream as needed to keep the sauce from separating.
More Great Recipes
Check out a few more of my favorite dinner recipes that are just as easy and delicious as this cajun chicken alfredo!
Cajun Chicken Alfredo Pasta Recipe
- 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound of 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 of garlic minced
- 1 quart of low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 1/2 cups of heavy cream
- 1 pound of dried penne pasta
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of Cajun seasoning plus more for topping
- 4 oz of freshly shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 cup of Italian flat leaf parsley minced
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Start with a large covered cooking pot.
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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 stir in parmesan cheese.
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Stir in chopped parsley and sprinkle with additional cajun seasoning to taste.
This recipe is adapted from my reader favorite One Pan Chicken Alfredo!
I’d love for you to keep up on my new projects and recipes. You can follow me on Facebook and Twitter. You can also find me on Pinterest, that’s my favorite place to hang out and I’d love to see you there.
See my one-pot recipe here:
More easy dinner recipes here:
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
Kathy Harris
October 15, 2015 at 6:15 pmLooks and sounds wonderful!
Melissa
October 18, 2015 at 6:37 pmThanks, Kathy!!!
Shawnna
October 16, 2015 at 4:52 pmOh yummy!! This looks amazing!
cindy
November 27, 2015 at 10:05 pmThanks 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 (http://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! 🙂
Vally
December 11, 2015 at 6:19 pmMade this recipe for my husband tonight and he loved it. Very flavorful and quick to make!
Melissa
December 13, 2015 at 8:14 amI’m so glad! Thanks for taking the time to let me know!
Jordan Votteler
January 18, 2016 at 6:58 pmMy 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.
K Clark
February 23, 2016 at 3:34 pmI 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! :-).
Melissa
February 28, 2016 at 10:12 amThat sounds wonderful! That’s an impressive feed:0)
Susan Broadhead
April 22, 2018 at 8:14 pmGreat Stuart and review!
LillyR
March 3, 2016 at 8:46 amWow! 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!
P.johnsin
April 5, 2016 at 3:42 pmthe chicken alfredo was the bomb I added shrimp & cajin Greek seasoning
Christina Giovenco
April 8, 2016 at 6:22 amThis 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 🙂
MIni
April 13, 2016 at 3:03 pmI will be trying this tonight. I have a potluck tomorrow with my truck/merchandise team. So praying that it will work.
Eruiz1966
June 15, 2016 at 8:19 pmI 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!
Johnnie
June 16, 2016 at 7:50 pmOMGoodness! I made this tonight! My family loves it!👍
Rigel
June 17, 2016 at 2:37 pmHello,
What will happen if use heavy whipping cream instead heavy cream?
Thank You
Melissa
June 20, 2016 at 8:20 pmAny type of heavy cream should work!
Samantha
June 21, 2016 at 6:35 pmEvery 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
Melissa
June 22, 2016 at 4:22 pmHi 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?
Sara
August 4, 2018 at 1:26 pmI 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.
Mahalia
August 17, 2016 at 2:06 pmThanks 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!
Alyssa
August 26, 2016 at 5:33 pmSince 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!
Melissa
August 26, 2016 at 7:41 pmThank you for taking the time to leave a comment, Alyssa! I’m so glad your family liked it!
Jelisa Hall
September 3, 2016 at 1:32 pmCan you use water instead if you don’t have chicken broth ?
Melissa
September 5, 2016 at 7:25 amI would not recommend using water, you will lose so much flavor.
Devin Ventre
September 22, 2016 at 4:17 pmI made this for dinner tonight and everyone loved it! A top notch recipe! 🙂
Robyn Engelage
October 5, 2016 at 4:16 pmMade this tonight! Everyone loved it. Thank u
Tia Green
October 29, 2016 at 6:17 pmI 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. 🙂
Shannon
February 7, 2018 at 1:44 amCut 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.
GregtheExplorer
November 7, 2016 at 1:32 amTried this tonight – it was an absolute winner with everyone – even the kids!
Christina
November 18, 2016 at 4:42 pmMade 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
Mary
May 27, 2017 at 11:38 pmTry it with bowtie pasta
Ruth Harrison
December 13, 2016 at 2:06 pmI 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!
Heather
February 7, 2017 at 11:33 amWhat kind of Cajun seasoning would you recommend? Just trying to find the ones that seem to be the best flavor! Thank you!!!
Melissa
February 8, 2017 at 10:37 amHi Heather!
I used McCormick Gourmet Cajun Seasoning in this recipe! Hope that helps!
Heather
February 20, 2017 at 11:00 amThank you so much! I will have to give that one a try 😉
Lindsay Blake
May 11, 2017 at 2:33 pmMade this for dinner tonight. Was absolutely delicious!!
Mary
May 27, 2017 at 11:45 pmMade it for dinner. SO Easy, tastes great, and quick to make! No fuss recipe, I like!
Monica Green
September 24, 2017 at 6:23 pmThis 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!
Brenda
November 15, 2017 at 5:12 pmI 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.)
Anita Mitchell
November 28, 2017 at 4:53 pmThis 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!
Melissa
December 9, 2017 at 8:28 amSounds delicious!
Autumn
December 11, 2017 at 2:44 pmMade this for my hubby ans he absolutely loved it 💙💙 thank you !! I did too 😀
Anne Moeckel
December 12, 2017 at 9:07 amOh my gosh this was so good!!!!
Thank you so much for a great recipe!
Anne
Vikki
December 12, 2017 at 3:19 pmYour one pot Cajun chicken Alfredo was very easy to make and is now one of our favourite dishes. Please keep your recipes coming.
Melissa
December 13, 2017 at 11:44 amThanks, Vikki!
AK
December 16, 2017 at 10:22 amThis 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!
Maria
January 17, 2018 at 4:15 pmI 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.
Kristen
January 22, 2018 at 9:10 pmThis 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 🙂
Elaine
January 27, 2018 at 7:51 pmThis turned out really good! I think you know my niece Meghan Hoetker. Congratulations on your successful blog.
Maggie Worley
February 11, 2018 at 10:27 amI 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.
Shane
February 19, 2018 at 6:06 amMade this last night and the entire family loved it. Thank you very much for sharing the recipe.
Brittanie
February 26, 2018 at 10:26 amI 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?
Anita
March 20, 2018 at 10:46 amThis 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!
Melissa
March 26, 2018 at 1:39 pmSounds delicious!
Katie
March 28, 2018 at 9:09 amMy 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!
Rachel
April 26, 2018 at 3:50 pmThis was delicious. We had this for dinner one night and my husband and son LOVED it!!!
Melissa
April 27, 2018 at 11:25 amThat’s great! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment!
Rachael
May 8, 2018 at 9:04 amI’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??
Christie Elliott
May 17, 2018 at 6:23 pmThis is becoming a staple in my house 🙂 Thanks so much! I needed a different meat other than the basics and something quick. Love it!
Melissa
May 20, 2018 at 8:31 amAwesome! Thank you so much!
Jada
July 6, 2018 at 9:31 pmWow…. it was great. I did add broccoli and shrimp but that was my only alteration. Thank you much – my whole house loved it
Amy
August 2, 2018 at 7:00 pmI found this recipe from a pinterest search. It was delicious! One of our new favorites. Thanks for a great recipe!
Venecia
August 6, 2018 at 7:06 amTried 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.
Teresa
August 9, 2018 at 5:53 pmMade this for dinner tonight. DELICIOUS!!!
Thanks for the great recipe. Will definitely make again.
Ana
August 16, 2018 at 6:12 pmEasily one my top 5 favorite recipes! So easy and so delicious!
Melissa
August 17, 2018 at 9:54 amThank you, Ana!
Debbie Wechter
August 21, 2018 at 3:02 pmMade 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!
Becky
September 5, 2018 at 9:39 amThis 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.
Debbie ECKER
September 5, 2018 at 4:28 pmI cook for a family of 8 every night (almost). From my husband to my granddaughters, everyone loves this meal!
Liz McGinnis
October 3, 2018 at 7:39 amI 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.
Sarah
November 3, 2018 at 9:12 pmI 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.
Melissa
November 4, 2018 at 1:36 pmAwesome! Thank you, Sarah!
Rhonda
November 20, 2018 at 4:39 pmMade this recipe once and since it’s become highly requested amongst my kids and husband. This recipe is perfect as is, in my opinion!
Macks
February 7, 2019 at 5:07 pmI’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.
David
February 11, 2019 at 3:38 amHow many Calories?
B. Tyler
February 27, 2019 at 4:49 pmLet 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) 😉
Audrey
March 4, 2019 at 9:44 amThis 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?
Daisy
March 27, 2019 at 7:51 pmLet 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.