This Cajun Chicken Alfredo tastes like you ordered takeout, but it's all you, and you only need 9 simple ingredients! Juicy blackened chicken coated in bold and smoky Cajun spices, tossed with a creamy, garlicky homemade alfredo sauce and fettuccine. It's got just the right amount of kick, and it's on the table in under an hour. This one is on regular rotation in our house. 🤤
Save This Recipe! 💌
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
This Cajun Chicken Alfredo Recipe Beats Red Lobster's! 🍝
I worked at Red Lobster for years as a teenager, and I ordered lots of their Cajun Chicken Linguini Alfredo during my shifts. Half off on a hostess' wage meant I could stretch that into at least two meals, and sometimes I needed a break from seafood. 😂 It's popular for a reason, so naturally, when I started this blog in 2016, it was one of the first recipes I tried to recreate.
My dad lived in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for years, instilling a major love of Cajun and Creole cuisine. Chamere has some family originally from New Orleans as well, so we love cooking a lot of Cajun food at home, like our Cajun seafood boil and this Cajun shrimp and grits! The key to great Cajun chicken alfredo is really simple, honestly. Layering flavors and using the right ingredients are really important.
Our homemade Cajun seasoning blend is salt-free, so you can be generous without oversalting. It beats store-bought by a long shot since you get that authentic Louisiana flavor with total control over the spice and salt level!
Freshly grated Parmesan is non-negotiable - pre-shredded has anti-caking agents that make your sauce grainy. Plus, the starchy pasta water makes the sauce cling to every strand instead of pooling at the bottom. These simple techniques took this from a solid weeknight dinner to legitimately better than Red Lobster's version. 🤤
🍝 Ingredients for Cajun Chicken Alfredo Pasta
You probably already have most of what you need! This recipe keeps things simple with pantry staples and fresh ingredients that deliver big flavor.
How to Make Creamy Cajun Chicken Alfredo ✨
Don't let the restaurant-quality results fool you - this comes together in straightforward steps!
- Step 1: Season the chicken breasts liberally with the Cajun seasoning and kosher salt on all sides.
🌶️ Spice level: This recipe has a nice kick, but it's not blow-your-head-off spicy. If using store-bought Cajun seasoning instead of homemade, taste it first before adding extra salt - most brands include salt in the blend. Want more heat? Add extra cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes to the sauce.
- Step 2: Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter, then add the chicken. Sear on all sides until the internal temperature reaches 165°F with an instant read thermometer, about 5-6 minutes per side.
Once cooked, remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing. Don't drain those drippings! All that browned seasoning stuck to the pan is flavor gold.
💡 Let it rest: This brief rest helps the chicken stay juicy when you slice it. The juices redistribute instead of running out all over your cutting board.
While the chicken rests, cook your pasta. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water (about 1-2 tablespoons salt per gallon - it should taste like the sea!) to a rolling boil. Cook the fettuccine for 1-2 minutes UNDER the package instructions until it's al dente. The pasta will continue cooking in the sauce, so you want it slightly undercooked here.
Before draining, save at least 1 cup of pasta water. This starchy liquid is liquid gold for loosening the sauce and reviving leftovers!
- Step 3: Reduce the heat to medium. Add the remaining butter and a splash of chicken broth to the skillet. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Step 4: Immediately deglaze the pan with the rest of the chicken broth, scraping up all those browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. This is where so much of your flavor lives!
- Step 5: Reduce the heat to low. Add the heavy cream and stir to combine.
⚠️ Low heat is your friend here! Once cream is in the pan, keep it on low and don't let it boil, or your sauce can break and separate. Just a gentle simmer.
- Step 6: Stir in the parmesan cheese slowly, adding small handfuls at a time and stirring to melt completely before adding the next handful.
🧀 Fresh parmesan matters: This is important! Pre-shredded cheese from the bag has anti-caking additives that prevent it from melting smoothly, and you'll end up with a grainy, lumpy sauce. Grate it yourself for silky results.
💡 Want it even thicker? Stir in 2-4 ounces of room temperature cream cheese for an ultra-creamy, thick alfredo sauce.
- Step 7: Add the cooked pasta and a splash of pasta water, along with the fresh parsley.
Toss everything together, adding more pasta water a splash at a time until the sauce clings to the noodles without being dry or watery. You're looking for a glossy, clingy sauce that coats every strand.
💧 The pasta water trick: The starch in the pasta water helps emulsify the sauce and brings everything together. Don't skip this step!
Slice the rested chicken and arrange it over the top of the pasta. Sprinkle with extra parsley and freshly grated parmesan. Serve immediately while it's hot and creamy! 🤤
🌟Leave a Review!
If you make this Creamy Cajun Alfredo Recipe, we'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment below with your rating for the recipe. Share with us by tagging us on Instagram! We love seeing your creations! 📸
📖 Recipe
Cajun Chicken Alfredo Recipe (Restaurant Quality & Easy!)
Ingredients
Blackened Chicken:
- 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning or to taste, (use our homemade salt-free Cajun seasoning recipe or store-bought)
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt or to taste, (reduce or omit if using store-bought Cajun seasoning with added salt)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Cajun Alfredo Sauce & Pasta:
- 1 pound fettuccine can sub linguine or your pasta of choice
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 8 cloves fresh garlic minced
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 cups parmesan cheese freshly grated, 12 ounces
- ½ to 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning or to taste, (use our homemade salt-free Cajun seasoning recipe or store-bought)
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon kosher salt or to taste, (reduce or omit if using store-bought Cajun seasoning with added salt)
- ½-1 cup reserved pasta water add as needed to thin
- Handful of fresh parsley minced, plus more for garnish
Instructions
Prepare the Chicken:
- Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken breasts liberally with Cajun seasoning and kosher salt on all sides.1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning, 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- Add butter to the hot skillet. Add chicken and sear on all sides until internal temperature reaches 165°F, about 5-6 minutes per side.2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Remove chicken from skillet and set aside to rest 5-10 minutes before slicing. Don't drain the drippings!
Cook the Pasta:
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of heavily salted water (1-2 tablespoons salt) to a boil. Cook fettuccine 1-2 minutes under package directions until al dente, it will finish cooking when everything comes together! Reserve 1 cup pasta water before draining.1 pound fettuccine
Make the Sauce:
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add butter and a splash of chicken broth to the skillet. Add minced garlic and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute.2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 8 cloves fresh garlic
- Deglaze the pan with remaining chicken broth, scraping up all the browned bits.½ cup chicken broth
- Reduce heat to low. Add heavy cream and stir to combine.1 cup heavy whipping cream
- Add parmesan cheese in small handfuls, stirring after each addition until completely melted and smooth. Keep heat on low and add cheese slowly to prevent clumping. Season with remaining Cajun seasoning and salt to taste.3 cups parmesan cheese, ½ to 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning, ¼ to ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Combine:
- Add cooked pasta, a splash of pasta water, and parsley. Toss to combine, adding more pasta water as needed until sauce coats the noodles.½-1 cup reserved pasta water
- Slice the chicken and arrange over the pasta. Garnish with extra parsley and parmesan. Serve immediately!Handful of fresh parsley
Save This Recipe! 💌
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Notes
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Do not freeze. If possible, keep sauce separate from pasta to prevent the pasta from absorbing too much liquid. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave with a splash of pasta water or chicken broth.
- Make Ahead: You can cook the chicken and make the alfredo sauce ahead of time, storing them separately in the fridge for up to 4 days. When ready to serve, cook fresh pasta and gently reheat the sauce, adding pasta water to loosen as needed.
- Fresh Parmesan is Essential: Pre-shredded parmesan has anti-caking additives that prevent smooth melting. Always grate your own for the best texture!
- Gluten-Free: Use your favorite gluten-free pasta. Note: You may need to add extra parmesan cheese to thicken the sauce, since gluten-free pasta doesn't release as much starch into the cooking water.
- Roux-Free Alfredo: We opted to skip the roux for this recipe - the sauce gets its thickness from the parmesan and pasta water (like how Italians do it!). That said, if you want an extra-thick sauce, you can whisk together 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon flour in the skillet after cooking the garlic, then add the cream.
- Thicker Sauce: Add 2-4 ounces of room temperature cream cheese for an ultra-thick, creamy sauce.
- Using Pre-Cooked Chicken: You can use leftover or rotisserie chicken for a super quick meal, though the flavor won't be quite as good. Toss the chicken pieces with extra Cajun seasoning to boost the flavor.
- Cajun Seasoning Recipe: We use our homemade salt-free Cajun seasoning blend so we can control the salt level. If using store-bought, most brands contain salt, so go easy on the added salt and taste as you go.
- Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt: We use Diamond Crystal kosher salt. If using Morton's, start with less, as it's saltier by volume.
Kelley Gelnar says
How do you keep the cheese from balling up in a big clump? It’s really yummy but I’ve made it twice and the Parmesan cheese ends up in a big clump
Briana says
Hi Kelley!
Thanks so much for making it twice — that means a lot! The clumping is such a common Parmesan issue and it's totally fixable. A few things that usually solve it:
- Use freshly grated Parmesan from a block — the pre-shredded stuff in bags has anti-caking agents (cellulose) that keep it from melting smoothly, and it'll seize up into clumps almost every time. Grate it fine on a Microplane or the small holes of a box grater.
- Lower the heat before adding cheese — Parmesan seizes when it hits liquid that's too hot. Pull the pan off the burner or turn it down to low, let the sauce stop bubbling for about 30 seconds, then whisk the cheese in a small handful at a time.
- Add it gradually, not all at once — dumping the whole amount in causes it to clump together before it can disperse. Sprinkle in a little, whisk until melted, then add more.
- Room temp cheese helps too — cold cheese hitting warm sauce is more likely to seize. If you can, let it sit out for 15-20 minutes before grating.
Give those a try next time and let me know how it goes! So glad you're enjoying the recipe. 💛
Indira says
I am usually not one to leave comments, but this recipe is just so good, I had to! It is my GO-TO recipe whenever I'm craving a creamy, cheesy, and hearty pasta, and it's so easy to make! When you first start on the sauce, it does tend to lean towards a thinner sauce; however, I've made this recipe so many times that I remedy this by throwing in some extra cheese (extra seasoning) and letting the sauce simmer for a little while on medium heat to achieve that creamy texture!
It makes excellent leftovers, and the juicy chicken works perfectly with the pasta! Thank you so much!
Briana says
We're so honored that you love the recipe so much that it's your go-to!! Thank you so much for the kind words, we appreciate your comment so much!! 🙂
Erica says
My boyfriend made this for us for dinner. The sauce was thin and "soup" like, which I wasn't expecting. However, this was absolutely DELICIOUS. I am hosting a family dinner this week and this is what I plan to make.
Briana says
Hey Erica, thank you for your comment! The sauce is a bit on the thin side, you can always add more cheese if you want, or even a little cream cheese to thicken it up if you prefer! Question - did you toss the pasta with the sauce? That tends to give it the perfect texture when the starch from the noodles comes into contact with it! Thank you for trying our recipe, we're so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Ashley says
Same here. I didn’t even use the pasta water and it was very soupy. I was bummed.
Kiki says
This was delicious. I was a little disappointed in how thin the sauce was, but it was truly delicious. My kids (teenage boys) really loved it and gobbled it right up. One of my kids has celiac disease, and it was easy to adapt for him. Will make again! (It says it feeds 8. I would say more like 6ish).
Briana says
Hi there! Thanks so much for letting us know your thoughts about this recipe and for the feedback! I'm wondering if the sauce ended up a little thin when using gluten-free noodles? This is good feedback for us, as regular pasta tends to add more starch that thickens up the sauce a bit. You can always feel free to reduce the amount of broth next time, add more cheese, or even add a bit of softened cream cheese to make the sauce a bit thicker. I'm going to contemplate any other solutions that might work for this recipe to make the sauce thicker for those who are gluten-free. Thanks again for giving it a try!
Brittney Buell-Schneider says
This was my first time making homemade Cajun chicken Alfredo. MY GOSH…IT WAS SO, SO GOOD!!! I will say though, the prep time took me quite a bit longer than expected. Definitely make sure you have it all ready to go before you start cooking. I did however add quite a bit more Parmesan cheese to the sauce. Probably about 4-6 more ounces than what the double recipe called for. However, it tasted amazing!!! I also pre-sliced my chicken before cooking. (I like to season my food religiously. I made sure the chicken was fully coated on every slice. So, that added a little more kick to where I didn’t have to season the pasta when all mixed together.) 10/10 recommend this recipe! You will not be disappointed!
Briana says
Hi Brittney, thank you so much for all this information, and we're so glad you enjoyed it so much, that makes us so happy! Thanks for letting us know how you made yours differently. Honestly, you can't go wrong with extra parmesan! Thank you again for your kind review. 🙂
Sabrina says
If I made this using homemade pasta do you think I should completely omit the initial cooking step? I generally only cook my pasta for 3-4 minutes and it overcooks to mush so quickly so I am worried that might happen here with a double cook. Thank you so much! I am new to the site and think it looks beautiful, I can't wait to look around! 🙂
Briana says
Hi Sabrina,
Thanks for your comment! We do recommend cooking the noodles before adding them back to the sauce because there isn't enough liquid in the sauce to really get the pasta fully cooked. With that said, we'd recommend undercooking them a little bit so that they don't end up getting mushy.
Thanks also for the compliments! We work really hard on our content, we're so glad you enjoy it!:)
Cheers,
Briana & Chamere
Shoshanah Metzelaar says
Can you use chicken thighs instead of breast?
Briana says
Yes, certainly!
Marla says
I made this tonight and I am very happy with it! It turned out delicious. This time I used a store bought Cajun spice (Urban Accents) and I used Palmini noddles, to make it quicker and easier. Next time I will try making your seasoning blend. Thank you for sharing your recipes.
Briana says
Hey Marla, That is great to hear! We're so glad you enjoyed! Thanks so much for giving it a try. 🙂
Sharon Mayer says
The BEST EVER!!!! TRY IT!!
Briana says
YAY! Thank you Sharon, you are awesome. So glad you like it so much!
Daralyn says
Pretty sure it should be 165F instead of 65F?
Briana says
Hi Daralyn,
Yes! You're absolutely right. Thanks for pointing that out. Just a typo!