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Crock Pot Cajun Chicken Pasta Recipe is creamy and delicious with a little bit of heat. The Cajun flavor really jazzes up this chicken dish for an easy meal that your family will love.
Crock Pot Cajun Chicken Pasta Recipe
Our family loves chicken recipes and I am always looking for new and easy ways to serve it. This Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta is a new favorite and it is so easy. The dish has the perfect amount of heat but not so much that the kids can’t enjoy it.
Slow Cooker Cajun chicken pasta is made with simple ingredients but full of flavor. It is creamy and delicious and perfect for the entire family. Serve the creamy sauce and chicken over pasta for a delicious dinner idea.
Change up your pasta recipe and make this Cajun Chicken pasta in your slow cooker. Add a side salad and some garlic bread for a complete and cozy meal idea. If you like this recipe, then you love this Kielbasa Pasta, Chicken Pesto Pasta, Easy Chicken Penne Pasta, Crockpot Olive Garden Chicken Pasta and Spicy Creamy Chicken Pasta Recipe.
Another week, another comforting meal you can make without stretching your grocery budget. Welcome to my Comfort Food Dinners on a Budget series.
Ingredients:
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
- Heavy Whipping Cream
- Chicken Broth
- Butter
- Cajun Seasoning
- Garlic Powder
- Penne Pasta, uncooked
- Grated Parmesan Cheese
How to Make Crockpot Cajun Chicken Pasta:
- Step 1 – Place ingredients in slow cooker – Add the chicken, heavy cream, chicken broth, and butter. Then stir in garlic powder and cajun seasoning into a 6 quart crock pot.
- Step 2 – Cover and Slow Cooker – Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Cook on high for 2 hours until the chicken is cooked through (has an internal temperature of 165 degrees F).
- Step 3 – Shred Chicken – Remove the chicken from the crock pot and shred or dice it into large pieces.
- Step 4 – Return chicken to slow cooker – Whisk the sauce in the crock pot. Return the chicken back to the crock pot and stir in the uncooked pasta.
- Step 5 – Continue Cooking – Cover and cook on high for 20-30 minutes until the pasta is tender and cooked through.
- Step 6 – Stir in Cheese – Then stir in the parmesan cheese. Cover for 5 minutes and allow the cheese to melt.
- Step 7 – Serve and Enjoy – Serve warm and enjoy. Serve over pasta and dinner is ready to enjoy! We love to sprinkle more Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper on top of the pasta.
This recipe tastes really delicious but it requires very little work to put together. You can easily enjoy this chicken pasta dish even on busy weeknights.
Substitutions and Additions:
- Chicken – We like cooking chicken breast and shredding it, but you can easily use boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenders.
- Change the Meat – This slow cooker cajun chicken alfredo recipe would be delicious with smoked sausage mixed in. You can even substitute the chicken for sausage. Salmon or shrimp would also be a good substitute.
- Pasta – We like the penne pasta, but feel free to use what you have. Fettuccini noodles or bowtie pasta would be a great variation.
- Vegetables – Make it a one pot meal and mix in some vegetables. Bell peppers or diced broccoli or great suggestions.
- Extra Spice – If you want to add in some extra spice, add a can of Rotel. This option comes in a variety of flavors and adds delicious flavor to the pasta dish.
- Seasoning – Feel free to add in onion powder with the garlic powder.
- Cook in a Skillet – For a quick and easy dinner idea, make this cajun chicken pasta in the skillet. Dinner can be done in about 30 minutes.
Recipe Tips:
- Shredding Chicken – Once the chicken has cooked, shred the chicken with a hand mixer or stand mixer for best results. You can also shred chicken with two forks.
- Pasta – You can cook the pasta in the crock pot with the other ingredients if you prefer. But you can also cook it separately and then dish the cream chicken sauce over the pasta.
- Cooking Ingredients – This pasta dish cooks great in the slow cooker. We like to cook our chicken recipes on low, but if you are short on time cook on high. You can even cook frozen chicken in the slow cooker.
Is Cajun Chicken Alfredo Spicy?
We love the extra kick that the cajun seasoning gives the dish, but it is not spicy. My family doesn’t mind a little extra heat in this dish. But you can always half what is added to reduce the heat.
The spicy cajun seasoning mixed with the pasta, chicken, and cream really gives this pasta dish so much flavor.
Adding the cajun seasoning really brings this dish together, making it the best comfort food.
What to Serve with Creamy Cajun Chicken Alfredo:
This slow cooker pasta dish is rich and hearty. So we prefer to serve sides that are bit lighter. These are some of our favorite options.
- Homemade Garlic Bread – We love making breadsticks so we make sure we get every last drop of the sauce.
- Side Salad – Make a large garden salad with fresh ingredients that pairs perfectly with this rich pasta dish.
- Roasted Vegetables – Roast some broccoli for a light side that everyone will enjoy.
How to Store Leftovers:
Place the leftovers in an air tight container for a delicious lunch the next day. The leftovers will last about 4 days and taste even better the next day. The ingredients really marinate together to make a delicious leftover meal.
How to Reheat Leftovers:
To reheat leftovers, place in a microwave safe dish and reheat. We recommend reheating in 30 second intervals so that they are no hot spots. You can also reheat in the skillet on the stove if you are reheating a larger portion.
Print Cajun Chicken Pasta Slow Cooker recipe:
Crock Pot Cajun Chicken Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Chicken Breasts
- 2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
- 4 cups Chicken Broth
- 4 Tablespoons Butter
- 2 Tablespoons Cajun seasoning
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 pound Penne Pasta
- 1 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
- Add the chicken, heavy whipping cream, chicken broth, butter, garlic powder and cajun seasoning into a 6 quart crock pot.
- Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours until the chicken is cooked through (has an internal temperature of 165 degrees F).
- Remove the chicken from the crock pot and shred or dice it into large pieces.
- Whisk the sauce in the crock pot. Return the chicken back to the crock pot and stir in the uncooked pasta.
- Cover and cook on high for 20-30 minutes until the pasta is tender and cooked through.
- Then stir in the parmesan cheese. Cover for 5 minutes and allow the cheese to melt.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
I cook for 2 at home BUT I cook a meal for 25 once a month for senior AND once a month for 50 younger people. I noticed that although there is a 1x, 2, etc. I don’t know the basic number of servings. I LOVE ALL your recipes! I REALLY need to know the basic number of servings so I can feed 2 to 50! Thank you! Happy New Year.
I haven’t tasted yet, as I’m still cooking. But the sauce does not seem to be thick. I did exactly what the instructions said, but it seems too thin and watery. Any ideas?
Alyssa – I’m finding that some types chicken releases more water when cooking than others. If the sauce is too thin, I recommend whisk together 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch with 2 Tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl. Stir this mixture into the crock pot and cook on high until the sauce thickens.
This is fantastic. We made it yesterday ??
Not a bad recipe at all just comes down to what Cajun seasoning you use, not sure what kind of Cajun seasoning she used but I used perfect pinch (all I had) and it was no enough seasoning and didn’t taste Cajun at all. Also came out a little soupy, had to add some corn starch. Will definitely try again with a more authentic Cajun seasoning.
Thanks for sharing your Feedback Ryan. I used Tony’s Creole Seasoning and it works great! I am finding that chicken breasts are releasing more water than usually so that’s likely why yours had to be thicken but the cornstarch is always a great option for that! Thank you so much for your positive review of the recipe.
I ?? this recipe. I sub 1# shrimp and 1# andouille sausage for the chicken and add an extra 1 t. Creole seasoning and a small can of Rotel. Perfection. ?
Kerry – So glad you thought it was perfection and you enjoyed how easy it is to swap for you what you have! Have a great day!
Very good! On my rotation!!
Woohoo! Thank you so much Lisa! I’m so glad you enjoyed it – this is one of my favorites too!
Super easy and using cupboard staples that everyone will have. Whole family liked it so win win. I did use more than double the amount of Cajun seasoning though and double garlic powder – I would say it could’ve even done with more Cajun but maybe that’s personally preference!
Thank you, Jade! I’m so glad you enjoyed it and could modify it for your preference with more heat!
Saw this today and it looked so simple that I had to give it a try. Love that there’s next to no prep work involved. Dont even have to premake the pasta. I used a little over 1 pound of chicken and then made up the difference with sliced mushrooms. Came out amazing. Thank you for posting this recipe!
Yay! Thank you so much for sharing Jonathan and for the positive review! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe.
SO FREAKING GOOD! Honestly, this made a lot for us. The only thing I did not weigh out was the chicken but i used about (3 large breasts). We can not get enough of this! I did use more garlic/less Cajun because I was skeptical about the ratio. It was not spicy at all so using the listed amount would absolutely be fine if you like Cajun! It’s like Alfredo but so creamy and buttery deliciousness!
Brooke – So glad you tried it and enjoyed it! This made my day. Thanks for leaving a comment.
My 17 year old son is super picky. A grunt means it is good enough to digest and I will take it. When I made this my son was floored. He could not stop talking about how good it was and went back to fill his plate two more times. Now he asks for it on repeat and I don’t mind because it is the easiest recipe in the world. Because of the condensation of the crock pot I did use a thickener. Once I did that it looked exactly like the picture. I also didn’t use as much pasta since we like it saucy and I wanted less leftovers (my son took care of that though)
I just went to the store to get the ingredients I need to make this dish tomorrow. I don’t even have to taste it yet, I already know it’s going to be out of this world. Thank you so much for the recipe!!!
Going to make this tomorrow can I add broccoli?
Sue – Broccoli sounds yummy.
I made this recipe yesterday and it is a perfect blend of creaminess with a little bit of a kick with Cajun.
Very easy to put together and it cost less than $15 and it can serve 6 people. Can’t go wrong with that!
Woohoo! Thank you so much Mike for sharing and thank you so much for the positive review!
Can this be frozen?
Liam – While you can freeze it, the texture of the pasta and creamy sauce may change slightly when frozen and reheated. If freezing, place cooled pasta in a freezer-safe container and store for up to 2 months. Hope this helps!
Loved this recipe, only thing I did differently was I added cream cheese! So good definitely will make it again!
Airriana – So glad it was a winner. Cream cheese sounds yummy too!
Is this gluten free?
If you use gluten free pasta, yes it can be gluten free
I will be cooking pasta in a pot.
Do I need to use all of the 4 cups of chicken broth?
I don’t want it to be soupy!
If you cook the pasta separately (which is what I’m thinking you mean) then I would not add in any of the chicken broth and check the consistency after the pasta is stirred in and add in more at that time if needed.
Carrie,
I was in a hurry this afternoon putting this together and made the mistake of adding all of the liquids before noticing the pasta being cooked in the dish. My wife hates that texture, so I did not add the pasta to the rest of the dish. Obviously, I am dealing more with soup than creamy. Advice on how to thicken without ruining the dish?
Dustin – I would recommend spoon off the excess liquid so that it’s not as soup and taste test and add in more seasoning if needed before stirring in the cooked pasta.
I’d rather use shrimp that I have in my freezer. Should I saute the shrimp in the skillet and then add it to crockpot or should I add the thawed shrimp to crockpot and let it cook? Thanks.
Angie – If using shrimp, I would defrost the shrimp, add it to the crock pot and cook on low for 2 hours until the shrimp is cooked through. Let me know how it turns out with shrimp instead of chicken!
Delicious!! Family requested repeat!
Becky – Wahoo! That’s great to hear!
I made this yesterday and the to update what we thought about the recipe. OMG!! The flavors were amazing the kitchen smelled so good when this was cooking. I did add the can of Rotel as we like a little more heat in our dishes. This is a keeper!!
This sounded so good, I food shopped this morning and just started the crock pot dinner is cooking now. Anxious to taste this tonight.
This sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing ! Can’t wait to make this
Natalie – It is so yummy! Can’t wait for you to try it.
This is on my to do list for this weekend. My husband will love it.
Christina – Yay! Hope y’all enjoy!
This was absolutely delicious!!! I threw in a few pepperoncinis for more spice?
Oh I love that idea!
This is going to be so good!! Making it for dinner tonight!! Kitchen smells wonderful!! Thanks for all the wonderful recipes!!
Becky – I love hearing this! I hope your family enjoyed it.
This recipe sounds delicious and packed with flavor! This will be added to my summer recipes for sure! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Delicious with lots of flavor, you can add more spice if you like !
My husband absolutely loved cajun chicken pasta, so I can’t wait to make this for him!
Mary- I love hearing that you enjoyed Cajun Chicken Pasta. The crock pot version is really easy and delicious too.
I love Cajun spice to kick a recipe up a few notches to taste. I will definitely will be trying this recipe soon!
Mary – It is flavor packed for sure! Can’t wait to get your feedback.
Looks good
Ruth. It is amazing!
Omylanta, this sounds so good!! Can’t wait to try it ?
Rendi – I hope you try it soon. It’s amazing.
Just made this recipe tonight! What a hit!! Absolutely delicious!!!! So quick and easy! New recipes usually take me so long to make, but this was super easy! Minimal prep and delicious!
Cayce – That’s great to hear! We try to keep it simple but delicious for busy families.
I’m definitely adding chicken to my grocery list this week. Since I’m not a lover of Cajun dishes, I’m going to make it with a garlic/herbs seasoning.
Debbie – Great idea. Let me know how it turned out.
Can this be stored in freezer for meal next we or week after?
Yes definitely! You can store all the ingredients that go in the crock pot at the beginning in a freezer bag. Then dump the ingredients in the crock pot when you’re ready to enjoy and follow the instructions from there. I hope you enjoy it!
I followed this recipe to a T and the pasta noodles didn’t cook properly. They were al dente but also kind of mushy? If I were to make it again I wouldn’t add brother and just cook the noodles separate. The sauce is really soupy even after the noodles are cooked.
Thanks for sharing Julia. If the noodles are still hard after the cook time, continue to cook in the crock pot until they are the tenderness that you prefer. Also, let the meal sit with the lid off of the crock pot and the noodles should soak up some of the extra liquid in the crock pot.
My family said this was a keeper recipe. They thoroughly enjoyed it!!!
Teresa – Wahoo! Always a good day when the entire family likes the same meal!!
This recipe looks so delicious and not too hard for a busy momma to make. Looking forward to trying new recipes for my large family this summer that won’t require using the oven. This looks like a meal the whole family will love! Thanks for sharing.
Missy – Hope you love it as much as we do. It is definitely perfect for the entire family!
Great weeknight meal!
Hope – I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing your feedback!
Another great recipe I am going to make.
Margo – Thank you! Can’t wait to hear your feedback.
I printed this and me and my family loved it. My daughter makes it for me now 🙂
This looks like something I’d like to try. Right now I have Italian sausage or shrimp on hand to choose from; I think either one would adapt nicely.
Ann – I think the Cajun flavors would taste delicious with either option! Love this idea!
This is such a great and easy recipe. I love slow cooker dinners on busy workdays and when it’s hot outside and this recipe was a huge hit with my husband and my picky eater kids!
I cooked the pasta separately and added it to the slow cooker before serving to make sure that the pasta had the perfect texture but otherwise I followed the recipe. I’ll definitely make this one again soon!
Julia – So glad you loved it. It is definitely a keeper when the kids love it too!
A new favorite among many of your recipes! Will definitely use this over the summer!
Tiffany – Aww I am so happy it’s a new favorite.
This is going in my rotation Carrie!! Yum and yum!!!!!!!
Patti – This made my day. So happy to hear this.
Oh my gosh I can’t wait to try this ! Doing my grocery order list as I type 🙂 looks amazing
Theresa – Yes! Place that grocery order! It is so worth it.
Awesome recipe but…..
Cook the pasta separately. The starch from the pasta adds nothing. Also we used Cajun Grilled Chicken sliced over the top of the awesome pasta and sauce. Spectacular!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it and thank you so much for sharing your tips!
I really like this recipe! I followed it exactly with the exception of adding a few extra spices like cayenne pepper and parsley. It came out really good. I cooked on low for 4hrs. I was worried that the sauce would be too liquidy. However, after adding the parmesan cheese, I turned the cooker on warn. After about 30 mins, the sauce had thickened up to a nice consistency. Will definitely make again. Thanks!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for sharing!
Flavor was very good but I tried to using the shorter, high option and the sauce broke badly and it ended up not creamy at all. Will definitely try it again on low since it still tasted great.
Thanks for sharing Otis. It sounds like your crock pot runs hot so I think cooking on low will work better. Thank you so much for the positive review!
I’m not sure if I’m doing something wrong, but I out the ingredients into My Fitness Pal app and substituted whole grain pasta for regular, and the calories show to be 726 calories per serving. (8 servings)
Hmmmm – I’m not sure – I would look at the calories pulling for each item in the recipe to see if anything is off or pulling too much. That feels high before this recipe so I definitely recommend double checking it.
Very good! Quite similar to J Alexander’s yummy Rattlesnake Pasta. I mixed in sautéed julienned tricolor bell peppers right before adding the cheese to make it like the restaurant version.
I appreciate the easy recipe, too.
Really like this one, but the cream curdles in the crock pot. Did I do something wrong?
Make sure to only cook on low once the cream is added. It sound like your crock pot runs hot. Sometime, my diary items separate but doesn’t curdle so if it’s just separate, just stir thoroughly and it should combine back together.
How can you get the sauce to be thicker?
You can add a cornstarch slurry (2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2-3 tablespoons of cold water). Stir this into the crock pot and cook on high for 30-40 minutes and this should thicken the sauce.
This recipe is so simple to make and is very delicious! Definitely one of my go to crockpot meals. It also heats up really good the next day too. Very little ingredients but so delicious!!
I’m so glad you enjoy it Rachel. Thank you for sharing and thank you for the positive review!
What is the serving size?
It’s hard to put an extract size on the serving since each batch is different. The entire recipe feeds 8, so 1 serving is approximately 1/8 of the entire meal.
This was so freakin’ good, and so simple! The spice level is perfection. I really think this appeals to a wide audience because the recipe is so well balanced. The heat/spice is there, but it’s not overpowering. Chicken turned out mind-blowing tender. The amount of Cajun seasoning is what gets it right here. I’m so happy I stumbled across this recipe. This one is a winner!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Darren! My family and I love this one so much too and thank you so much for the 5 star rating!
I, added pico do gallio and peppers and onions and mushrooms. Soo good.
Oh that sounds deicious.
Can you use frozen chicken?
Yes, frozen chicken works great in this recipe.
I add an onion and a large jar of crushed tomatoes. Good recipe!
Yum that sounds delicious! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe Mike.
It turned out really good and my family loved it including my picky toddler
I’m so glad you like it!
Recipe was good. Needed salt and pepper and a little more Cajun. Also sprinkled with cayenne at the end.
Thank you for your comment and rating. I’m so glad you liked the recipe.
Delicious and so easy to make!!
Thank you for leaving a review. So glad you loved it!
Made this tonight. I added uncooked whole wheat penne pasta and the liquid thickened up just fine. I let it cook for 30 minutes before adding the cheese. I used a crock pot liner and boy did that make clean up easy. My husband enjoyed this also. We will make it again.
I made this tonight for dinner with a few adjustments. I subbed heavy cream for whole milk as that was what I had and I also subbed one can of cream of chicken for one cup of chicken broth (using 3 cups, not 4). Used my own Cajun seasoning. Still needed a cornstarch slurry to help thicken it up, but it was delicious and I’ll definitely be making it again! Thank you!
Hi! We love this recipe and make it once a week. The flavors are excellent but the sauce comes out pretty thin and liquidy. Do you think if I reduce the chicken broth by a cup and maybe add some cream cheese, it would be creamier but still hold the spice?
I think that would be delicious! I would just add in the cream cheese for the last hour of the cooking time.
I made half the recipe, but added a whole can of Rotel at the beginning. At the end, after the pasta was done, I was surprised at how thin the sauce was (as others have commented). I added a jar of Bertolli Alfredo and what a difference! Thickened right up and tasted just like the cajun chicken dishes at the restaurant!
The Alfredo sauce in the meal sounds delicious! Each crock pot runs differently which will affect how thick the sauce will get when cooking. Thanks.
I like the idea of adding Rotel.. at what point in the receipt would I add this and/or bell peppers?
I would add Rotel into the crock pot with the chicken. For the bell peppers, I would probably add them for just the last hour of the cook time so that they don’t get too soft.
I made this recipe today and we liked it. I used 5 boneless chicken thighs and tricolor pasta because that is what I had on hand. I expected the sauce to be thicker but, in the end, it didnt matter.
I substituted all dairy with dairy free options and it was still delicious… you could omit the pasta and just serve the chicken over other pasta, or even as shredded chicken sandwiches! Delicious!
this is soooo good
Delicious but sauce was super thin, added 4 TBSP corn starch to try to thicken but no dice.
In the future you can also use Xanthum cup to thicken as well.
Awesome everyone loved it
Why is it so much chicken broth with heavy whipping cream?
The chicken broth is because I cook the pasta in the crock pot and the pasta soaks up the chicken broth as it cooks.
This was excellent. I made it in my crockpot/instapot. I used chicken tenders that weren’t thawed so I sautéed them before starting the slow cooking. I’ve made a similar recipe on the stove. Will definitely do this again.
How much chicken broth do you add? Recipe just says 1/2 chicken broth.
I love pasta but carbs don’t love me. Is there a way to have a meal like this without the after effects of carbs
You could make the chicken and sauce and serve over spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles. Thank you!