Creamy Cajun Chicken Penne Pot.
I have the BEST ever cure for your weekend hangover.
First, what did you do for the big old V day weekend?! Did you eat a gigantic steak smothered in blue cheese sauce? Cover yourself in flourless chocolate molten explosion sin cake? Pass out the cutest pastel purple heart cards? Try to survive in an icy blizzard-like polar vortex world? Eat a gallon of ice cream with a spoon? Still blasting a Missy Elliot playlist two weeks later? Put a seriously hot pink and coral sequined pillow on your living room couch?
I have no idea who would do that.
In good news though…
My ideal chicken pasta pot is heeeere.
Okay okay. It’s not the prettiest pot o’ chicken. It is, however, one of the best chicken meals I’ve made. Next to the dumplings, of course. I’m sort of knocking it out of the park with chicken dishes at home lately. Eddie doesn’t know what to do with himself. I warm him to not get too excited because this too shall pass: I always kill it for six or seven dishes and then, boom. Back in the boring chicken rut. Whomp whomp.
It happens to be our current favorite pasta dish – AND chicken dish. It does double duty. Eddie has always been all about cajun seasoning and while it wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, this dish completely sold me. I used to be fanatical about a similar pasta dish on the menu at the Cheesecake Factory back in the day – like college years. I don’t remember the name but I ordered it every time I went, and since I’m hungrier in my life right now than I’ve ever been before, I keep remembering things that I ate in the past and desperately adored. It is so weird. It will be the middle of the night and I’ll think of enchiladas that I ate once in 2004 or a pulled pork sandwich that I had in 1999 or consider begging someone to bring my primanti bros. I’m never NOT hungry with a little nugget taking all of my calories.
And this?
It’s SO simple. I mean, there are a few different components that go into the pot, and you have to cook the chicken first, then the veggies, and the pasta, but it can still come together in an hour or less. Does that sound insane? Possibly. I realize that telling you guys that you have to cook three different things for a meal to “simply” come together sounds ridiculously asinine, but if I managed to pull it off with a bouncing baby in my kitchen, it’s totally doable. Sweat I haven’t lost my marbles. Yet.
It’s also really filling and insanely flavorful. Like I don’t know when the last time was that I made this flavorful of a pasta dish. But then again I can’t remember when the last time that I took a nap or ate a snack or brushed my hair or took a walk or finished a sentence or drove my car was at the moment. So take it for what it’s worth.
The best part?
We go through chicken thigh obsessions in our house every now and then are we’re currently in a deep one. I haven’t bought chicken breasts in WEEKS because uh hello, the boneless, skinless thighs taste so much better, and since I was making chicken and dumplings to feed a crowd, like, once a week this past month, it’s all that our fridge and meals have seen.
It makes boring chicken dishes cease to exist.
BUT! Use whatever chicken you’d like. It’s totally up to you. Because you’re going to cover it in a little flour and make it a bit crispy…
I know. I couldn’t help it. It’s so good. Just add it to the pasta near the end so it remains wildly delicious and a teensy bit crisp. FAVE.
The rest of the pasta is studded with onions and peppers and mushrooms and garlic. And spices and stuff. And a bit of cream to make it, well… creamy. And penne! I used whole wheat. That makes it a health food?
Let’s pretend.
Moral of the story if that this is the perrrrfect Monday meal, especially when it’s negative sixteen degrees out. I don’t even know how that’s a thing. But it is. So let’s eat.
Creamy Cajun Chicken Pot
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into chunks
- 3 tablespoons cajun seasoning
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 12 ounces sliced mushrooms
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups whole wheat penne, or whatever you want pasta, cooked
- 3 to 4 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- Heat a large pot or skillet over medium-high heat. You want it to be large enough to fit the entire dish, so make sure it’s big! Season the chicken with the cajun seasoning, covering it completely. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with the flour and coat them thoroughly. I usually begin to heat the water for the pasta here and once it boils, add the pasta.
- Add the oil and 2 tablespoons butter to the skillet. Once sizzling, add the chicken and cook until crispy and deeply browned, flipping once or twice. This will take about 8 to 10 minutes for the chicken to be cooked through. Once cooked, remove it and set it on a plate. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add 2 more tablespoons of butter to the skillet. Toss in the onions and peppers with a pinch of salt and pepper and stir well. Cook for 5 minutes, until they soften. Add in the other 2 tablespoons of butter and the mushrooms, stirring well. Cook for 5 to 6 more minutes, so the mushrooms soften. Stir in the garlic.
- Increase the heat to medium-high again. Pour in the chicken stock slowly while stirring with a wooden spoon and scraping the bottom of the pot. Bring the stock to a boil and cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Reduce the heat once more and stir in the cream. Add the chicken to the pot along with the pasta. Taste and season additionally if needed. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve immediately.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
I’ll take it.
122 Comments on “Creamy Cajun Chicken Penne Pot.”
This is my favorite recipe out of all your posted (since i’ve been a blog reader!) My husband is absolutely going to flip over this. It’s what he always orders when we go out. The chicken + cajun flavor + mushrooms just tickles his taste buds and makes him a happy man. And he can be such a bear!!! Thanks for sharing.
I make Cajun lasagna using Alfredo sauce with Cajun seasoning added to it and mozzarella cheese. It has been a hit every time I have made it! This basic recipe would be amazing with that concept. Give it a shot!
oh wow – that sounds delicious!
Wow, this looks fabulous. It’s not quite that cold here. But at right around freezing temperatures, this looks like it would hit the spot!
We ordered takeout in our pajamas on Valentines day. Clearly, we are very romantic.
How-EV-ER, I totally wish we were face planting into this kinda crispy and totally health food pot of spicy, chicken goodness! Pretty or not, I wants it. Pinned!
I love cajun chicken and penne pasta. Your recipe is a great combination of the two and I will certainly be trying it both personally and in my catering business.
Chicken thighs are one of those things that novice cooks tend to avoid (out of fear? the unknown?). I’m glad you’re showing them off because they can be worlds better than chicken breast. And cheaper!
Once I found out that Chipotle uses chicken thighs for their grilled chicken, I was sold.
We, too, end up in the chicken breast rut more than I care to admit. Ah well, a good grilled chicken breast isn’t that bad. At least it affords us the calories later to try something semi-indulgent, right?
This would definitely be a winner with both me and the husband. I love those kind of dinners!
Yes, please! Bring all the Cajun spice! It will keep us warm!
This looks so awesome! STL woke up to a few inches of snow this morning (and I know we can’t actually complain), so this would be perfect!
Such a delicious way of eating chicken! I love it, I eat chicken mostly every day and I was getting quite bored of it :P
•The Health Blog for the Lazy Girl•
the name of the cheesecake factory dish is “Louisiana chicken pasta” and I am FREAKING OUT about your revamp!!! I can’t wait to eat this.
Hi Jessica, I made quiche this weekend and I searched your site for a recipe and couldn’t find one! I though “loads of cheese and bacon, Howsweets has got to have a recipe!” How come? Not a quiche fan?
Will be trying this chicken pot though!!! Looks great!!
haha! that is funny because i really am not a fan of quiche. and it’s crazy because of how much i love cheese and eggs. i had a bad experience with one as a child and it just turned me off forever. i’m not a huge frittata fan either. nuts, i know!
It’s so weird that you say that because I absolutely did eat a giant steak smothered in blue cheese! It was magnificent.
ummm you’re my hero.
I actually needed a meal for my birthday’s dinner and maybe that would be it x
http://www.wild-cherrytree.com
This is perfect…given the wonderful negative temps that we have here!
My Valentine’s Day was fantastic ^_^. It was my first romantic V-Day as they are usually filled with family outings or outings with friends as I’ve always been single on Valentine’s Day but this year was different. We had a stay cation in a cute hotel in a studio style room and there were rose petals and candle lit bubble baths, Indian food delivery for dinner, home made red velvet oreo brownies (sally’s baking addiction), and funny reality tv among other things.
Anyway after all the sugar I had this weekend I decided to concentrate and making savoury treats for special occasions instead of sweets and this looks amazing. I’ll definitely be making this. Thanks for the recipe!
Imma make this and eat it….hopefully not all by myself….of maybe I just will. My husband would be sad though.
.:Marta:.
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This looks seriously amazing Jessica!
This looks like a great meal for a cold day like it is in Chicago. Actually we’re having a very cold week so maybe I should just make a huge pot of this and enjoy all week!
I will be making this tonight- Mardi Gras parades all weekend have left me with zero energy (and it isn’t even Mardi Gras until tomorrow), I need something hearty tonight before another day of parading!
That is one tasty looking chicken penne!
Yum! This looks amazing. Now I really want crispy chicken for breakfast.
I just posted a Cajun-inspired recipe, too, but other than that I had a boring food weekend. I totally made breakfast for dinner for V-day: my new twist on it is to chop up the bacon before I fry it, then serve the bacon bits on top of scrambled eggs. With a side of potatoes. Simple but so good!
My guys are going to love this! Thanks so much for sharing, I can’t wait to make it!
I love love love this! And when i read that it reminded you of a dish at the Cheesecake Factory, I was totally sold. It looks so delicious and all that chicken! My kind of meal. And considering that it’s Mardi Gras week, it’s perfect timing to have some Cajun in my life.
Mushrooms and pasta are my favorite! Love this!
Yum!!
With four little ones at home no romantic dinners were in store for us. We did however go over to a friend’s house (also has little kids) and enjoyed a lovely dinner.
This pasta looks spot on delicious. I am sure it is even better than the restaurant version.
Your food looks fantastic. I love this kind of good rustic solid food.
Love these flavors! I am totally making this for my family ASAP!
I am a first time follower. My daughters Sigourney ank Kelli follow you and have your book. I just made your Creamy Cajun Chicken Pot for my husband and myself. It is delicious. You have just acquired another follower
Kim! thank you!!
This looks so good, Jessica! I totally love the chicken + pasta pairing, so this one is a definite must-try. :)
We grilled homemade pizza on Valentine’s Day. No way were we stepping foot in a restaurant that day!
Great pot of penne. Gotta give this a try one day.
Do I cut the thighs into chunks before or after cooking?
before!
This looks so good! I love how it is loaded with flavors!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
Actually, two of your recipes were part of my Valentine’s Day dinner! The blood orange bourbon smash and the brown sugar roasted pork with figs and bourbon (notice the theme?). I ended up making candied orange peel from all of the blood oranges as I quadrupled the drink recipe (ahem). Both were huge hits with the hubby, thank for the amazing recipes!!
that is awesome!!
Delicious! It is way to cold to do anything but stay in the kitchen and eat. We make a Greek version of this in my house, but I’m digging the cajun style flavors. :)
That’s my kind of dish!
http://thejoycediaries.blogspot.com
I really really gotta hand it to you. You just had a baby then come up with this! You truly are amazing. Also – you leek, pumpkin and bacon pappardelle is fought over between my boyfriend and I. It’s our favourite and go to meal. Keep up the good work!!! I can’t wait to make this :).
Amazing! I love chicken thighs. So much better than chicken breast. This pasta pot looks super delicious.
I wouldn’t be too worried about a chicken rut because this is far from it! Before you know it you will be doing laundry, running, sleeping and you will have a million recipes come to mind. Right? Isn’t that how it always happens?!
ahhhhhhhhhhh — I want to swim in this pasta pot!
This looks stuuuupendous. Can’t wait to make it. I’m so bad at gauging space, volume, weight, etc. How big is this pot? I know you said big enough but idk… and I don’t want to end up with ingredients spilling over. Eep.
this one is 4.25 qts!
thanks for this! We made it last night and it was great! We made it in the Dutch oven and doubled the recipe (well, not quite the heavy cream–just used up what we had on hand). We ended up not having cajun seasoning in the house (I swear we did)–so did it with a combo of Tony Chachere seasoning and Penzey Forward!. Next time I’d do a little more Forward! seasoning and less Tony Chachere–ended up being a bit salty. But still totally tasty and definitely a keeper recipe.
Thanks again! Yum.
Well good grief. I’m wondering if my entire torso could fit into that.
I made this last night – Wow! SO SO good. Awesome recipe- the picture sold me, had to make it right away. Thank you for the recipe :)
i’m so glad you liked it!
Looks delicious- I always used to order Cajan Chicken Pasta, too so I can’t wait to give this one a try!
Could you recommend a brand of cajun seasoning?
i’ve been using the mccormick seasoning – really loving it but also haven’t tried others! (at least not recently)
http://www.mccormick.com/Gourmet/Spices-and-Flavors/Blends/Cajun-Seasoning
A delicious and comforting meal to enjoy in this very cold weather.
Love the combinations in this recipe! Anything that has mushrooms in my book is a must try!! My Hubby doesn’t really like when i make chicken dishes, but with all the zing and flavors in the one, i might just get him on board!
Yum, yum, yum…pinned! This looks pretty easy too – awesome for me!
-Jessica
http://www.wearitforless.com
I made this tonight for my boyfriend and me. I got an immediate smile,yum,thumbs up! Such great flavor and worked well with gluten free pasta! Thank you for sharing!