So it was a rainy weekend, I had a lot of work to do–I’m taking a bookkeeping class, don’t laugh–and I really wanted comfort food with as little effort on my part as I could manage. I often feel that way, I must admit. Anyway, I’d also promised y’all I’d share your favorite dishes from the shop. So here’s another request that allowed me to kill two birds with one stone. Not only was Cajun Chicken Pasta a hit with customers, it’s super easy comfort food, perfect for a blustery evening. How very efficient of me, no?
I did not develop this recipe. I found it a while back on one of my favorite food blogs, budgetbytes.com. Now I don’t know the blog owner, Beth Moncel, personally, but I’ve been her fangirl for years. She does a great job with nutritious, real-food recipes for real people with real grocery budgets. Her recipes are also incredibly reliable: they always work and they always taste good.
This particular recipe deserves a little explanation, though. It’s a true one-pot pasta dish. In case you’re not familiar with them, these are pasta recipes where you put everything in the pot in a certain order, and you don’t have to cook the pasta separately. That’s right! No boiling water at all! Just throw that hard, dry, pasta into the pot and let it cook until done with everything else. They became popular a few years back, and are sometimes called wonderpot recipes. I’d seen Martha Stewart do it, but I was still pretty skeptical of such a thing. Seeing Budget Bytes hopping on this bandwagon convinced me to try it out, and this Cajun Chicken Pasta is like a dream come true.
The trick is to follow the recipe exactly, at least the first time. That way you get a feel for the amount of liquid and pasta you need in order to arrive at perfectly cooked pasta in a nicely textured, sufficient amount of sauce. Also, things happen quickly in one-pot recipes, so assemble all the ingredients and have them at hand before starting.
The recipe below is modified a little from the Budget Bytes original. It is, however, the one you’ve had before if you picked it up in the shop. Another word to the wise: the seasoning mix is PERFECT. I didn’t change a thing there, and now I make double the amount so I’ll have it available to use in other dishes or in another batch of Cajun Chicken Pasta. I don’t think commercial Cajun or Creole seasoning is an acceptable substitute in this recipe at all, not even close. Beth’s seasoning makes for a pleasantly spicy and wonderfully flavorful sauce, although someone very sensitive to heat may disagree. You can reduce the amount of cayenne pepper if you’re worried, but I wouldn’t leave it out entirely. You’re definitely adding enough liquid and creaminess to tone it down.
Note that the sauce will thicken a bit upon standing.
Come back and tell us how you liked it!
Cajun Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
Cajun seasoning:
- 2 t. smoked paprika
- 1 t. oregano
- 1 t. thyme
- 1/2 t. garlic powder
- 1/2 t. onion powder
- 1/4 t. cayenne pepper
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1/2 t. black pepper
Chicken and pasta:
- 1 T. olive oil
- 1 T. butter
- 1 lb. chicken breast, in bite-sized pieces
- 3 scallions, sliced
- 1 lb. penne pasta, uncooked
- 1 15 oz. can fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 3 oz. cream cheese, cubed
Instructions
- Combine the ingredients for the Cajun seasoning in a small bowl. Cut the chicken into 1/2 to 3/4-inch cubes. Place the cubed chicken in a bowl, pour the Cajun seasoning over top, and stir to coat the chicken in spices.
- Add the olive oil and butter to a wide pot with a lid. Heat the oil and butter over medium-high until the butter is melted and foamy. Add the seasoned chicken to the skillet and cook for a couple minutes on each side, or just until the outside gets some color. The chicken does not need to be cooked through at this point.
- Add the scallions and continue to sauté for a minute more. Add the tomatoes and their juices, stirring to scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Next, add the pasta and chicken broth. Stir just until everything is evenly combined, then place a lid on top and allow the broth to come up to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low and let the pasta simmer for about ten minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the pasta is tender.
- When the pasta is ready, turn the heat very low and add the cubed cream cheese, stirring as it melts into the sauce. Remove from the heat. Serves 4 generously.
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