This creamy and tasty Crock Pot Cajun Chicken Alfredo is a winner! Complete with smoked sausage, cajun spices, and a cheesy sauce; you can’t go wrong!
Cajun Chicken Pasta Alfredo
We are always on the lookout for delicious, easy meals. When you have young children who get tired of the same dinners over and over again, and with being constantly busy that I try to seek out recipes that don’t take a lot of time to prepare. I turn to the slow cooker for dinner often and this Cajun chicken pasta was a hit – even with my picky kids!
The best part of the recipe is that the pasta cooks right in the Slow Cooker. A lot of recipes have you boil it separately and add it later. I love that we can skip that step altogether and still get perfectly cooked noodles in the creamy alfredo sauce. I do sear the chicken for some color but that doesn’t take very long at all, and it finishes cooking in the slow cooker.
What You’ll Need
This Cajun alfredo recipe requires simple and easy-to-find ingredients. You will find the exact measurements on the recipe card below.
- Olive Oil: This is for searing the chicken breast.
- Chicken Breasts: Boneless skinless chicken breasts are going to be the easiest to work with for this recipe.
- Smoked Sausage: The sausage should be sliced into 1-inch pieces before adding it to the slow cooker.
- Heavy Cream
- Chicken Broth: I like to use low sodium.
- Butter: You can use unsalted or salted. I typically use whatever I have in the refrigerator.
- Cajun Seasoning – you can buy this or make our easy homemade Cajun seasoning.
- Garlic: Fresh minced cloves are great.
- Penne Pasta: This will remain uncooked until it goes into the slow cooker.
- Parmesan Cheese: You can use freshly shredded or pre-shredded parmesan.
- Garlic Powder
- Salt & Pepper
How to Make Cajun Chicken Alfredo
This one-pot dump meal is perfect if you are too busy to cook. Besides searing the chicken, all of the ingredients are added to the crockpot and you just set and forget! It all comes together beautifully and is so delicious and full of bold flavors!
- First, you want to prepare and season the chicken. Pat the breasts dry with a paper towel and season both sides with garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper. (You will need more salt and pepper to taste later).
- Heat a skillet to high heat and add the olive oil. Sear both sides just long enough to brown which takes around 2 minutes.
- Next, add the seared chicken, sliced sausage, heavy cream, chicken broth, butter garlic, cajun seasoning, and remaining salt and pepper to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 4 hours.
- At around 30 minutes before it’s ready, remove the chicken breasts and allow them to cool. Add the penne pasta and cook for the remaining 30 minutes. Slice the chicken once it’s cooled.
After the pasta is cooked, add parmesan cheese and the sliced chicken into the pot and serve!
Tips and Variations
- Feel free to garnish your portion with extra parmesan cheese.
- Instead of penne pasta, substitute bowties, fettuccine, ziti, linguine pasta or whatever your favorite is.
- I use pork smoked sausage for this recipe but you can also use beef or turkey if you prefer.
- Before you slice the chicken, ensure that it is cooked all the way through. It should have an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
- Feel free to add in any diced veggies you prefer like onions, red peppers, etc…
- Add more Cajun seasoning to taste if you want it spicier.
- You can cook it on high for 2-3 hours instead of low for 4 hours.
How to Store Leftovers
Any leftover Cajun Alfredo should be stored in an airtight container. It will stay fresh in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. To reheat, I recommend using the stovetop to make the sauce creamy again. It can be reheated in the microwave but there will be some natural separation.
More Crock-Pot Recipes
- Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
- Slow Cooker Pizza Casserole
- Crockpot Marry Me Chicken
- Crockpot Steak Bites with Mushrooms
- Slow Cooker Barbacoa
Crock Pot Cajun Chicken Alfredo
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 pound smoked sausage sliced into 1 inch pieces
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 pound uncooked penne pasta
- 8 ounces shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- 1.5 teaspoons black pepper
Instructions
- Pat chicken dry and season with 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper and garlic powder. In a large pan add the olive oil and sear the chicken on high heat. You just want to brown each side, not cook entirely.
- Add chicken, sausage, heavy cream, chicken broth, butter, garlic, Cajun, 1/2 tsp salt and pepper to an 8 quart slow cooker. Cook on low for 4 hours
- 30 minutes before it’s done take the chicken out and let cool then slice. Add in the uncooked penne pasta and cook on high for another 30 minutes.
- Once done add in the parmesan cheese and top with the sliced chicken.
Last Step:
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