Next Post
Baked Cinnamon Crunch French Toast.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
This simple Lemon Pepper Cajun Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo is a favorite with everyone. Classic, creamy fettuccini Alfredo with butter, garlic, and plenty of parmesan. Then topped with crispy lemon pepper cajun chicken. Every twirl of pasta melts in your mouth and the chicken adds a nice buttery, spiciness to every bite. It’s delicious.
Sometimes you have those recipes that you just know you’re going to love. I feel like this fettuccine will be that recipe for many of you. Creamy Alfredo pasta mixed with spicy, buttery cajun chicken, it’s a combo we all can love.
Simple, but wow, so good, and the chicken really does add so much flavor. What I said above really stands true, everyone loves this dish.
The inspiration
Growing up my dad often made fettuccini alfredo on Friday or Saturday night. It was always a special night when he made it because he didn’t make it that often. Or well, just not as often as he made say tacos. My dad has made a lot of tacos.
I loved alfredo night, it always felt so fancy to me. Looking back I didn’t realize just how simple it was, especially my dad’s Alfredo. He kept his basic with lots of butter, cream, and parmesan. He also added cream cheese, which made it extra rich.
I wanted to see if I could improve on his old skool, classic pasta. We love anything involving a little cajun seasoning around here, so adding in some cajun chicken sounded perfect.
The steps
Before starting the chicken boil off the pasta.
Next, toss the chicken in olive oil, homemade cajun seasoning (my recipe is in the notes), parmesan, and a big pinch of pepper.
Sear up the chicken in a skillet with some butter until it becomes deeply golden and crisp. Then pour over some lemon juice and let it sizzle around the chicken.
Nothing fancy, but the smells coming from your skillet sure will be delicious.
Now onto the pasta, this happens really quickly.
Use the same skillet you cooked the chicken in so you get all that yummy flavor. Add in a bit more butter and some garlic. Then pour in broth and milk (you can also use cream). I like to use broth and milk to create a still creamy pasta, but a pasta that has a nice amount of sauciness to it as well. It’s also a little lighter than using all cream or milk, so the alfredo isn’t quite as rich.
Once the sauce has thickened, stir in the parmesan and pasta. I like to use linguine, but fettuccini is obviously great too.
And that’s it! Serve the chicken over steaming bowls of creamy pasta and top with additional parmesan and fresh parsley. Yummmm!
This recipe is all about the creamy sauce and that crispy cajun chicken. The sauce is buttery, a touch garlicky, and so creamy. And the crispy chicken…it’s a game-changer. Tender and delicious when thinly sliced and tossed in with the pasta.
It’s one of those chicken pasta dinners that feels like a dish you’d order at a restaurant. But it’s made at home and is even more delicious. Trust me.
Looking for other weeknight dinner recipes? Here are some favorites:
Sheet Pan Greek Garlic Butter Chicken and Potatoes
Cajun Garlic Butter Shrimp with Creamy Pesto Pasta
Oven Fried Southern Hot Honey Popcorn Chicken
Lastly, if you make this Lemon Pepper Cajun Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Lemon Pepper Cajun Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 910 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 pound linguine or fettuccini
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 6 chicken cutlets or 1 pound tenders
- 2 tablespoons cajun seasoning
- 1 1/2 cups, plus 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- 1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta al dente, according to package directions. Drain.2. In bowl, toss together the olive oil, chicken, cajun seasoning, 2 tablespoons parmesan, and a big pinch of pepper. 3. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large pan set over medium-high heat, add the chicken and sear until deeply golden on both sides, 5 minutes per side. Turn the heat off and pour over the lemon juice. Transfer to a plate.4. To the same pan, add 2 tablespoons butter, the garlic, and chili flakes. Cook 1 minute, until fragrant, then pour in the broth and milk. Whisk until smooth. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer and cook 5 minutes, until slightly thickened. Stir in 1 1/2 cups parmesan, then toss in the pasta. Cook 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley. 5. Serve immediately topped with sliced chicken and parsley.
Notes
Homemade Cajun Seasoning: mix 2 1/2 tablespoons smoked paprika, 2 tablespoons garlic powder, 1 tablespoon onion powder, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, 1 tablespoon dried thyme, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper, 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt, and 1 tablespoon black pepper. Makes 3/4 cup.
This post was originally published on March 7, 2022
So so so let down/disappointed/frustrated. I just wasted money and time on this when I should have just made the sauce how I know how to with cream. I thought this would be a healthy version to have at my disposal, but was absolutely wrong. I’m almost in tears with how much time and money I’ve wasted on my only day off of the week. I travel for work and now I have nothing to bring with me.
Please if you’re reading this, don’t attempt to make this!!!!!
Hi Haley,
So very sorry to hear you had issues with the recipe. Is there something specific that went wrong for you? Please let me know how I can help! xxTieghan
Some recipes take time to learn. I hope you try it again after letting Tieghan know more details so she can help.
This dish is absolutely delicious! I thought it looked like it was going to be good, but this is outstanding. I used cream instead of milk and it thickened up just fine. I think you really have to bring the sauce up to the gentle simmer like the recipe says and let it simmer for the full 5 minutes. It has to be hot enough to melt the cheese nicely. I will definitely be making this fabulous dish again very soon!!! Thanks so much Tieghan!
Hi Carole,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xx
I made this tonight for me and my husband and it did not disappoint. The chicken browned so nicely and was very flavorful. A perfect compliment to the pasta bathed in the creamy, slightly spicy sauce. Can’t wait to make this for my girls when they come home! Your recipes never disappoint!
Hi Traci,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xx
Just enjoyed the leftovers of this for lunch. It was SO delicious! Made as written (except used homemade veggie stock for the stock since we had some and it’s so flavorful). Just the right amount of heat (kids could handle it) using the recipe provided for cajun seasoning. I was worried the sauce wasn’t thickening, but once you do the final step of cooking it for a couple minutes with the pasta (we used fettuccine), it really coated well and was nice and creamy. A great healthy alternative to alfredo with just the one cup of milk. Coconut milk would probably work well too.
Hi Emily,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xx
This recipe is half-baked! Like others who have tried it, the parmesan clumped and looked like something the cat spat up. My sauce never thickened even after many minutes of stirring and even adding a little cream. Additionally, I never did see where I was to use the Kosher salt. I opted to sprinkle my raw chicken with it before cooking. The only plus was the chicken tasted great, but the sauce was like soup, and without the parmesan mixed throughout, was a complete letdown.
Hi Jay,
So sorry to hear you had issues with the sauce. It’s very important to allow the sauce to thicken before adding the parmesan cheese. You need to allow the sauce to bubble for 3-5 minutes until it is creamy then add the cheese and whisk well while adding the cheese. Also, you want to be sure to use real parmesan cheese. I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan
I made this last night. It needed either more cream or less broth but it was not creamy, at all. I had an unfortunate incident with the parm as it didn’t melt but clumped. I have no idea why that happened except that it was pre grated parm which isn’t as good as fresh. Next time I would use cream instead of milk and fresh parm.
Hi Kim,
So sorry to hear you had issues with the sauce. It’s very important to allow the sauce to thicken before adding the parmesan cheese. You need to allow the sauce to bubble for 3-5 minutes until it is creamy then add the cheese and whisk well while adding the cheese. Also, you want to be sure to use real parmesan cheese. I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan
I made this dish last night, and my whole family enjoyed it. We have pasta and chicken a lot, but the cajun spices made it just different enough to feel new. It wasn’t until I was in the middle of making the dish that I realized that there are no vegetables in the recipe. For a more complete meal, I added some diced onions and carrots when I was making the garlic sauce and let the vegetables cook in the sauce before adding the noodles. The carrots gave the meal a bit of color also. This is a nice and easy addition to weekly dinners. Another great recipe — thank you!
Oh! I forgot to mention that one member of my family does not like cheese, so I omitted the cheese entirely and it still was terrific (and I love cheese). After making the sauce, I added the noodles for a bit, then also added the chicken breasts to be warmed up in the sauce. By the time we served the dish, there was very little liquid at all. The noodles (and chicken breasts, in my case) definitely soak up all of the liquid.
Good to know!! Thank you!!
Hi Renee,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try and sharing what worked well for you! I’m glad the recipe was enjoyed:) xTieghan
It was extremely watery and never thickened up. The chicken was absolutely flavorful and delicious but the sauce was lacking flavor and thickness
Hi Ashley,
So sorry to hear you had issues. It’s really important to allow the sauce the time it needs to thicken, it will need to bubble for at least 3-5 minutes for thickening. I hope this helps! xT
I had d the same issue with the sauce not thickening and the cheese clumping together. I used whole milk. I think a different technique for the sauce would have been best as the sauces in some of your other creamy recipes have turned out beautifully.
Hi Treena,
So sorry to hear you had issues with the sauce. It’s very important to allow the sauce to thicken before adding the parmesan cheese. You need to allow the sauce to bubble for 3-5 minutes until it is creamy then add the cheese and whisk well while adding the cheese. Also, you want to be sure to use real parmesan cheese. I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan
Outstanding!!! I subbed the coconut milk option per the Instagram post as I can’t have cream and it was messing with my brain as it was not obvious at all that it wasn’t dairy! I still used Parmesan as that’s fine for us but I used a bit of cornstarch to thicken the sauce before adding the noodles. Also used fettuccine and my husband said “that’s the best pasta dish I’ve had in a longggg time” and “that’s the best meal I think you’ve ever made” granted I only do about 40% of the cooking! Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Hi Brooke,
Happy Wednesday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
The chicken was AMAZING and im so happy to have the homemade Cajun seasoning now, will definitely use again. Like others I had some issues with the sauce, thinking I should have tried adding some cornstarch like Brooke recommended ^ but still tasted great!
Hi Megan,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xx
Super bland, no flavor. I wanted to love it but it didn’t just taste as good as it looked.
Hi Cindy,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, sorry to hear it was not enjoyed, please let me know if I can help in anyway. xTieghan
Any tips or tricks on preventing clumping/ separating after serving up pasta?
I have been making scratch fettuccine Alfredo with cream, butter, and parm but can’t seem to get the texture just right!
Do you recommend stirring in the parm completely( making sure it’s melted) before adding in the noodles? And why is it helpful to cook sauce in the with noodles for a few minutes?
It seems like after I add the noodles and we go back for seconds that it’s clumped up!
Hi Olivia,
If you follow this recipe as written, you should be good to go! I would say to make sure all of your ingredients are at room temp, it really helps them all to blend properly. Also, I just keep stirring until everything is nicely combined, if you can, grate your own cheese:) I hope this helps! xTieghan
I made this tonight and it is one of my favorite dishes I have made of yours! So yummy! I didn’t have any lemon juice and it still turned out fantastic. To people having issues thickening their sauce, it does take a bit of time but once you add the cheese and the pasta it thickens up pretty well. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Hi Erin,
Happy Wednesday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
Absolutely amazing! My husband and I aren’t the biggest fans of Alfredo but the sauce isn’t too thick so it was extremely delicious. The chicken was crispy and flavorful. The recipe was super easy to follow. I will be adding this recipe into our frequent rotation!
Hi Lya,
Happy Wednesday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
My boyfriend and I LOVE this website and have made dozens of different recipes over the past year but this wasn’t one of our favorites. The chicken was delicious and the pasta was flavorful but the sauce fell a little flat and we just couldn’t get it to thicken up. Next time we’ll use half & half instead of milk or add a little corn starch.
Hi Katie,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, sorry to hear it wasn’t enjoyed. xx