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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
Loved this recipe!!! Super easy. Whole family loved it. Will definitely make it again.
Hi Kerry,
Fantastic!! I love to hear that the recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try. Have the best week:)) xT
Terrible, congealed, curdled mess. The chicken was good, but the milk curdled and the parmesan would not blend into the sauce. I used whole milk and real $20/lb parmesan that I grated myself. What a waste of expensive cheese. I would never make this again. I followed the exact recipe.
Hi Jen,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed. The key for the sauce to to allow it to bubble and really whisk the cheese in well for it to dissolve into the sauce. xTieghan
This recipe was so good. I mixed the chicken right into the sauce. Even the leftovers were wonderful! Thank you.
Hi Catherine,
Fantastic!! I love to hear that the recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try. Have the best week:)) xT
Hi, Recipe was great but the Parmesan and parsley stuck together and would not blend in sauce. How can I get them to blend better?
Hi Barb,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try! The key is to get the sauce super hot and really whisk in the parmesan so it blends well, also real parm is important, not the fake stuff. I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan
This is fantastic! I used rigatoni instead of linguine, i think any pasta would be fine. The kick of the Cajun seasoning is amaze! Have the seasoning recipe saved too! I did half cream half milk with the broth and it turned out absolutely amazing! Hubs ate two huge bowls, big win at our house
Hi Brooke,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for trying it out! Have the best weekend❄️ xTieghan
Don’t use Cajun/creole salt! Use seasoning!!
I made the mistake of using the main name brand creole salt. WAYYY too salty, but this was my fault.
So sorry to hear this Kristin!!
This was excellent! Based on the comments I made a few changes–I used 2 cups of whole milk, omitted the broth but did add a bit of ‘better than boullion’, added a teaspoon of cornstarch, a bit more butter, and let the milk mixture firm up before adding the cheese. Would make again with these changes. Oh, and added some pasta water to thin and bring it all together. Yum.
Hi Becky,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for trying it out! Have the best weekend❄️ xTieghan
OMG. This was SO GOOD!!! I thought thought I had Cajun seasoning…but then I didn’t so I had to whip up your homemade batch real quick and it was SO GOOD! this took me literally twenty minutes to make and then six minutes to eat. the tang from the lemon and the salty creamy spicy sauce? Delicious. (Uhm also I subbed cream instead of milk ?) Thanks for the recipe!!!
Hey Caitlin,
Happy Friday!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xx
So so good!! We made this tonight for dinner guests and everyone loved it. I was a little worried since a lot of people had trouble with the Parmesan being clumpy. (I actually bought a jar of Alfredo sauce as a back up just in case… but I didn’t need it). The only change I made (based on other comments) was to use heavy cream instead of milk. And I made sure that all ingredients were room temp before starting and that the cream and broth were super hot before adding the Parmesan. Turned out perfect!! I also made the homemade Cajun seasoning and it was awesome.
Hey Erin,
Happy Friday!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you. xx
There is no way that broth and milk with thicken up to alfredo-consistency. Traditional alfredo is made with heavy whipping cream. Downgrading from heavy cream to BROTH is a stretch! There’s also not enough butter in this recipe, and I’m guessing that’s why many had issues with the parmesan clumping.
After reading the many other reviews, I swapped the milk and broth for half-and-half. I used 6 TBSP butter – instead of 2 TBSP – to make the alfredo sauce, as well as 10oz of artisan parmesan cheese (not shelf-stable grated cheese, just clarifying this one) and it came out pretty good.
Two starts for the recipe, as written. Because it needs heavy modification.
Half and half. More butter. Now we’re talkin’!!!
Hi Emilia,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, sorry to hear it was not enjoyed. xTieghan
Mine turned out wonderful as is, but i didn’t use canned Parmesan, used freshly grated. Tieghan’s steps were spot on!
One of the best recipes I’ve ever had (and so happy it was the first one I decided to try from your website!) Only substitution I had was replacing the milk with heavy whipping cream to encourage a thicker sauce. Also added a tablespoon of cornstarch to the broth and cream. Parmesan didn’t melt too well there was some clumps but next time I will use freshly grated.
Hi Tera,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! Yes, the freshly grated will work better for you next time! xx
Hi! So I’ve never had to leave a review because I’ve loved every dang recipe I’ve ever made from the books or the website! But I will say this recipe resulted in no luck both times I tried to make the sauce. I should have read for modifications. No matter how boiling/simmering the sauce was the Parmesan would not melt and as soon as I added the noodles it’s clumped into big gooey clumps. Ended up eating basically butter noodles and Cajun chicken tenders. I would suggest highly modifying this recipe. It makes me so sad. The flavors are there but the sauce fell very flat for me. ☹️
Try melting butter then adding parmasean a little at a time stirring constantly. It will blend together without clumping. I prefer using a different butter parmasean ratio, however, if you reread her article, you will see where Tieghan has made a less fattening version of the sauce and explains why. Pay attention to her details please. If you dont like it don’t leave a bad review.
Hi Taylor,
So sorry to hear this. It is really important to use REAL parmesan cheese. What kind did you use? Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
Thank you for the response! I’m sorry I really didn’t mean for the comment to come of negative.. just wanted people to make sure they read your comments on how to cook the sauce. Anyways, I am going to give this another go this weekend. I unfortunately used a “fresh” pre-grated parmesan because I ran out of my parm wedge. But I think it was the cheese, I’ll also keep a little cream on hand in case I need to thicken it a little! I’m sure those tips will help! Thank you again for your time!
Would almond milk work as a substitution?
Thanks.
Hi Joy,
Yes, almond milk will work for you. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it!! xTieghan
This is delicious! Definitely a keeper. Question-how do you keep the Parmesan from getting “gluey”?
Hi Pam,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! Make sure your Parm is room temp and stir well until combined. xx
This is sooooo good! Used coconut milk instead to help with lactose issues in our house and still help up beautifully!
Hi Amanda,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xx
Made this for dinner tonight. Big hit. I was going to take a decent portion to the neighbors since they always bring us delicious dishes, but my husband got really territorial about this dish, lol. I’ll make them a batch this weekend.
I added 1/4 cup of panko to the chicken batter and added the lemon zest as well as the lemon juice. So good! Thanks for the recipe Tieghan!
For the cheese to melt and not clump, you want to let the milk/cream and broth get really hot. Boiling or simmering and then add the cheese and stir stir stir until it’s all combined. Hope this helps!!
Hi Carly,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xx
Delicious! Used cream instead of milk and only did a tablespoon or two of the broth. Also made sure to use a high quality wedge of parm and grated it finely which gave a nice thick sauce. Came out perfectly!
Hi Allison,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xx
The dish was delicious but the Parmesan cheese at the end clumped together bad.Any. idea what I did wrong?
For the cheese to melt and not clump, you want to let the milk/cream and broth get really hot. Boiling or simmering and then add the cheese and stir stir stir until it’s all combined. Hope this helps!!
Hi Pam,
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