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Crockpot Cajun Chicken Pasta is a creamy, slow cooker dinner made with tender chicken simmered in a bold Cajun-spiced sauce and tossed with pasta. An easy, flavorful meal perfect for busy nights.
This spicy Cajun chicken is like a cross between my stovetop creamy Cajun pasta and Cajun sausage pasta, made in the crockpot! The chicken slow cooks in a rich, flavorful Cajun-spiced cream sauce, soaking up all those smoky, savory flavors while you go about your day.
This slow cooker Cajun chicken pasta has recently become a firm family favorite. It’s cheesy and creamy, with just the right amount of heat from spicy Andouille sausage and Cajun seasoning. The best part, aside from the fact that it practically cooks itself in the crockpot, is that it’s SO easy to customize.
Once it’s finished you just shred the chicken, stir in pasta, and dinner is ready. It’s creamy, a little spicy, and completely satisfying. Perfect for busy weeknights, meal prep, or feeding a hungry crowd.
Ingredients You’ll Need
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- Heavy Cream – You could also use half and half.
- Parmesan Cheese
- Chicken – I use chicken breasts, but chicken thighs work too
- Cajun Seasoning – I use my homemade Cajun seasoning
- Andouille Sausage
- Butter
- Pasta – Any dried pasta you’d like. I use cavatappi (corkscrew) pasta, but you can use elbow macaroni, penne, bowtie, and even long pasta varieties like spaghetti, linguine, or fettuccine.
Crockpot Cajun Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 pound chicken breasts
- 1 Tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 13.5 ounces andouille sausage, cut into coins
- 2 Tablespoons butter, cut into cubes
- 12 ounces dried pasta
Instructions
- Mix together heavy cream and Parmesan cheese, pour into the base of the crockpot.2 cups heavy cream, 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Arrange chicken breasts in the sauce.1 pound chicken breasts
- Sprinkle the Cajun seasoning and garlic powder over the chicken.1 Tablespoon Cajun seasoning, ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Sprinkle the sausage around the the chicken and add the pats of butter.13.5 ounces andouille sausage, 2 Tablespoons butter
- Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions.12 ounces dried pasta
- After the chicken is cooked through, remove and shred. Add back to the crockpot with the cooked pasta. Mix until everything is well coated.
- Serve with additional Parmesan cheese if desired.
Notes
- If you want to cook the pasta in the crockpot, add 14 oz of chicken broth with the heavy cream. When you take out the chicken to shred, pour in your dried pasta, stir, cover, and cook for about 30 minutes. Keep the chicken warm, and then add it back once the pasta is cooked.
- If you don’t like it spicy, you can cut back on the Cajun seasoning and use any other sausage that you like.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How to Make Crockpot Cajun Chicken Pasta
- Make the sauce. Start by combining the heavy cream and Parmesan in the bottom of the crockpot or slow cooker.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Next, nestle the chicken into the sauce. Sprinkle over the Cajun seasoning and garlic powder, then add the sausage to the pot. Lastly, scatter the cubes of butter over the top.
- Cook. Cover the pot and cook for 3-4 hours on Low. Towards the end of the cooking time, boil the pasta according to the directions on the package.
- Shred the chicken. Finally, use two forks to shred the chicken (you can also shred chicken quickly using your hand mixer). Then, add the cooked pasta to the crockpot. Give everything a good stir to coat.
- Serve! Dish up with a sprinkle of extra Parmesan cheese and serve with a salad, or any of your favorite sides. See below for more ideas.
Recipe Tips
- Check that the chicken is done. Use an instant-read meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken at the thickest part of the breast. If it reads 165ºF, it’s done.
- If you’d like to cook the pasta in the crockpot, you’ll need to add 14 ounces of chicken broth along with the heavy cream. After cooking, when you take the chicken out to shred it, add the dried pasta to the crockpot and stir it into the sauce. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until the pasta is tender, then add the chicken back to the pot.
- Adapt the heat level. If you’d prefer a milder dish, scale back the Cajun seasoning and use a mild sausage instead. On the other hand, if you prefer it spicy, amp up the seasoning to taste and add crushed red chili flakes or a dash of hot sauce.
- Add veggies. Stir in diced bell peppers, zucchini, or another veggie, like broccoli.
- Make it in a skillet. For a quick dinner idea, sear and cook the chicken and sausage in a skillet, and use the same skillet to prepare the cream sauce. Shred the chicken and add everything back to the pan before tossing it with cooked pasta. Dinner is done in 30 minutes!
Serving Suggestions
Instead of pasta, once you’ve shredded this Cajun chicken, you can serve it over another starch, like rice or mashed potatoes. Just add a green salad on the side, or a vegetable, like quick air fryer carrots and hunks of Southern-style cornbread for dunking in the leftover sauce. I also love to serve this Cajun chicken pasta with air fryer shrimp and corn on the cob for a shrimp boil-inspired dinner!
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Store any leftover slow cooker Cajun chicken pasta in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheat. Warm the chicken pasta in the microwave or in a skillet until it’s nice and hot throughout.
- Freeze. If you’re planning to freeze your leftovers, consider leaving the pasta separate (pasta tends not to freeze and thaw very well). Store the shredded Cajun chicken in a freezer-safe container and freeze it for up to 2 months. Thaw the chicken in the fridge before reheating.
