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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.
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.
Chicken was yummy but DON’T make the pasta sauce.
Never thickened, cheese clumped up, broke as soon as the noodles were added.
Left with a chunky soupy mess.
Hey there,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! xTieghan
Followed directions exactly and my sauce broke. Bit of a bummer
Hey Anon,
So sorry to hear about the sauce, thanks for giving the recipe a try, please let me know if I can help in anyway! xTieghan
Same as a lot of other commenters…parmesan did not incorporate. Used fresh, wisked fast, and sauce was hot when added. It was still delicious even with clumps of parmesan!
Hey Ashley,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, sorry to hear about the parmesan! xTieghan
The chicken part of this was really good but I struggled hard with the sauce. Like some of the other commentors, I couldn’t get it to thicken/combine at all and ended up with a bit of a disappointing mess. 🙁
Hi Mary,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, so sorry to hear you had issues with the sauce. Please let me know if I can help in anyway! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan, you gorgeous, brilliant, beautiful thing 🙂
I make your recipes all the time (I’ve followed you since like, 2008-9 maybe?). My husband is to the point where he can tell with some accuracy if a recipe was yours when he tastes it.
Him: is this a Tieghan recipe?
Me: yes.
Him: D@&! it, how is she so good at this!
So I made this one for a friends/family dinner (9 people) and everyone raved. The French-trained chef approved of the sauce and the Cajun guest cleared your spice blend for the chicken. it was delicious!
I added a bit of cream cheese to the sauce because I struggle to make smooth alfredos the authentic way. Any suggestions on that?
Hey Michelle,
LOL thanks for your kind message:) Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! I would say try grating your own cheese and make sure the sauce bubbles for a while, I hope this helps! xTieghan
Hey Teigs, wanted to love this recipe but… like others, also had issues getting the cheese to combine in the sauce. We had to try three times with different types of Parmesan because you weren’t specific in the type that should be used. You were also very vague with step 4. You didn’t indicate if the pan should be cleaned after cooking the chicken which was a mistake that we didn’t do that the first time. Then you neglected to inform us that the sauce should be cooked at a high temperature. The second and third time we tried to make the sauce the Parmesan got clumpy, even after adjusting based on the similar comments we saw. 10/10 on the chicken and 2/10 on the pasta since we couldn’t even use the sauce.
Made this for dinner tonight and it was a huge hit! I kept some of the fettuccine Alfredo aside and added broccoli to mine as I’m a vegetarian. Very versatile for vegetarians and chicken eaters alike! Rave reviews from the entire family! Thank you!
Hey Lynn,
Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
Hey Allison,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear that it was not enjoyed. xTieghan
It’s very Nice dish want too make this food to get some little taste of this type of food… I don’t think soo your food recipes may be reliable for home chef? who are common people and not be high lights on food activities but they are one the best food maker my dear.. Thanks for given good pictures but there is many differences how too make or how too show..
I hope you love the recipe:)
This was delicious . I used half Chicken broth and half heavy cream.
Hey Lisa,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a go! Have the best week:) xT
Great flavor, but as others have mentioned I could not get the Parmesan cheese to incorporate into the sauce. At first I thought I had added the cheese while the sauce was too hot so I started over. Started melting it in more gently, then brought up the temp to 180 (melting temp of Parmesan cheese) and it did work a little better. Sauce was still a bit grainy yet watery, added a little cornstarch which helped. Overall did not end up with a creamy Alfredo sauce but the flavor and chicken were great!
Hey Hannah,
Happy Sunday!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it!! Sorry to hear about the parmesan. It’s important to use real parmesan and whisk well while adding it! ? xx
Flavors are delicious but I also ran into a problem with getting the cheese to incorporate. Pasta still had flavor but I ended up with one big clump of melted cheese. I’ll definitely be trying this again but any tips on how to get the cheese to mix into the sauce would be great!
Hey there,
Sorry to hear about the cheese!! It’s important to use real parmesan, really whisk well while adding the cheese, and be sure the sauce is bubbling. I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan
This was really tasty but the Parmesan cheese turned into a softball sized lump when I added it. The broth was boiling hot so not sure how to correct this next time?
Hi Dawn,
Happy Sunday!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it!! Sorry to hear about the parmesan, was it real parm cheese? It’s important to use that and then really whisk well when adding. ? xx
Thank you for your response. I did use grated fresh Parmesan and tried to whisk it in well but it didn’t incorporate. I don’t know what else to try? ?
Make sure the sauce it bubbling and just whisk, whisk, whisk, until it’s combined:)
Loved this recipe except when adding the fresh Parmesan, the cheese did not incorporate into the sauce which was disappointing. Wondering why this occurred to avoid future hiccups! Aside from that, it was a big hit!
Hi Ann,
Awesome!! I am thrilled to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks so much for giving it a go! It’s key to make sure the sauce is hot and really whisk the cheese in well. Have a great weekend:) xTieghan
Since he retired, my daughter and I are trying to expand my husband’s dinner repertoire. He made this tonight and we all really enjoyed it! Thanks!
Hey Lorna,
Happy Friday!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was a winner:) ?xx
So delicious!!! This is definitely becoming a staple at our house!
Hey Tiffany,
Happy Friday!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was a winner:) ?xx
Absolutely AMAZING!
Swapped milk for half and half to have a thicker sauce. 11/10 for sure!!
Hey Dustin,
Happy Friday!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was a winner:) ?xx