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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.
Hi Tieghan, we’re huge fans of your work. Your our go-to whenever we’re looking for what to cook at home. We’ve made a few of your Alfredo recipes and want to know what kind of Parmesan cheese you typically use? We buy pre shredded cheese from the local grocery and whenever we add the cheese to the chicken stock / cream mix it clumps up, rather than melting uniformly. We were wondering if it’s the cheese or if you had any advice? Thank you!!
Hi Alan,
So sorry to hear you are having issues. I would highly suggest always buying blocks of cheese and grating it yourself. Pre-shredded cheese has additives that prevent the cheese from sticking to the bag and extra preservatives, this makes the cheese hard to melt. I hope this helps! xTieghan
This is so easy and so delicious!!!
Hi Jessie,
Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad it was enjoyed!! Have the best week:) xTieghan
I made this a few weeks ago. I thought the recipe called for milk, and I liked that because it was less fat. It was disasterous. It was runny and the parmesan clumped. I saw, today, that the recipe calls for cream, which makes more sense to me, as far as for a thicker sauce, so I will try it again and re-rate it. I believe this was the recipe that I used, and I remember questioning the milk/chicken stock sauce at the time but tried it anyway. The flavor was great, so I expect the cream to make all the difference for the sauce.
Why would you give a recipe 2 stars because you got something wrong?
Hi Linda,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, so sorry to hear you had issues. Please let me know if you try it again or if I can help in anyway! xTieghan
This was such a great twist to the traditional Alfredo! My bf said it was fancy restaurant quality. Because he is lactose intolerant and this is what I had in my fridge, I added 1/2 cup of lactose free cream cheese instead of the heavy cream and an extra 1/4c of broth. I will probably add a little bit of both next time to increase the yield of the sauce. Thank you!!!
Hi Jane,
Happy Sunday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try and sharing your feedback! xx
Truly felt we were at a 5⭐️ Restaurant! As always your flavors meld together beautifully!
Home run ???
Hey Margaret,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Have the best weekend!☀️ xx
This was delicious! I don’t make alfredo often, I have to be in the mood, and this recipe did that. I forgot the lemon :/ Still, my husband and I loved it and I will remember the lemon next time.
Hey Sarah,
Happy Friday!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for making it! xxT
The flavour was great however my sauce was not creamy and my cheese clumped? What did I do wrong?
Hi there,
So sorry to hear this! Was there anything you adjusted in the recipe? It’s really key to allow the sauce to bubble for 3-5 minutes to thicken. I like to use freshly grated cheese for no clumping issues. Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
could you use almond milk instead of cream?
Hi Amanda,
Yes, that will work well for you! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
My family loved this dish!!!
Hey Kathy,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thank you so much for giving it a try!! Have the best day:) xx
Hi, in step 3 it says pour OVER the lemon juice. Does that mean the lemon juice should be in a bowl and pour the contents of the sauce pan over, or, does it mean pour IN the pan? Sounds yummy.
Thanks,
Lynne
Hi Lynne,
I like to squeeze my lemon juice in a small bowl to avoid the seeds, but you could also just squeeze them right over, whatever works for you;) I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
The whole family loved this! Even my husband who often says things taste bland. My 3 year old kept asking for more. Thank you for another amazing recipe!
Hey Angela,
Wonderful!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was a winner! xTieghan
Another keeper of a recipe! My husband, who is not easily impressed, declared it his new favorite meal. It was delicious with just the right amount of spicy (the flavorful kind) heat. Thank you for once again making our Sunday Family Supper a great success!!!
Hey Emily,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it!! Have the best week:) xTieghan
Hi there! is this made with milk or cream? it says cream in the ingredients but milk in the instructions.
Hi Grace,
I like to use cream, but you could also use whole milk. Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Delicious! No complaints at all – I use authentic Parmigiano reggiano
*posted before I finished review! ?♀️
Shred fr3sh parm
Ugh butter fingers tonight apparently! ?
Finely shredding real parm didn’t result in any clumps at all, and I found it flavorful, easy, quick, and not too salty at all. We all enjoyed it, including my 2.5 year old son! ?
Hey Brenda,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it!! Have the best week:) xTieghan
So good! This came together quickly and was so yummy! My husband even took a picture of it haha.
I had no problem with the sauce and didn’t even need to use a whisk. I think it’s because I grated my own parm. I marinated my chicken for about two hours & used my wok to cook the tenders. I used a separate pan for the sauce. I also steamed some broccoli and we added it in on the side at the table. Will definitely make again! Thank you for all awesome recipes!
Hi Sarah,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it!! Have the best week:) xTieghan