Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta
The crave-it creamy pasta everyone asks for. Chicken takes a blackening rub and a hard sear, then rests while a Creole cream sauce builds in the same pan with sweet bell pepper, scallion, and summer corn. Fettuccine goes in, the blackened chicken slices over the top - a bowl of spiced, silky comfort in half an hour.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Serves
- 4
- Method
- Skillet
Blackening is a spice crust seared hard, not burning. Coat the chicken in a paprika-forward Cajun blend, get the pan smoking, and let the spices toast into a dark, fragrant crust. The pan has to be hot before the chicken goes in - a lukewarm pan steams the spices instead of toasting them. That crust carries the whole dish through the cream.
What actually matters here
- Get the pan hot before the chicken. Blackening needs high heat to toast the crust into something dark and fragrant, not pale and steamed.
- Build the sauce in the same pan. The browned bits and toasted spice left behind are the backbone of the Creole cream - do not wash them away.
- Add the corn near the end. Stir it in with the cream so it stays sweet and snappy, not soft.
Ingredients
Serves 4.
Blackened Chicken
- 1 1/2 lbboneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tbspsmoked paprika
- 1 tspgarlic powder
- 1 tsponion powder
- 1 tspdried thyme
- 1/2 tspcayenne
- 1 tspkosher salt
- 2 tbspolive oil
Creole Cream
- 2 tbspbutter
- 1red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 5scallions, sliced (whites and greens separated)
- 1 1/2 cupssweet corn kernels (fresh or thawed)
- 3garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tspCajun or Creole seasoning (Tony Chachere's; spice aisle)
- 1 1/2 cupsheavy cream
- 3/4 cupgrated Parmesan
Pasta
- 12 ozfettuccine
- 1 tspkosher salt (for the water)
Before you start
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Combine the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, cayenne, and salt. Pat the chicken dry and coat all over.
- Slice the bell pepper and scallions; mince the garlic; cut the corn; grate the Parmesan.
Method
- Sear the chicken in the oil over medium-high, 5 to 6 minutes per side, until the crust is dark and the center hits 165 degrees. Rest on a board.
- Cook the fettuccine to just shy of al dente; reserve a cup of pasta water, then drain.
- Lower the heat to medium. Melt the butter, add the bell pepper, scallion whites, and corn; cook 4 minutes.
- Stir in garlic and Creole seasoning 30 seconds, pour in the cream, simmer 3 to 4 minutes, then whisk in the Parmesan.
- Add the pasta, toss, loosen with pasta water until the sauce clings and flows. Fold in scallion greens.
- Slice the blackened chicken across the grain and fan over each bowl.
How you know it is right
- The chicken has a dark spice crust and a juicy center.
- The sauce coats a spoon and clings to the noodles, no pooling.
- The corn is bright and still has snap.
- Each bite reads creamy first, then a slow Cajun warmth.
How to serve it
Serve in wide bowls, chicken on top, extra scallion greens to finish. A green salad cuts the richness. Dial cayenne up or down for the table.
If you want it simpler
- Use a store-bought Cajun blend for the rub - just check the salt.
- Rotisserie chicken tossed in the spices and warmed skips the searing.
Blacken the chicken, build the Creole cream, toss, slice over.
This dish came from the SEASON plan for June 15 - 21, 2026, alongside nine other dinners and one shopping list.
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Written and tested by Chef Michael Rossi, who has spent thirty years in professional kitchens including Napa Rose, THE RANCH, The Masters at Augusta National, and The Beach Club. Every SEASON recipe is one he has cooked on a real line before it reaches a home kitchen.