Creamy Cajun Chicken And Spinach Pasta Recipes

SPICY AND CREAMY CAJUN CHICKEN PASTA

Steps:

• Combine ingredients for Cajun seasoning in a small bowl. Or, alternatively, use 2 tablespoons of your favorite Cajun seasoning. My recommendation is Frontier Cajun seasoning.
• Place 2 chicken breasts in a shallow bowl and coat on both sides with 1/2 of the Cajun seasoning. Save the remaining 1/2 of the seasoning for pasta. Note: be sure to use thinly sliced chicken breasts. That means if you bought large chicken breasts, slice each one in half horizontally.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts seasoned with Cajun spice and cook for about 4 minutes on each side. Turn off the heat, cover the skillet with the lid, and let the chicken sit, covered, off heat for about 10 minutes until it's completely cooked through. Remove the chicken to a plate and slice chicken thinly.
• In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add pasta and cook according to the package instructions (that usually means somewhere between 10 or 15 minutes). Drain pasta.
• Add diced bell peppers to the same, now empty, skillet that you just used to cook chicken. Cook on medium heat for about 4 minutes until bell peppers are slightly softened. Remove 1/2 of the cooked bell peppers to a plate, leaving the remaing 1/2 in the skillet.
• To the same skillet with 1/2 of the cooked bell peppers, add the cream, the remaining 1/2 of the Cajun seasoning, and freshly shredded Parmesan cheese. Bring to a brief boil, reduce to simmer, and cook, constantly stirring, until the cheese starts to melt, for several minutes.
• Add drained cooked pasta to the skillet with the cream sauce and heat through on low heat. Season with red pepper flakes, more salt and extra cayenne pepper, if desired. Top with sliced cooked chicken and the remaining 1/2 of cooked bell peppers.

ONE-PAN CAJUN CHICKEN-PASTA SKILLET

Steps:

• Cook pasta in boiling water in large skillet 2 min. Drain pasta in colander; set aside.
• Heat oil in same skillet over medium heat. Add chicken; sprinkle evenly with 1 tsp. Cajun seasoning. Cook 5 min. or until chicken is done, stirring frequently. Spoon chicken into bowl; cover to keep warm.
• Add peppers to skillet; sprinkle with 1 tsp. of the remaining Cajun seasoning. Cook and stir 5 min. or until peppers are crisp-tender. Return chicken to skillet. Add spinach; cook and stir 2 to 3 min. or just until spinach is wilted.
• Add cream cheese, milk and remaining Cajun seasoning to chicken mixture; cook and stir 2 to 3 min. or until cream cheese is completely melted and sauce is well blended. Add pasta; cook 3 to 5 min. or until heated through, stirring frequently. Remove skillet from heat.
• Top chicken mixture with onions and Parmesan.

CREAMY CHICKEN PASTA

Steps:

• Cook the pasta following pack instructions. Reserve 100ml of the water and drain the pasta in a colander.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan on a medium heat and fry the garlic and spinach for 3 mins until wilted. Add the soft cheese and heat until melted. Stir in most of the parmesan, then add the shredded chicken, peas and some of the pasta water. Bring to the boil and bubble for 2-3 mins until the chicken and peas are completely heated through.
• Add the pasta and stir until combined. Add more pasta water to loosen the sauce, if needed. Remove from heat, sprinkle over the remaining parmesan and parsley or basil to serve.

CREAMY CHICKEN, MUSHROOM, AND SPINACH PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook bow-tie pasta at a boil, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain and transfer to a serving bowl or a deep platter.
• Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Season tenders with salt and pepper, place in the hot oil, and cook until lightly brown on one side, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn and cook on the other side until light brown, an additional 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate.
• Add mushrooms and onion to the hot skillet and cook until onion is lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in chicken broth and mustard, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes. Return chicken tenders to skillet and submerge them in the broth mixture. Cook until chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 5 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove chicken and place on top of the cooked pasta.
• Continue to cook the sauce until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in cream. Add spinach stir until slightly wilted, about 1 minute. Pour sauce over chicken and pasta. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and garnish with parsley.