Cajun chicken pasta mixed into a creamy tomato sauce with a hint of spice. A wholesome pasta dish full of rustic, earthy favours and made in less than 30 minutes. Its a simple family favourite that will easily fit into the busy working week.
Course Dinner, lunch, main meal, tea
Cuisine American, Cajun, French-Canadian, New Orleans
Place cubed chicken breast into a large bowl and add paprika, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, oregano and a pinch of sea salt. Mix well to fully coat the chicken with the spices.
½ tablespoon Paprika, ½ teaspoon Smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon Cayenne pepper, 500 g chicken breast cut into chunks, 1 teaspoon Oregano
Heat ½ tablespoon oil in a large pan, when hot add the chicken to the pan then stir fry until golden brown. Then transfer the chicken to a bowl and set to one side.
½ tablespoon oil
In the same pan add a bit more oil then stir fry spring onion and yellow bell pepper for a couple of minutes or until slightly soft.
5 Spring onions sliced, 1 yellow bell pepper
Next add the stir fried chicken back to the pan and mix in, whilst continuing to cook.
Add the tinned tomatoes and mix in.
2 400 g tins of chopped tomatoes
Add cooked pasta and mix well to fully coat in the sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes.
300 g uncooked pasta
Next remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool slightly before stirring in the yogurt.
4 tablespoon plain yogurt
To finish, top with parsley and serve.
20 g freshly chopped parsley
Video
Notes
Chicken: replace with your preferred veggies for a vegetarian option.Pasta: small pastas like fusilli work well in this recipeYogurt: Use full fat yogurt for a creamy result. This can also be substituted with full fat crème fraîche or if you want an extra creamy pasta sauce replace with double cream.How to store? Cajun chicken pasta can be frozen for up to 3 months. Make sure its cooled properly before transferring to a sealed container and then place in the freezer. Defrost thoroughly before reheating. Heat until piping hot throughout. This dish will also store well in the fridge overnight and is great served up cold the following day as a pasta salad.Expert tips:
For an extra special treat try making this dish with your own homemade fresh pasta.
Small pastas such as shells and fusilli work best with this recipe.
Don't add the yogurt whilst the pan is still on the heat as this will cause the yogurt to curdle.