Cajun Chicken Pasta with Smoked Sausage and Chorizo

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Cajun Chicken Sausage Chorizo Pasta is a one pot wonder that's so good, everyone will want more!

I have a family of 8 and sometimes it's hard to come up with meals that'll feed everyone that doesn't break the bank. I'm always looking for one pot meals, quick meals, and easy meals. I was scrolling one day and saw a Cajun pasta dish. It sounded good and as I was making it, it just wasn't hitting the flavor profile mark for me. I added more seasoning and it helped a little bit. I looked in my fridge and I had some smoked sausage, I added that and it made it better. But, then I saw chorizo. I added that in and OMG…YASSSSSSS!!!!

That is when this dish became one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE pasta dishes. The kids were blown away. I made it a few more times and each time, I added something new. The last thing I added was the cream cheese and baby, we have a winner! I decided to create the recipe on paper and now I'm here to share it with you.

WHAT IS NEEDED TO MAKE THIS CAJUN CHICKEN SAUSAGE CHORIZO PASTA?

For a full list of ingredients and instructions, please scroll down to the recipe at the bottom of the page.

• Chicken breast
• Smoked sausage
• Chorizo
• Penne pasta
• Olive oil
• Chicken broth
• Half & Half
• Cream cheese
• Butter
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic or garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Italian seasoning
• Cajun seasoning
• Paprika
• Parmesan cheese
• Parsley

It seems like a lot but you can measure out all your seasonings and put them into one prep bowl. Once you chop up your chicken and sausage, this process moves pretty fast and it's all done in one pot. Talk about easy peasy.

What's the best sausage to use?

I used smoked sausage for mine but of course you can swap that out and use a different kind of sausage. Another favorite sausage is Andouille sausage. That's a great choice because andouille sausage gives a little bit of spice which goes well with a Cajun dish. I've also used Italian sausage in this dish and that gave it a totally different taste but was amazing as well.

The other sausage that was used for this Cajun pasta was chorizo. Chorizo is highly seasoned ground meat. The best part is it comes in pork, beef, or soy and I have tried them all. It's just something about that pork one that sticks to me. This one is the Mexican Chorizo that comes in a casing, so I cut it open and added it into the dish with the smoked sausage. The other thing I love about the chorizo is that it gives the dish that tint of red.

What kind of pasta to use?

For this dish, I pulled out the penne pasta. However, some more good choices are:

• Rigatoni
• Rotini
• Shells
• Fettuccini
• Linguine

What's the prep for this dish?

I'm a huge fan of prepping. Because once you get that done, everything else runs smoothly.

First, clean (if you do or if you don't, that's up to you) your chicken and cut it up into 1/2 inch cubes. Place them into a bowl.

Slice the smoked sausage into 1/2 inch slices and place them into a separate bowl.

Measure out your seasonings and place them into a prep bowl or small bowl.

Have your liquids already measured out. I love these easy-read measuring cups. The design makes it easy to pour and read the measurement.

You can even have your butter and cream cheese cut up into cubes as well.

WILL THE CAJUN PASTA BE SPICY?

For those that cannot take heat at all, this may be a little spicy. Cajun spices/seasonings are made of peppers; ground black pepper, white pepper, and cayenne pepper. It also has smoked paprika in it as well. The paprika and cayenne pepper combined is what helps most Cajun seasoning blends get that nice red color.

If you add in spicy smoked sausage, then it will definitely be spicy.

For the most part, everyone in my house loves heat (besides me at times), so it doesn't bother us. But, please adjust it to your spice level and it'll turn out great still. For an alternative take, you can use creole seasoning blend instead. Creole seasoning is more herbal spices than spicy. It has more of the thyme, oregano, and rosemary flavors.

A FEW MORE TIPS

If you can get fresh parmesan cheese and grate it yourself, that's the best. It will help create a nice creamy texture to your pasta dish.

You can swap out the half & half with heavy cream. Both works well and the cream cheese will help to also make it creamy and helps to make the sauce thicker. We don't want dry pasta.

I hope you give this recipe a try and let me know how you and your family like it.

Cajun Chicken Pasta with Smoked Sausage and Chorizo

Cajun Chicken Sausage Chorizo Pasta is a one pot wonder that's so good, everyone will want more!

5 from 8 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 tbsp Butter, unsalted
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 2 Chicken breats, cut into 1/2" pieces
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Pepper
• 1/4 tsp Cajun Seasoning
• 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp Paprika
• 14 oz Smoked sausge, cut into 1/2" slices
• 11 oz Chorizo
• 8 oz Penne pasta
• 1 tbsp Parsley, chopped

Cajun Sauce

• 3 cloves Garlic
• 1 cup Chicken broth
• 1 cup Half & Half
• 1-1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 1 tsp Garlic pepper
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning optional
• 8 oz Cream cheese
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated fresh will give best results
• Salt to taste

Instructions

 

• Boil pasta according to package.
• Season cut chicken with salt, pepper, cajun seasoning, italian seasoning and paprika
• In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add chicken to skillet. Cook chicken until done, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside on a plate.
• Add sliced smoked sausages and brown for about 2 minutes. Add chorizo and cook an additional 3-4 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside on a plate.

Making the sauce

• Using the same pan, add butter. Once it melts, add garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
• Add chicken broth and half & half. Let it come to a simmer. Add in cajun seasoning, paprika, garlic powder, italian seasoning and mix well.
• Add cream cheese and parmesan cheese. Mix well. It will start to thicken up. It should take about 2-3 minutes.
• By this time the pasta should be ready. Drain and add to the pan. Mix well.
• Add chicken and sausage back to the pan. Stir and taste to see if you need to add salt.
• Once everything is heated up. Cover and turn heat off.
• Garnish with parsley and enjoy!

Notes

Additional tips and suggestions are within the reading above.

Keyword cajun pasta, chorizo, one pot, one pot meal, penne pasta, smoked sausage

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