You can’t beat a pasta dish for dinner and my Cajun Chicken Pasta Skillet is a favourite at my house. It’s easy to make, even easier to eat and it makes loads so you can either feed a bit of a crowd or have delicious leftovers. Either way, it’s a win/win!
If I’m making this for just my husband and I, this dish is the perfect bowl food to enjoy on the couch while watching TV, but if I’m making this for guests I’d serve it as is straight from the skillet alongside some garlic bread and either some green beans or a nice side salad. It’s a really versatile recipe that you can pull out time and again, whether it’s for an easy weeknight dinner after a long day of work or for feeding your friends while entertaining. Let’s get started!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 400g chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons Cajun-style seasoning
- Chicken stock pot or cube
- 400g passata
- 500g fusilli or other short pasta shape of your choice
- 250ml double cream
- 30g Parmesan cheese, finely shredded
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Salt & pepper
Method
- Put a large pot of salted water with a drop of oil on high heat with the lid on and bring to the boil. Once boiling, cook the pasta according the packet instructions, but make sure to undercook it by about 2 minutes. It should be very al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Heat the oil over medium high heat in a large skillet or casserole that has a lid and will fit everything later. Add the chicken & season lightly with salt & black pepper. Fry the chicken, stirring occasionally until browned on all sides.
- Add the garlic to the pan and cook for another minute or two before sprinkling over the Cajun seasoning. Give everything a stir and try to coat the chicken pieces as much as possible with the seasoning.
- Add the chicken stock pot or crumble in a stock cube and give it a stir to try to combine everything as much as possible before pouring in the passata. Fill the passata jar about 1/3 full and swill it around to get the dregs. Add this water to the pot as well and stir to combine everything.
- Bring the pot to a boil. Once boiling, cover with the lid, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for about 15 minutes.
- After the 15 minutes, pour in the double cream and stir to incorporate it into the sauce before adding the pasta. Continue to cook the pasta in the sauce until it is hot and reaches the consistency you desire. This stage should take only about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Stir in the Parmesan cheese and the lemon juice. Serve hot.
