Chili's Cajun Chicken Pasta

By Addie

"I got this recipe from a place that claimed it as a copycat of Chilis Cajun Chicken Pasta, so I had to try it, and was pleasantly surprised that it DID taste a lot like it!"

Ingredients

• 12 ounces penne
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cajun seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 firm-ripe roma tomatoes, cored and diced

Preparation

Step 1

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook penne according to package directions.

Melt butter over medium heat. Add flour; stir for 1 minute. Add half-and-half; stir until thickened, 6 minutes. Remove from heat; add parmesan, salt and pepper. Cover.

Pound chicken to 1/2-inch thickness. Rub Cajun seasoning and cayenne evenly over chicken. Warm oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, turning once, until no longer pink in center, 6-8 minutes. Slice chicken.

In a bowl, toss pasta with sauce. Top with chicken and tomatoes and serve.
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REVIEWS:

This was super yummy! I don't know if I'd say it tastes just like the Chili's Cajun Chicken Pasta, but it was still delicious! Thanks for posting!

It was good, but I didn't LOVE it though.

Yes, this is a delightful and fun supper for the middle of the week OR a fancy week-end meal for guests...I added red and yellow peppers, along with tiny grape tomatoes...plus, I used heavy cream, instead of the 1/2 and 1/2...absolutely delicious! Thanks so much for the recipe I will make over and over again! (Used the Recipezaar cajun seasoning recipe from Cajun Seasoning Mix (changed the 3 Tablespoons of salt to 1 scant Tablespoon of freshly ground salt)...Excellent!

I was sooo ready to enjoy this dish. One of my favorites from Chili's. The only thing better would have been if somebody else would have cooked it for me! Thanks for posting!

I just made this pasta and I'm already planning on making it again! Thank you!

My roommate and I made this for dinner this evening, and it was amazing... I couldn't stop eating it! We tried not to deviate from the recipe too much, but we subtracted the tomatoes and added more cheese...yum... I will absolutely be making this again!

This tasted like it came straight from a restaurant! So yummy. I have made it a couple of times now. Just add more cajun seasoning if you want it spicier.

Excellent! It was easy to put together too. I used my own Cajun mix. Will try it next time with prawns. Thanks!

This was a great easy recipe. I will make this on a regular basis. I used Cajun Seasoning #114562 as suggested by another member and it was a great suggestion. It made an absolutely delcious, filling and quick dinner recipe.

This was very good I love chilis cajun chicken pasta and this is very close to it will absolutely make it again!!!

Both my husband and I thought this was delicious. We thought the tomatoes added at the end was a really nice touch. This will definitely be a regular in our house.

Yum - couldn't believe my husband liked it. I added a tin of tomato & vegetable pasta sauce to make it go even further. Perhaps next time I'll leave out the cayenne pepper though.
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By Julia Lynn

on February 09, 2009

WONDERFUL! I remember the Chili's pasta tasting very similar. Since neither my boyfriend or myself are big fans of tomatoes I omitted them and garnished with a little green onion. Will surely make this again. Thanks for sharing!

YUMMY! But I did modify it a bit. I added green peppers and portabella mushrooms. I made the Cajun seasoning recipe that I got from this site and mixed one TBS of that with 2TBS of olive oil and used that to marinade the sliced chicked breasts. I then cooked the chicken breasts with the peppers and mushrooms. I scooped out the chick mixture leaving the remaining seasoned oil from the chick in the pan and made the rest of this recipe in the pan which gave the sauce a stronger cajun taste. I garnished with chopped green onion. Hope this helps! It was d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s!!

This tasted almost identical to the Chili's old cajun pasta. It was from about ten years ago and the one on their menu now is different. I have been searching for this recipe FOREVER. I also used the cajun seasoning from this cite (the one posted by pets'r'us), but it was almost too spicy (and I love spicy) so I would decrease the cayenne just a tad. But otherwise this was decadently declicious and very close if not the same as Chili's.

I've never had the original at Chili's so I didn't have anything to compare this to, but it was very tasty. My boyfriend said its his favorite pasta dish that I make! But - we both had leftovers the next day and it was quite as good as when it was fresh. Next time I would probably season the sauce with some of the cayenne & cajun seasoning and add in some garlic. I didn't use the tomatoes just because I don't care for them. Thanks for a quick, easy recipe!

I've cooked this twice now and it's pretty good. It has a great taste and the tomato adds a ton of flavor. My only problem is both times the sauce has been a little thicker than I like or remember of the actual chilis sauce. Everything else is great though! Super easy to cook for anyone!

We enjoyed this! I added some red chili flakes to the sauce and when I served it I added a dash of dried basil on top. Great served with garlic bread. Very tasty recipe - thank you!!!!!!

Pretty good recipe - I have never had the Chilis version so not sure how close this is. The sauce was a bit thick so I added a tad bit more cream. I think chicken stock would have worked well also. I mixed the chicken in with the sauce and pasta instead of just placing on top of the pasta. I also added more cayenne and also some crushed red pepper flakes. Served this with salad and garlic toast......Perfect comfort food. Oh and don't forget to add the fresh diced tomato.....that really added some great flavor!!