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Why You’ll Love This Slow Cooker Cajun Chicken Pasta

• Rich and creamy. I love pasta recipes like my creamy Cajun chicken alfredo, and I knew I wanted to translate those flavors to an easy crockpot dinner. This recipe delivers with its rich, cheesy sauce and bold, spicy Cajun seasoning.
• One pot. Assemble everything in the slow cooker, and let it cook! You can boil the pasta in this recipe separately, or there’s the option to cook it right in the crockpot for a true one-pot meal.
• Versatile. I serve this slow-cooker Cajun chicken with pasta, but you could just as easily combine it with rice, quinoa, or serve it over mashed potatoes.

Ingredients You’ll Need

You need very few ingredients to pack loads of flavor into this slow cooker Cajun chicken pasta. I’ve included notes on the ingredients below. You’ll find the full recipe with amounts in the printable recipe card after the post.

• Heavy Cream – You could also use half and half.
• Parmesan Cheese – Freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino melts smoother than pre-grated cheese.
• Chicken – I recommend boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs as they’re easy to shred. If you make this recipe with bone-in chicken, it may need longer to cook.
• Cajun Seasoning – I use my homemade Cajun seasoning and garlic powder (if needed, substitute 1 fresh clove per ½ teaspoon of garlic powder). You can also use your favorite store-bought Cajun or Creole spice or blackened seasoning. 
• Andouille Sausage – Sliced into ½” coins. Andouille sausage is the classic choice for Cajun cooking (you’ll find it in dishes like Louisiana red rice and beans and Southern-style shrimp and grits). Feel free to use another spicy or mild sausage, like Italian sausage or chorizo, depending on what you prefer.
• Butter – Salted or unsalted, cut into cubes.
• Pasta – Any dried pasta you’d like. I use cavatappi (corkscrew) pasta, but you can use elbow macaroni, penne, bowtie, and even long pasta varieties like spaghetti, linguine, or fettuccine.

• Make the sauce. Start by combining the heavy cream and Parmesan in the bottom of the crockpot or slow cooker. 
• Add the remaining ingredients. Next, nestle the chicken into the sauce. Sprinkle over the Cajun seasoning and garlic powder, then add the sausage to the pot. Lastly, scatter the cubes of butter over the top.
• Cook. Cover the pot and cook for 3-4 hours on Low. Towards the end of the cooking time, boil the pasta according to the directions on the package.
• Shred the chicken. Finally, use two forks to shred the chicken (you can also shred chicken quickly using your hand mixer). Then, add the cooked pasta to the crockpot. Give everything a good stir to coat.
• Serve! Dish up with a sprinkle of extra Parmesan cheese and serve with a salad, or any of your favorite sides. See below for more ideas.

Recipe Tips

• Check that the chicken is done. Use an instant-read meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken at the thickest part of the breast. If it reads 165ºF, it’s done. 
• If you’d like to cook the pasta in the crockpot, you’ll need to add 14 ounces of chicken broth along with the heavy cream. After cooking, when you take the chicken out to shred it, add the dried pasta to the crockpot and stir it into the sauce. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until the pasta is tender, then add the chicken back to the pot.
• Adapt the heat level. If you’d prefer a milder dish, scale back the Cajun seasoning and use a mild sausage instead. On the other hand, if you prefer it spicy, amp up the seasoning to taste and add crushed red chili flakes or a dash of hot sauce.
• Add veggies. Stir in diced bell peppers, zucchini, or another veggie, like broccoli. 
• Make it in a skillet. For a quick dinner idea, sear and cook the chicken and sausage in a skillet, and use the same skillet to prepare the cream sauce. Shred the chicken and add everything back to the pan before tossing it with cooked pasta. Dinner is done in 30 minutes!

Storing and Reheating Leftovers

• Refrigerate. Store any leftover slow cooker Cajun chicken pasta in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. 
• Reheat. Warm the chicken pasta in the microwave or in a skillet until it’s nice and hot throughout.
• Freeze. If you’re planning to freeze your leftovers, consider leaving the pasta separate (pasta tends not to freeze and thaw very well). Store the shredded Cajun chicken in a freezer-safe container and freeze it for up to 2 months. Thaw the chicken in the fridge before reheating.

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