This is quick, easy and restaurant delicious (perfect for upcoming Father’s Day)!  It boasts everything you love about traditional chicken Alfredo, but with a Cajun infused twist!  To make this easy recipe, chicken fillets are pounded thin so they’re incredibly tender, coated in blackening seasoning then pan seared to create a charred, boldly seasoned exterior giving way to a buttery, juicy interior. The luxurious Alfredo sauce is infused with blackening seasoning, fresh garlic, butter and Parmesan and utilizes both chicken broth and heavy cream so it boasts double the flavor without all the guilt!  Serve this Blackened Chicken Alfredo with fresh tomato cucumber salad or baked Parmesan asparagus along with some Parmesan breadsticks for a complete meal the whole family will love!

If you love Cajun inspired pasta recipes, look no further!  Along with this Blackened Chicken Alfredo recipe, you’ll love Cajun Shrimp Pasta, Cajun Chicken Pasta and Cajun Chicken Alfredo Bake. Also don’t miss traditional fettuccine Alfredo!

 

This Blackened Chicken Alfredo is one of my favorite pasta recipes to date and so worth the occasional calorie splurge.  The chicken and pasta are swaddled in intoxicating buttery, Parmesan Alfredo sauce spiked with just the right kick of Cajun heat.  The creamy sauce is the perfect contrast to the silky noodles and juicy, crusted chicken.  This recipe is ridiculously delicious, ridiculously easy and about to become a new repeat favorite!  Here’s why you’ll love this recipe:

“Blackened” is a method of Cajun cooking in which chicken, beef, pork, fish, shrimp, etc. are coated in a spice rub then seared at high heat.  The seasonings char, deepen in flavor and mingle with the butter to create an irresistible dark crust that is smoky, spicy and complex giving way to juicy, tender protein – in this case chicken.

While both cooking methods can develop a flavorful char on the exterior of the food, blackening always involves coating the protein in blackened seasoning first.  Grilled foods can be blackened, but not all grilled foods are blackened.

Blackened foods, on the other hand, are intentionally cooked at higher temperatures to develop the charred crispy crust.

The blackening technique was populated by Chef Paul Prudhomme.  Chef didn’t have a grill at his New Orleans restaurant, so he used a hot cast iron skillet to develop the charred crust on his proteins.

You don’t need to be a chef or own a restaurant to make this Blackened Chicken Alfredo!  It all starts with the seasonings. Blackening seasoning is associated with Cajun or Creole cooking. It is a robust blend of herbs and spices resulting in a smoky, spicy, earthy, flavor. 

The red appearance is from the smoked paprika and cayenne pepper.  Please do NOT substitute smoked paprika with regular paprika – the smokiness is everything. 

You can find smoked paprika with the rest of the spices at your grocery store.  I use it in ALL my Mexican recipes, so I promise your purchase will not go to waste. The rest of the blackening seasoning is a mix of common pantry seasonings you probably have on hand already.  You can also customize the heat by using more or less cayenne pepper.

This Chicken Alfredo recipe is made with easy-to-find, pantry friendly ingredients.  If you don’t already own all of the blackening seasonings, I highly suggest you add them to your pantry – they are staples you will use all the time!  Here’s what you’ll need for this Blackened Chicken Alfredo:

Blackened chicken should be cooked in a heavy bottom pan such as a stainless steel or cast-iron skillet to develop the deep crust.  No matter what pan you use, you will want a take care your pan is large enough to accommodate the chicken and the sauce, or combine them in a larger pan.

This Blackened Chicken Alfredo recipe is easy to make with just a few steps. Here’s how: 

This Blackened Chicken Alfredo is an excellent springboard for all sorts of variations. Here are just a few ideas:

You can prep portions of this Chicken Alfredo recipe in advance so the final dish comes together quickly:

This Blackened Chicken Alfredo is pretty straightforward, but below you’ll find answers to commonly asked questions to satisfy your curiosity and guarantee success: