Blackened Chicken Alfredo
Easy blackened chicken alfredo takes classic alfredo and gives it a little kick! Tender fettuccine, a creamy Cajun-seasoned alfredo sauce, and juicy blackened chicken breasts come together in a quick and easy dish guaranteed to please the whole group.
🐤 What Makes This Recipe So Good
- If you’re a fan of classic, creamy alfredo, you will absolutely love this blackened chicken alfredo! It takes everything you love about the original – the tender pasta, the creamy, cheesy sauce – and adds a ton of extra flavor!
- The chicken breasts are coated in a zesty spice rub of paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, cayenne, and dried herbs. A quick pan-sear locks in those flavors (along with the chicken’s natural moisture) and gives the chicken breasts a lovely, lightly-charred crust.
- Blackened chicken alfredo is simple and super budget-friendly, but it’s a restaurant-quality dish that totally feels gourmet. You can really make it your own, too, depending on what’s in your fridge or what’s on sale this week. Replace the chicken with blackened shrimp or blackened salmon, or add peas, spinach, or mushrooms to the sauce. Use angel hair or rotini instead of fettuccine.
👩🏼🍳 Chef’s Tips
- We developed our blackened chicken alfredo with a simple homemade alfredo sauce. You can totally use jarred alfredo sauce instead, though, especially if you’re trying to bring the costs down a little more.
- Dairy products can separate or curdle if they’re cold or cool when they’re added to hot pans or mixtures. So how to prevent that? Let the heavy cream and parmesan come to room temperature before starting the recipe. When you add each to the skillet, remove the pan from the heat and let it cool slightly first. Those two easy steps will seriously increase the likelihood of your alfredo sauce being creamy and smooth and perfect.
- You’re in charge of the amount of heat in the dish. If it’s really not something you enjoy, you might skip the Cajun seasoning in the sauce. If you really like a little kick to your blackened chicken alfredo, you might go heavier with blackened seasoning on the chicken and the Cajun seasoning in the sauce.
🍝 Pasta Recipes We Can’t Get Enough Of
- Tofu Pasta
- Marry Me Chicken Pasta
- Firebirds’ Chicken Pasta Copycat Recipe
- Lemon Ricotta Pasta with Marinara
- Instant Pot Chicken and Noodles
- Lemon Pepper Pasta
- Creamy Rotel Pasta with Ground Beef
- Baked Feta Pasta
Blackened Chicken Alfredo
This recipe for simple, flavorful blackened chicken alfredo is guaranteed to please. Made with homemade cajun-seasoned alfredo (or jarred alfredo if you prefer), fettuccine, and seasoned chicken breasts.
- large, heavy-bottomed pot
- large wooden spoon
- colander
- cutting board
- medium skillet
- tongs
- internal meat thermometer
- large plate
- paper towels
- whisk
For the Pasta
- 16 cups water
- 1 tablespoon salt (table salt or fine sea salt)
- 1 pound dry fettuccine
For the Blackened Chicken
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thinly sliced)
- 1 tablespoon blackened seasoning (more or less to taste)
- 1 tablespoon neutral cooking oil (vegetable oil, olive oil, avocado oil, etc.)
For the Homemade Alfredo Sauce
- ½ cup unsalted butter (cut into small pieces)
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream (at room temperature)
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning (more or less to taste)
- 2 cups grated parmesan cheese (at room temperature, see Notes)
For the Pasta
Fill large, heavy-bottomed pot with [wprm-ingredient text=”16 cups water” uid=”11″]. Place pot on stovetop over high heat and bring water to rolling boil.
When water begins to boil rapidly, add [wprm-ingredient text=”1 tablespoon salt” uid=”12″] and stir to incorporate. Allow water to return to rolling boil.
Once water begins to boil rapidly once again, add [wprm-ingredient text=”1 pound dry fettuccine” uid=”13″] to pot. Stir to incorporate, then boil pasta until al dente, approximately 1 to 2 minutes less than time indicated on pasta packaging.
Once pasta is al dente, pour water and cooked pasta through colander. Drain pasta well and set aside.
For the Blackened Chicken
While pasta boils, place [wprm-ingredient text=”1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts” uid=”0″] on cutting board. Sprinkle [wprm-ingredient text=”1 tablespoon blackened seasoning” uid=”2″] onto chicken breasts, covering all sides of each chicken breast with seasoning. Use additional blackened seasoning as needed.
Place medium skillet on stovetop over medium heat. When pan is warm, add [wprm-ingredient text=”1 tablespoon neutral cooking oil” uid=”3″] and continue heating, tilting and swirling pan occasionally to distribute oil across entire surface.
Once oil is hot and shimmery, place seasoned chicken breasts in skillet. Cook chicken 3 to 5 minutes, or until lightly blackened on one side. Flip chicken over and cook 3 to 5 minutes more, until lightly blackened on both sides and cooked through.
If desired, check doneness of chicken breasts with internal meat thermometer. Once chicken registers 160° to 163° Fahrenheit internally, transfer chicken to plate and set aside.
For the Alfredo Sauce
Wipe out skillet with paper towels and let skillet cool slightly. Before returning skillet to heat, add [wprm-ingredient text=”½ cup unsalted butter” uid=”5″] and [wprm-ingredient text=”1 ½ cups heavy cream” uid=”6″] to pan. Return skillet to heat and immediately reduce heat to low.
Simmer butter and cream over low heat while gently whisking, 2 minutes or until butter is melted.
Once butter is melted, add [wprm-ingredient text=”2 teaspoons minced garlic” uid=”7″] and [wprm-ingredient text=”1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning” uid=”8″]. Gently whisk mixture 1 minute.
Remove skillet from heat and add [wprm-ingredient text=”2 cups grated parmesan cheese” uid=”9″] in small increments. Whisk mixture after each addition to incorporate cheese. Once all parmesan cheese has been incorporated, return skillet to heat. Simmer mixture 1 to 2 minutes or until warmed through.
To Serve
Divide prepared pasta evenly between serving bowls or plates. Ladle alfredo sauce over pasta.
Slice chicken breasts into thin strips and top each serving of pasta with preferred amounts of blackened chicken. Serve immediately and enjoy.
- Chicken Breasts: You can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Whichever you use, make sure all pieces are roughly the same size and thickness so they cook at the same rate.
- Alfredo Sauce: You can reduce the overall cost of the dish by approximately $5.50 total (approximately $0.70 per serving) by using jarred alfredo sauce instead of homemade. The parmesan cheese is the most expensive part of this recipe. To keep the flavor in the dish, add 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning to the alfredo sauce as you heat it.
- Parmesan Cheese: You can use prepackaged, pregrated cheese, but you’ll get a creamier, more flavorful sauce by using fresh parmesan that you grate yourself. Prepackaged cheeses contain fillers and starches that can keep the cheese from melting like it should.
