Louisiana Chicken Pasta is a recipe for one of the Cheesecake Factory’s most popular Cajun Chicken Pasta dishes. It’s a delicious Parmesan crusted chicken served over bow tie pasta with mushrooms, green onions, bell peppers and tomatoes in a spicy New Orleans sauce. Very easy, one skillet meal that comes together quickly and is full of flavor!
What kind of chicken to use for Louisiana Chicken Pasta
You will need thin or butterflied chicken breasts, or even chicken tenders. If the chicken you bought is thick, as it usually is, make sure to butterfly it by slicing it through the middle and splitting it into two thinner parts.
Chicken is crusted with Parmesan, bread crumbs and spices and cooked on each side for 4 to 5 minutes. You will cook them whole and then slice into strips.
This incredible Cheesecake Factory Louisiana Chicken Pasta Copycat dish is full of flavor thanks to the combination of bell peppers, garlic, green onions and mushrooms. And of course, Cajun seasoning. It’s Cajun chicken pasta in its finest!
My first introduction to Cajun spices as years ago, when Emeril Lagasse had a show on Food Network cooking everything with his Emeril Essence Creole Seasoning. What he used to make his Cajun Chicken Pasta recipe was a combination of paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, thyme, oregano and salt. To this day I still use his seasoning for the Louisiana Chicken Pasta recipe.
Tools needed for this Cajun Chicken Pasta
You will need two skillets to prepare it: one for cooking the chicken and the other for the sauce and pasta. I used stainless steel pans.
You will also need a large saucepan to cook pasta in, a spatula and a whisk.
What kind of pasta to use for this Louisiana Chicken Pasta
Any bow tie pasta will work here. My orange colored bow tie pasta was fun to work with and super delicious to eat! It was actually two color bow tie pasta, but the second darker color is not as visible on the pictures.
I also think penne will work very well in this Cajun Chicken Pasta dish.
When all work is done, the chicken is cooked and sliced, pasta is prepared and New Orleans Sauce is ready, sprinkle the slices of chicken with a bit of fresh green onions and shredded Parmesan and it will look even more attractive.
Serve it with the sliced chicken breast on top of the pasta.
This Cheesecake Factory Louisiana Chicken Pasta Copycat recipe is a restaurant quality meal at the convenience of your own home. Pay same price as in a restaurant, but get 4 full portions!
This one truly feeds a whole family. That’s a pretty good deal!
Now let’s get into it!
How to cook mushrooms
Heat olive oil and butter on medium high heat in a large stainless steel skillet until butter is melted. Add sliced Cremini mushrooms to the hot pan and cook for a total of 3 minutes – 1.5 minute on each side.
Next add mixed bell peppers, green onions, garlic, and a splash of olive oil. Cook for 4 minutes on medium high until softened.
To make Creamy New Orleans Sauce
Add chicken stock, heavy cream, and Cajun Seasoning. Simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes. This is when the sauce will really start to smell good and look good.
Hello spicy creamy sauce! Ready for pasta?
Taste the sauce now before adding pasta to make sure it’s seasoned to your liking, add more of Cajun seasoning, red pepper flakes and salt if necessary.
I added just a pinch more of seasoning at this point. Don’t forget you will be adding pasta to it later, so if you like it spicier, this is a good time to do it.
How to cook pasta
In the meantime bring a large pot of water to boil, add pasta and cook it according to instructions. Drain the pasta, but do not rinse.
For authentic “al dente” pasta, boil your pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally for 12 minutes. For more tender pasta, boil an additional 1 minute.
If you liked this Cheesecake Factory Louisiana Chicken Pasta Copycat, I also have a copycat for Pasta Da Vinci Chicken Pasta in Madeira Wine Sauce.
Hungry for more delicious pasta dishes? Below is the list of chicken pasta recipes to explore:
- Chicken Pasta with Bacon and Spinach in Creamy Tomato Sauce
- Seared Chicken Pasta in White Wine Parmesan Cheese Sauce
- Chicken and Mushroom Pasta in Pesto Wine Sauce
Our new favorite creamy chicken recipe is this Creamy Cajun Chicken and Sausage Pasta dish! It’s ready in less than 30 minutes and is so unbelievably good that I cannot recommend it enough.
Louisiana Chicken Pasta – Parmesan Crusted Chicken in a Spicy New Orleans Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- salt and pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 tbsp olive oil (divided)
- 2 tbsp butter (divided)
- 1 lb chicken breasts thin (4 to 5 pieces)
- 8 oz cremini mushrooms sliced
- ½ large yellow bell pepper chopped
- ½ large red bell pepper chopped
- 2 green onions chopped
- 3 cloves garlic sliced
Sauce:
- 1 cup chicken stock sodium free (adjust salt if not sodium free)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons Cajun Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 10 oz bow tie pasta
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- First, paper towel dry the chicken and then prepare two bowls. One is for the egg, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Whisk this egg mixture slightly.
- The second bowl is for the parmesan, bread crumbs and flour.
- Dredge each chicken breast piece in egg/seasoning mixture. After that place in parmesan mixture and press. Turn to coat the other side of the chicken with parmesan mixture and press again. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces and place each coated parmesan chicken onto a plate or a cutting board.
- TO COOK THE CHICKEN: Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter on medium high in the stainless steel skillet. PLACE COATED CHICKEN in skillet and cook on medium high heat for 3-4 minutes one one side. DO NOT MOVE chicken otherwise the cheese will slide off surface before it adheres! Press down lightly with a spatula. TURN WITH TONGS when the first side is golden brown and cook the other side for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the skillet onto a large plate.
- Melt 2nd tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Add sliced mushrooms to the hot pan and cook for a total of 3 minutes – 1.5 minute on each side.
- Add chopped bell peppers and green onions, and a splash of olive oil. Cook for 4 minutes on medium high until softened. Add garlic cloves and cook for 1 additional minute until garlic is fragrant.
- TO MAKE SAUCE: Add chicken stock, heavy cream, Cajun Seasoning, and salt to taste.
- TO COOK PASTA: In the meantime bring a large pot of water to boil, add pasta and cook it according to instructions. Drain the pasta, but do not rinse. For authentic “al dente” pasta, boil your pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally for 12 minutes. For more tender pasta, boil an additional 1 minute.
- Add pasta to the pan and stir until fully coated in sauce. Add Parmesan to the sauce now. Taste and season with more salt if necessary.
- Slice chicken into thin strips and serve on top of pasta in individual plates. Sprinkle with additional shredded Parmesan and chopped fresh green onions, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
For other popular chicken recipes see Balsamic Chicken with Brussels Sprouts and Apples and Chicken Pasta in Creamy White Wine Parmesan Sauce.
Hello, I was wondering about the Parmesan cheese in this recipe. It says Parmesan cheese for the chicken and Parmesan cheese grated for the sauce. Is one shredded Parmesan and the other grated?
Both Parmesan cheeses are grated (both for the chicken and the sauce).
Thank you for such a great tasting recipe! I am not the cook in my family but decided this sounded good and wanted to give it a try. I’m so glad I did! I was worried I may have bitten off more than I could chew but read through your directions and took my time. It came out great! I’m so proud of how it came out and loved having so much color in our food. My husband was impressed and he appreciated having the night off from cooking. 🙂
So glad it worked and your husband was happy with your cooking:)
Sooooo good!!!!
I accidentally bought half and half instead of heavy cream. Is it possible to still use it and do anything different? I made it before and we loved it! Thanks so much for this recipe! It’s one of our favorites at The Cheesecake Factory!
You can definitely use half and half instead of heavy cream!
Thank you! It still tasted amazing! Love this recipe!!
I made this last evening for dinner. It was time consuming but OH SO GOOD. I added a little Smoked Paprika (one of my favorite seasonings) to the sauce. Otherwise I followed it exactly. I will definitely make it again. It’s a keeper!!!
Thanks Olya!
5 star recipe..very good..i can’t wait to make it again.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Great recipe. My Cajun seasoning is salty so I used 2 teaspoons. Not sure if the recipe is supposed to be 2 tablespoons but was afraid it would be too salty. We loved it!!
Good call Ann about salt in the seasoning! I wonder why it’s even there. I’m glad it tasted good.
In the recipe it says 2 tablespoons cajun seasoning but in some place where you answered a question it says teaspoons. Can you please tell me which is the correct amount. Thanks 🙂
It’s 2 tablespoons. A reader had a cajun seasoning bottle that had sodium in it (usually it doesn’t – it must have been a seasoning blend that had Cajun), she reduced it due to salt in it.
We’ve been making this recipe for a couple of years and LOVE it. However, the last time we made it, it turned out differently and it looks like there have been some changes.
Did the amount of parmesan change for the sauce?
Cajun seasoning seems more and was there red pepper flakes?
It’s still great – but prefer the recipe before the update. Thanks!
Hi Courtney! Yes, I increased Cajun seasoning (it used to be 1 to 2 teaspoons) and removed red pepper flakes (1 teaspoon). Parmesan cheese – add another 1/2 cup for thicker sauce.