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Jan 06
58

One-Pot Cajun Chicken and Sausage Pasta

One-Pot Cajun Chicken and Sausage Pasta on a plate

This One-Pot Cajun Chicken and Sausage Pasta was a huge hit with my family and I can’t wait for you all to try it! My husband went back for seconds and kept saying how good it was. I’m honestly not surprised he loved it! This dish is full of smoky, rich flavor with Cajun-spiced chicken, turkey smoked sausage, pasta, and a creamy sauce made with fire-roasted tomatoes. It’s so good. I kept the spice level family-friendly, but if you like it spicier, feel free to add the extra cayenne for a kick. As a bonus, this recipe is all made in one pot which helps cut back on clean up afterward. I so appreciate one-pot meals. I love cooking and eating but I hate washing dishes!

One-Pot Cajun Chicken and Sausage Pasta in a pot

This meal tastes super decadent, but I’m happy to report that a 1 ¼ cup serving of this tasty One-Pot Cajun Chicken and Sausage Pasta is just 366 calories or 7 WW Points! To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here! Seriously, no one will believe this creamy, meaty, flavorful pasta is lightened up.

Looking for more tasty comfort food recipes to warm up to this winter? Check out my Cheesy Chicken and Stuffing Bake, One-Pot Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese, Swedish Turkey Meatballs, Chicken and Dumplings Casserole, One-Pot Creamy Garlic Chicken Pasta, Chicken Divan, Bubble Up Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Bake, Stuffed Turkey Bundles with Gravy, One-Pot Dirty Spicy Rice with Chicken and Sausage, Crispy Cheddar Chicken with Cream Sauce, Chicken Pot Pasta, Beef Enchilada Pasta Skillet, Rustic Sausage and Potatoes Skillet, Beef Stroganoff, Beefy American Goulash, and so many more in the Comfort Food category of my recipe index!

One-Pot Cajun Chicken and Sausage Pasta in a pot
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5 from 12 votes
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One-Pot Cajun Chicken and Sausage Pasta

This One-Pot Cajun Chicken and Sausage Pasta is full of rich, smoky flavor with a creamy sauce!

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¾ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ¾ teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, if you want the dish spicier, feel free to increase to ½ teaspoon
  • 1 lb raw boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into small bite-sized pieces
  • 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 (13 oz) rope of turkey smoked sausage (I used Hillshire Farm), sliced
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 2 ¾ cups reduced sodium chicken broth
  • 1 (15 oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
  • 12 oz dry pasta such as penne, campanelle, farfalle or rotini, use whole wheat pasta if following the WW purple plan
  • 2 oz of 1/3 less fat cream cheese, cut into cubes (also labeled Neufchatel cheese)
  • 2 medium scallions, sliced (optional)

Instructions

  • Combine the smoked paprika, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, onion powder, salt, black pepper and cayenne in a small dish and stir to combine into a Cajun spice mix. Place the cut up chicken in a bowl and add the spice mix. Stir until chicken is coated.
  • Add the oil to a 5 QT dutch oven or pot and bring to medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and stir to coat. Cook the chicken for 2-3 minutes, stirring once or twice until the outsides of the pieces are browning. Add the sausage and onion and stir together. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, occasionally stirring and scraping up any browned spice mix stuck to the pan until the onion is softened. Add the broth, fire-roasted tomatoes, and pasta and stir to combine.
  • Cover the pot and turn the heat to high to bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove the lid and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through and the liquid has thickened some.
  • Stir in the cream cheese cubes until dissolved into the sauce. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes to thicken the sauce before stirring again and serving.

Notes

To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!
WW Points per (1 & ¼ cup) serving: 7 (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
Nutrition Information per (1 ¼ cup) serving:
366 calories, 40 g carbs, 4 g sugars, 11 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 28 g protein, 4 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)
MYWW SMARTPOINTS PER (1 ¼ cup) SERVING: (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
Green: 8 SmartPoints/ Blue: 8 SmartPoints/ Purple: 4 SmartPoints
Weight Watchers Points Plus:
9 per (1 ¼ cup) serving (PP calculated using a Weight Watchers PointsPlus calculator and the nutrition info below)
Adapted from Budget Bytes

58 comments on “One-Pot Cajun Chicken and Sausage Pasta”

  1. Just made this and loved it!  My husband added Franks hot sauce to his..We are from Buffalo so, enough said! 

  2. I am sooooo excited to make this! Can I sub store-bought cajun seasoning for your mixture? I don’t have all those spices on hand but I do have cajun seasoning! Thank you!

    • Sure, you can substitute store-bought cajun seasoning! It might taste a little different, but I’m sure it will still be good!

  3. I made this tonight and it was delicious. Hubby loved it and went back for thirds. We will definitely be making this again. Love your recipes! Thank you. 

  4. Oh I can’t wait to make this! Looks delicious!

  5. I made this tonight. It was wonderful. Also husband approved. I did opt for the 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper and did not find it to be too spicy. Thank you Emily for another great recipe. 

    • I made this again last night. This time is used 2 cans of the fire roasted tomatoes so I had more sauce. I definitely preferred it with this modification. 

  6. My husband is a picky eater and doesn’t eat onions or tomatoes, so I added extra onion powder and used spicy V8 instead. It was a little saucy, so I should have cut back on the liquid or let it simmer awhile before adding pasta. Regardless, the flavor was incredible! My husband is already asking to take the leftovers for lunch tomorrow, and he hates leftovers!! THANK YOU for this amazing recipe! The hardest part is not eating it all!

  7. How many total servings does this make? I couldn’t seem to find that listed in the calories section. 

    • That information is always listed directly below the recipe title in the recipe section of the post!

  8. Would this be too spicy for a 3 year old? Thanks!

  9. This was fabulous! I used my own cajun spice because we like extra spicy. Very filling and great with corn/quinoa pasta for 4 pts. My husband even loved it.

  10. This is a great recipe! Another home run to put in my recipe book to make again! 

  11. Y’all! This is soooo good! This is definitely going to be a normal recipe for me!

  12. Made this last night. So simple and tastes AMAZING! I used 1/2 tsp cayenne and it was just the perfect amount of heat.

  13. First – another HIT recipe from you. This is delicious and made enough for my lunch for the week 🙂

    Question when I added the calories to WW calculator I am getting 10pts for 1 serving under green plan. Am I missing something? I found with others as well I am getting at least 1 pt extra. I’m just using the data provided on the site. 

    • Hi Patti,
      You can’t use the nutrition information to track a recipe because it will not take it the 0 point foods into account. I always use the WW recipe builder to calculate my recipes

  14. Oh my word, this is delicious! Made it for dinner tonight and could not believe the depth of flavor in such an easy to make dish! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!!!!

  15. I know it says 1 1/4 cup serving, however how many servings does this make for the whole recipe?  Dry excited to try this tonight! 

  16. Made this for my lunches this week! It was very good!

  17. Another one of your recipes added to our rotation! This one is now one of my new favorites! Absolutely delicious, and husband approved! 

  18. Definitely making this one again! Delicious and full of flavor!

  19. Can I make this ahead and warm in a crock pot for a Mardi Gras themed work lunch?

  20. Do you have any tips if I wanted to make this and freeze it?

  21. I made this Saturday evening and didn’t tell my husband it is WW friendly; otherwise, he’d consider it “diet food.” He scarfed it up and enjoyed every bite. Thanks much for a great WW friendly recipe!

  22. So, so good!!  I served it for our weekly “family dinner” tonight.  It was hit!  So much flavor and great portion sizes.  

  23. This was super good, I added just a touch of corn starch to thicken the sauce and it was delicious!

  24. Made this tonight and my husband and I both said it’s the first WW friendly meal I’ve made that we both want again. My daughter didn’t like it, but she rarely likes anything I make.  
    Thank you for giving me hope that I can find things for all of us. Thank you!!

  25. I made this tonight for dinner for Fat Tuesday, it was really delicious!!!! The rub for the chicken made the dish very flavorful and just a little spicy. Great method for cooking the pasta. I will definitely make again!!!

  26. This was a hit! Even my dad, who says he really only likes “plain Jane” things, raved about this delicious recipe! Thanks for sharing! We’ll definitely have again! 

  27. This is on my menu for next week, the hubby loves Cajun food! I think I will swap the chicken breast with shrimp and serve it with a nice salad.

  28. I made this yesterday, and OMGracious! The best new recipe I’ve tried! I’ve been on WW a while and this is beyond delicious, even better the next day. YUMM

  29. I’m going to make a very bold statement. This may be the best Emily Bites recipe that I’ve made!

  30. Ok, I never leave comments, but had to for this recipe.  It was so easy and DELICIOUS!  My family loved it!  Thanks for the great recipe and stay healthy!!

  31. Made this last night – DELICIOUS! My fiancee raved about it!

  32. Emily: I bow down to you for this recipe.  I made this last night with a few modifications, (16 oz pasta, added wine plus about 1/3 cup marinara).  This was so delicious!  My husband could not stop raving about it and wants to add to our rotation.

  33. I only used kielbasa and it was still delicious! Thank you for all of the great recipes Emily!

  34. We LOVED this recipe! It has so much flavor and is just so delicious! Definitely a keeper, and one of my favorite things that I’ve ever made. Thanks so much for this recipe!

  35. LOVED THIS!!! I had just bought Duck Commander Cajun Seasoning that I used, and it was incredible!! Definitely going on repeat!!

  36. This dish is in regular rotation in my household, with slight variations. My husband wasn’t a fan of the homemade Cajun seasoning so we sub with McCormick. I also add a tbsp of flour (a la your blackened chicken bites) to get a nice coating on the chicken. I also throw in chopped baby spinach after the pasta is cooked, to get some extra nutrition without our son realizing. Win for all of us! Thank you for this great weeknight recipe and hallelujah for one pot meals! 🙂5 stars

  37. so delicious and easy!5 stars

  38. Emily, if I am on the blue plan, can I swap the chicken (0 points) for shrimp (0 points) without upsetting any numbers? Thanks!5 stars

  39. Absolutely delicious! I really like the homemade cajun seasoning and the scallions were a nice touch. My wife loved it as well, definitely adding it to the lineup 🙂5 stars

  40. Emily, this is SO FREAKING GOOD. I made it for lunches this week and I did swap out the chicken for 1 lb. of medium cooked, frozen & thawed shrimp just because I had planned chicken for dinners. IT TOOK ME LONGER TO TAKE THE TAILS OFF THE SHRIMP THAN TO MAKE THIS DISH! (I did use bottled Cajun seasoning because I had it on hand.) This is sooooo delicious, definitely one for the recipe box! I have my portions in the fridge and I’m so excited that I get to eat it all week! I’m planning to make another batch for a family gathering this summer and I’m not going to tell them it’s healthy–they’ll never guess! LOL5 stars

  41. Safe to say I’ve made this dish 10+ times! My boyfriend and I love it!! He requests it all the time. Can’t even tell it’s “lightened up” and it’s not too spicy. I’m a wimp when it comes to spice and I think it’s perfect!5 stars

  42. I want to make this tonight but do not have cream cheese. Think another type of cheese would work?

  43. Hi Emily. I love this recipe and want to make it for a friend who just had a baby. I want to know if this can be frozen?

  44. Just tried this for the first time tonight and it is DELICIOUS!!! Thank you so much for the recipe. 5 stars

  45. The best dish I’ve had to eat since I started WW! Thanks emilybites. 5 stars

  46. This recipe was all I hoped it would be and then some. Thank you for a quick and delicious meal.

  47. This recipe is DELICIOUS!!!! I would give it 10 stars if I could. My family absolutely loves it and this has become one of our favorites.5 stars

  48. Can I substitute gluten free pasta?

  49. Made this last night and it is so good!!! I used 1/2 tsp cayenne and it was perfect amount of spice. Next time I would add extra tomatoes or broth to make it a bit more saucy, but this is still 5 stars. Even my boyfriend ate some leftovers and he never does your one pot meals are always a hit!5 stars

  50. Another delicious ‘Emily Bites’ recipe. Had to use chicken thighs, but waited til the meat fell off the bone and had no problem. Gonna use it over cauliflower rice next time.5 stars

  51. Seriously, no one will believe this creamy, meaty, flavorful pasta is lightened up.5 stars

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