BBQ Chicken Cajun Pasta – One of our favorite restaurant meals with a Semihomemade twist! Grilled Chicken tossed in BBQ sauce, on top of cajun sauce coated fusilli pasta and cheese. Served with a side of tortilla chips and extra cajun sauce for the perfect restaurant dinner made at home!
One of my all time favorite pasta dishes got a Semi Homemade Version make over and I’m so happy to be able to share it with y’all! We tested this recipe with a few different brands of sauces and I am 100% in love with the outcome.
A restaurant favorite of mine in college, originally called Southwest Pasta, is going to be a new favorite of yours! Ready in about 30 minutes and so good! It’s also great when made with BBQ shrimp!
Quick Glance At Ingredients:
- fusilli pasta
- grilled chicken, cut into strips
- Stubb’s® Original Barbecue Sauce
- Bertolli Alfredo Sauce with Aged Parmesan Cheese
- Louisiana Fish Fry Cajun Seasoning
- shredded Colby Jack Cheese
- Dried Parsley and Tortilla Chips Optional
What Kind Of Chicken Does BBQ Chicken Cajun Pasta Use?
Since this is a Semi Homemade recipe, I used Tyson Cooked Grilled Chicken Breast Strips and heated them before adding them to the BBQ sauce. However, you could use Rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, leftover chicken or you could cook up some chicken at home for this recipe on the grill or in the oven.
Can I Use Gluten Free Pasta?
Absolutely! I’ve made this recipe quite a few times with gluten free pasta. Rummo Pasta has a great Gluten Free Fusilli made with Rice & Corn that I really like. That brand is a little expensive on Amazon but I’ve found it in our local grocery stores for MUCH cheaper.
What Is Cajun Seasoning?
Cajun Seasoning is a seasoning mix with roots in Louisiana. It is a spice blend of cayenne and paprika that gives it a bold flavor as well as some other things like garlic, onion, oregano and pepper depending on the brand.
For this particular recipe we use, Louisiana Fish Fry Cajun Seasoning and really loved how it turns out. Not all cajun seasonings are made the same and some of them are really salty! So, I suggest that when you’re making this dish, to add a little cajun seasoning to the sauce at a time and taste while you go to make sure it’s the right amount for you.
When we were testing this recipe at home, we tried Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning, Badia Cajun Louisiana and the Louisiana Fish Fry Cajun Seasoning. For this sauce, Louisiana Fish Fry Cajun Seasoning was the winner!
What Type Of Jarred Alfredo Sauce Should I Use?
Just like with the cajun seasoning, we tried out 3 different brands of Alfredo sauce when testing this recipe. Of course you can make your own homemade alfredo, but if you decide to go with a jarred Alfredo sauce to make this recipe you’ll want to make sure it is a jar of alfredo sauce that you really love.
We tested this recipe with Classico Creamy Alfredo Pasta Sauce, Bertolli Alfredo Sauce with Aged Parmesan Cheese and Ragu Classic Alfredo Sauce.
Bertolli Alfredo Sauce with Aged Parmesan Cheese was our winner in our testing when we made the cajun sauce for this BBQ Chicken Cajun Pasta.
What Type Of Jarred BBQ Sauce Should I Use?
For the BBQ Sauce, We tested this recipe with 3 different sauces:
- Stubb’s® Sticky Sweet Barbecue Sauce
- Stubb’s® Original Barbecue Sauce
- Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce
While we are normally a fan of all three, we really like using Stubb’s® Original Barbecue Sauce for this particular recipe. The other 2 just made this pasta dish too sweet for us.
How To Make BBQ Chicken Cajun Pasta aka Southwest Pasta
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First start that water boiling for your pasta. Add some salt to it and let it get to boiling.
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You’ll want to cook the pasta according to the directions, but I normally cook it 13 minutes for regular pasta and 16 minutes for gluten free pasta.
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While the pasta is cooking, pour that alfredo sauce into a sauce pan and add some cajun seasoning. Remember, if you don’t normally cook with cajun seasoning, add a little at a time and taste as you go.
Let that cajun sauce heat up until hot and bubbly. -
Pour that BBQ sauce into a sauce pan and let it heat up too.
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If you’re using the frozen chicken strips, heat them up.
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Toss cooked chicken with BBQ sauce.
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Drain pasta and toss with cajun sauce.
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To Plate it, we’re going to pour some cajun sauce covered pasta into a bowl (or on plate), top with some shredded cheese and then top with with some of our BBQ chicken.
You Can Watch A Quick Video Below Of Me Making This Recipe For Dinner:
What To Serve With This BBQ Chicken Cajun Pasta:
More Great Chicken Recipes For Dinner:
BBQ Chicken Cajun Pasta
One of our favorite restaurant meals with a Semihomemade twist! Grilled Chicken tossed in BBQ sauce, on top of cajun sauce coated fusilli pasta and cheese. Served with a side of tortilla chips and extra cajun sauce for the perfect restaurant dinner made at home!
Ingredients
- 16 ounces fusilli pasta
- 16 ounces grilled chicken, cut into strips
- 18 ounce bottle Stubb's® Original Barbecue Sauce
- 30 ounces Bertolli Alfredo Sauce with Aged Parmesan Cheese
- 2 teaspoons Louisiana Fish Fry Cajun Seasoning
- 1 cup shredded Colby Jack Cheese
- Dried Parsley and Tortilla Chips Optional
Instructions
- Bring a large pot water to a boil. I like to salt the water when cooking pasta.
- Add pasta and cook according to package directions.
- While pasta, cooks work on sauce.
- To make cajun sauce, pour alfredo sauce into a sauce pan and add in cajun seasoning*. Stir to combine.
- Heat cajun sauce on medium/low heat until hot and bubbly.
- Pour BBQ Sauce into a sauce pan and heat until hot.
- When pasta is done, drain and pour into a large bowl.
- Stir cajun sauce into pasta.
- Stir chicken into BBQ sauce.
- To Plate: Pour 1.5 / 2 cups pasta into a bowl (or onto plate). Sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheese. Top with sliced of BBQ Chicken.
- Sprinkle with parsley if desired and serve with tortilla chips.
Notes
*If you don’t normally cook with cajun seasoning, add a little at a time and taste as you go.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1746Total Fat: 111gSaturated Fat: 66gTrans Fat: 3gUnsaturated Fat: 35gCholesterol: 427mgSodium: 4846mgCarbohydrates: 113gFiber: 4gSugar: 46gProtein: 77g
I am not a dietitian. The nutrition box is calculated through a program and there may be errors. If you need an accurate count, use your favorite nutrition calculator.
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