Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta Soup
Posted: 03/23/22
Updated: 09/11/23
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All the best parts of rich, flavorful Cajun chicken pasta, made into a filling, delicious, super creamy soup! Made in less than 30 minutes and with simple ingredients, this soup is wonderfully rich, with plenty of cream, Parmesan, and Cajun-blackened chicken.
🍲 What Makes This Recipe So Good
- We took that tried-and-true cajun chicken pasta and turned it into the ultimate comfort dish – soup! This flavorful take on chicken noodle soup combines cajun seasoning, juicy chicken, tangy diced tomatoes, and a creamy broth with tender ditalini pasta.
- I wouldn’t consider this soup overwhelmingly hot or spicy, so don’t panic. Of course, it’s easy to customize and adjust the spice levels. For a good kick, you might use another ½ tablespoon cajun seasoning. If you’re really heat sensitive, dial it back to just 1 tablespoon total and use it only on the chicken. You can always add more to the soup if you feel it needs it toward the end.
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👩🏼🍳 Chef’s Tips
- It’s not necessary, BUT, if you want to really put your cajun chicken pasta soup over the top, serve it with a garnish of sliced green onions, crisp crumbled bacon, and a little more freshly shredded parmesan cheese.
- For a really thick, extra creamy soup, add in 2 ounces softened cream cheese when you add the broth and diced tomatoes. Make sure it’s softened, though. If it’s not room temperature when you add it, you risk it curdling in the dutch oven.
- I like to use thinly-sliced chicken breasts (typically 4 that weigh roughly ¼ pound each) or chicken tenders. This lets me maximize the surface area for seasoning, plus it lets the chicken cook in roughly 5 minutes total. Larger chicken breasts will take longer to cook, generally 4-5 minutes per side.
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Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta Soup
This rich, creamy noodle soup is full of incredible flavors and tender Cajun-blackened chicken.
servings
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 small white onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons cajun seasoning divided
- 5 cups chicken stock or 4 cups chicken stock + 1 cup water
- 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes undrained
- 1 cup heavy cream at or close to room temperature
- 1 cup ditalini or other small pasta, dry
- 1 pound chicken breasts or tenders see Notes
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan at room temperature, see Notes
- salt and pepper to taste
- green onions sliced, to garnish
Equipment
- large dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot
- Large spoon
- small skillet
- Tongs
- Cutting board
- Sharp knife
Instructions
- Heat butter in large dutch oven over medium-high heat. When butter is melted, add onions and garlic. Sauté approximately 5 minutes or until aromatics are tender and fragrant, then stir in 1 tablespoon cajun seasoning.
- Remove pot from heat and stir in broth, diced tomatoes, and heavy cream. Return pot to heat and bring mixture to boil, then reduce heat to medium and let liquids come to rapid simmer.
- Pour dry pasta into dutch oven and stir well. Cook 10 minutes, stirring regularly and making sure to scrape bottom of pot to prevent sticking or burning.
- While pasta cooks, sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon cajun seasoning over chicken, covering all sides.
- Heat small skillet over medium heat. Once pan is hot, pour in 1 tablespoon neutral oil and rotate pan to cover surface with oil.
- Add seasoned chicken to skillet. Cook 3 to 5 minutes, then flip chicken and cook on other side another 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to cutting board and let cool to touch, then chop chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- Reduce heat under dutch oven to low. Remove pot from heat and stir in grated parmesan until well combined. Return pot to low heat and stir in chicken pieces, then let soup simmer 2 to 3 minutes.
- Taste soup and add salt and pepper to taste. Portion soup into serving bowls. Garnish with sliced onions if desired and serve warm.
Notes
- Chicken: I like to use thinly-sliced chicken breasts (typically 4 that weigh roughly ¼ pound each) or chicken tenders. This lets me maximize the surface area for seasoning, plus it lets the chicken cook in roughly 5 minutes total. Larger chicken breasts (½ pound each or so) will take longer to cook, generally 4-5 minutes per side.
- Parmesan: Buy a block of parmesan and grate it yourself rather than using store-bought grated cheese. The prepackaged kind adds starches and other anti-clumping agents that will keep it from melting like it should.
- Make it Low Carb/Keto: Use palmini noodles instead of traditional pasta. Rinse the palmini well before adding it to the soup. Also, make sure your diced tomatoes don’t have any added sugars.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 1serving, Calories: 744kcal, Protein: 45g, Fat: 42g, Saturated Fat: 23g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 177mg, Sodium: 1408mg, Potassium: 1132mg, Total Carbs: 47g, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 2g, Net Carbs: 43g, Vitamin A: 3024IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 338mg, Iron: 3mg
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
I was wondering what cajun seasoning brand might be best. I typically use Slap Ya Mama but 2 tbls sounds like a lot because SYM is usually really salty. Is there another brand ypu would use?
SYM actually has a low-sodium option now! Tony Cachere’s also has a delicious low-sodium version as well. They’re both delish! 🙂
Second time making! One of my favorite recipes! I add a little cayenne pepper to spice up some! Also add spinach!
Oooh I love that! Thanks so much, Ashley!
Can you freeze this soup?
Hi, Gabrielle! This soup should freeze well. Let us know if you end up trying! 😊
Would tinned chopped tomatoes just be the same as diced tomatoes ?
Hi, Shannon! Yes, you can use canned chopped tomatoes for this recipe. Hope you enjoy!
My son who ‘doesn’t like soup’ LOVED this!
That’s quite the compliment!! So glad it was a hit! 😊
Could you make this in a crockpot?
We haven’t tested it yet but it should work!
WOW! This was sooo delicious! Extremely flavorful! 10/10! It’s now a favorite that will be repeated many times. Thank you so much for this recipe! For the cajun seasoning, I used Slap Ya Mama.
If you’re wanting bread to dip in the soup – soften half a stick of butter, add 1/4 tsp of cayenne, parsley, garlic powder, black pepper and course salt to the butter along with 1/2 tsp smoked Paprika, 4 cloves of minced garlic and a couple tablespoons of freshly grated parm. Mix all together. Slice an Italian loaf of bread horizontally and spread it on the inside of one of the halves (double the ingredients if using both halves). Stick in the oven at 400 for 12-15 min. So good!
So glad you enjoyed and thanks so much for the tips! Thanks for your great review, Mary!
Super easy & SO GOOD!
SO glad!! Thanks for the review, Sheri!
man i loved this recipe. super easy to make and so yummy
So glad to hear that, Penny! Thanks so much for the review!
This is a delicious dish! Have shared the recipe with a couple of friends that loved it, too! Question – do you think it would freeze well?
Hi, Erin! Unfortunately, any soup with pre-boiled pasta doesn’t retain great texture through the freezing, thawing, and reheating process. You could make the base soup and freeze it, then when you are ready to thaw and reheat it, just make some fresh pasta to add into it. Hope this helps!