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This rich, creamy, slightly spicy Crockpot Cajun Chicken Pasta Soup is a fun, family-friendly chicken soup with a twist I just know your family will love as much as mine do! With chunks of tender chicken, a surprisingly light creamy tomato broth and tender pieces of pasta it is hearty, filling but packed with bright, bold flavors.
See recipe card below for full list of measurements, ingredients, and instructions.
Why This Is The Perfect Slow Cooker Recipe For Soup Season
- Smooth and creamy, yet light and slightly spicy this hands-off Crockpot Cajun Chicken Soup recipe is made a complete meal with added pasta shapes for bite and bulk.
- The acidity from the diced tomatoes helps cut through the creamy, cheesy broth, keeping the soup from tasting overly rich. A garnish of sliced green onions on top also help cut through the richness, making sure you won’t feel too heavy after devouring a bowlful for dinner this evening.
- This soup is something of a Cajun chicken / Chicken Alfredo hybrid, making the flavor so much cleaner than other versions made from a base of canned soup. It’s also a from-scratch version where you can completely control the ingredients that go into it.
- It cooks for 8 hours on low before you need to shred the chicken and add the pasta, meaning this is is the perfect dinner to prep before you go to work, ready to simply finish off in the evening when it is time to eat.
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What I Learned Testing This Recipe
- Don’t be impatient and skip bringing the cream and cheese to room temperature. Adding cold cream to hot soup will cause it to split, and cold cheese won’t melt evenly in the soup, at worst making it grainy, and at the very best leaving lumps. Been there, done that!
- I also found that stirring in the cream and the cheese gradually, rather than adding it all at once also helped get a super smooth and creamy finish.
- Start checking the pasta for doneness after about 15 minutes. Exact cooking times will vary depending on the pasta shape, the brand of pasta you’re using and your slow cooker (different models can actually really vary on heat output!) I’ve found it’s best to start checking early rather than relying solely on the clock.
Ingredients
Chicken breasts – As we’re slow cooking then shredding or dicing the chicken to add it back into the soup chicken thighs would also work here, or even chicken tenders!
Cajun seasoning – Use your favorite brand!
White onion – Yellow or brown onion would also work.
Garlic – Fresh garlic rather than dried will provide the best flavor here, but feel free to use a pre-minced variety from the jar.
Canned diced tomatoes – Don’t drain them, you also want to add their juices to the soup!
Chicken broth – I like to use low-sodium broth so I can better control the amount of salt in the overall soup, especially as Cajun blend can sometimes massively vary in salt levels. Obviously this is a chicken soup, but vegetable broth will also work in a pinch.
Heavy cream – At as close as room temperature as possible to prevent the soup from splitting. You could sub half and half, but it will make a lighter, less rich soup.
Ditalini – Or any other small dry pasta shape. Use gluten-free pasta and check the ingredients on the broth and in the Cajun seasoning if you need this soup to be gluten-free!
Freshly grated parmesan – At room temperature so it melts into the soup properly. If you’re adding it to a soup or a sauce always grate or shred your own cheese as the anti-caking agents added to the pre-prepared stuff will make your soup turn thick and gluey.
Slice green onions – To garnish.
Serving & Storage Suggestions
Soup and salad is always a classic combination, even though with the pasta this Cajun chicken soup is a complete meal by itself. Bread is also always a good idea for dipping and dunking, but cornbread would also go particularly well with the Cajun flavors.
Leftovers should keep for about 3-4 days in the refrigerator. If you expect leftovers, it might be an idea to cook the pasta separately from the soup and add it at the end, then cook fresh for each portion. The pasta will continue to absorb liquid in the fridge, making the pasta soft and the soup a little too thick.
As the soup contains cream, gently heat it through on the stovetop rather than in the microwave to stop it splitting. Also, I would not recommend freezing it for the same reason.
Frequently Asked Questions
All of the heat in this soup comes from the Cajun seasoning, and most store-bought brands tend to be spicy, but if you make your own you can make sure just to use sweet paprika which doesn’t have any heat.
Yes! Add a pinch of cayenne pepper along with the Cajun seasoning, or garnish each bowl with sliced green chili peppers.
Honestly, this soup will work in any size slow cooker big enough to hold all the ingredients, but I found that at least a 6-quart slow cooker gives you enough room to give everything a good stir once the pasta has been added and has started to swell.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions or variations listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Slow Cooker Creamy Cajun Chicken & Pasta Soup
Equipment
- Slow Cooker 6-quarts for best results
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning divided
- 1 small white onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes undrained
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream at or close to room temperature
- 1 cup ditalini or other small dry pasta shape
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan at room temperature
- salt and pepper to taste
- green onions sliced to garnish
Instructions
- Season both sides of chicken breasts with 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning.
- Add the seasoned chicken to the bottom of a 6 quart or larger slow cooker. Top with the chopped onion, garlic, diced tomatoes, the remaining 1 tbsp of Cajun seasoning, and the chicken broth.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours, or HIGH for 2-3 hours.
- Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and set aside. Add the pasta and cook on high 15-30 minutes, or until al dente. Meanwhile, shred or dice the chicken.
- Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker, before gradually adding in heavy cream and grated parmesan, stirring as you go until the cheese is melted and well blended. Taste and correct the seasonings, then ladle into bowls and garnish with green onions.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
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.
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