Light(er) Cajun Chicken Pasta

In our house, we LOVE cajun chicken pasta. I had been making the same recipe for awhile but it was made with heavy cream and it was just ... unpredictable. Sometimes the sauce was super thin and almost watery, and sometimes it congealed. So, I decided to make my same recipe using low fat cream cheese instead, and we had a winner!

This recipe is a staple in our house and I hope that you will enjoy it too!

Light(er) Cajun Chicken Pasta

Jenna’s Journey Recipes

Ingredients:

• 1 pound linguini, spaghetti or angel hair pasta

• 1 pound chicken breast, cut into strips or bite sized pieces

• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth

• 1/2 cup 2% milk

• 2 tbsp corn starch

• 4 ounces (half a block) 1/3 less fat cream cheese

• 2 tbsp Cajun seasoning

• 2 tbsp olive oil plus more for pasta water

• 1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced

• 1 medium yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced

• 2 red onions, sliced

• 5 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

Heat a large stock pot with water over high heat to cook pasta in. While waiting for that to boil, slice vegetables, set aside. Slice chicken, set aside. Add pasta to boiling, salted and oiled water.

Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil, and put onions and peppers in. Add about 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning. Saute over high heat for about 4-5 minutes, tossing well. Remove cooked veggies from skillet, add 1 tbsp olive oil, and put chicken in the pan. Add about 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning. Cook until just done – chicken should be brown. Remove from pan.

Using a food processor, combine cream cheese, cornstarch and milk. Pulse until there are no lumps.

With skillet over medium heat, add chicken stock stirring and scraping to work the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil over medium, then reduce to medium low and add your cream cheese mixture. Cook until the sauce begins to thicken, about 4 minutes. Add in veggies and chicken, mixing well.

Serve over cooked pasta.