New Orleans loves this Louisiana-style spicy Cajun Chicken Mac and Cheese. Loaded with creamy and spicy cheese sauce and baked with the topping of panko breadcrumbs. Spicy dinner idea for weeknight family dinner.
To be very honest, I am in love with Cajun and Creole Seasoning and always want to use it in my recipes. Previously, shared baked macaroni and cheese and today making Cajun mac and cheese using Cajun spices, American cream cheese, and panko.
Isn’t it amazing to make it tonight and make a serving with Cajun Fries? I know, the combination is best.
Why You Will Love This Recipe?
Simple and Quick: Although the recipe seems lengthy but it’s not. You only need to pan-fry the chicken pieces with sauteed garlic and Cajun spices. On the other side, prepare creamy Cajun cheese sauce. Layered with al dente macaroni, chicken, and sauce. Bake it with the topping of panko breadcrumbs to make a crusted top.
Comforting Dinner: It’s nostalgic to have this hot and spicy mac and cheese that always satisfies my pasta craving.
Family Favorite: My son loves the crusted topping and we are obsessed with the creamy and tangy macaroni bites with tender and juicy chicken. It’s a perfect recipe for a family dinner that everyone loves to eat.
Customizable: It’s easy to add variations in the recipe by adding vegetables, mushrooms, sausages, and different meat. Best to try with different options of cheese to add more variations in taste.
SEE ALSO: Baked Mac and Cheese Recipe (Without spice)
Ingredients & Substitutions
Macaroni (elbow): It’s a signature to mac and cheese with groovy elbow pasta shells. However, use any other pasta that you like to make this recipe. There will be no change in taste.
Chicken: Tender and juicy chunks of cajun spiced chicken add a perfect flavor in this recipe.
Olive Oil: Used extra virgin olive oil to sauté the chicken.
Butter: Used unsalted butter to make cheese sauce.
Cajun Seasoning: A spice blend of 1 tablespoon Paprika Powder, ⅓ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper, ⅓ teaspoon Black Pepper, ⅓ teaspoon White Pepper, ½ teaspoon Onion Powder, ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder, ⅓ teaspoon Dried Oregano, ⅓ teaspoon Dried Thyme, ½ teaspoon Salt
Flour: Use any white purpose flour to make the classic roux that will help to thicken the sauce.
Milk: Used full fat milk to make the smooth and thick cheese sauce. Milk will help to cook the sauce with desired consistency.
Cheese: The best cheese for macaroni cheese sauce is sharp cheddar and cream cheese, gouda, and American Velveeta. It makes a perfect creamy base for all types of dips, dressings, and sauces.
Panko Breadcrumbs: It’s a crumb of Japanese white bread. It forms a more flaky and drier texture that stays longer with a crispy texture.
How to Make Cajun Chicken Mac and Cheese
Step 1: Al Dente Macaroni
Add the macaroni pasta or any other pasta of your choice to a pot of salted boiling water.
Cook the macaroni for about 8 to 10 minutes as it get tender or chewy.
Drain the pasta water and rinse the macaroni with tap water and keep in strainer to release excess water.
Step 2: Saute Cajun Chicken For Pasta
In a pan, add olive oil and fry the chicken pieces on high heat for about 2 to 3 minutes.
As the chicken starts to change color, add garlic powder, onion powder, cajun seasoning, salt and pepper.
Give it a good mix and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes on medium heat.
[Tip]: Chicken pieces are small so it will get tender to 5 to 6 minutes. If you have big chicken pieces then cover the pan for about 5 minutes and cook the chicken to get tender.
Now shift the chicken in plate and use the same pan to make the sauce.
Step 3: Preparation of Cheese Sauce
In a heated pan, add butter and let it melt on medium heat. Add garlic powder and all purpose flour and cook for about a minute until the flour turned to light brown color. Keep stirring!
Add milk and give it a quick mix to make a blended sauce. Make sure the heat is medium otherwise the sauce will quickly turn into thick texture.
Season the sauce with Cajun spices, salt and pepper and give it a good mix to combine all the spices in sauce.
Keep stirring and as the sauce turned to thick texture add cream cheese and sharp cheddar cheese.
Give it time to mix with the sauce on medium flame. Keep stirring to make a thick and smooth cheesy sauce.
Step 4: Assembling (Cajun Chicken + Macaroni + Cheese Sauce)
Now add boiled macaroni pasta and Cajun spiced chicken that we prepared.
Mix it well to combine with sauce.
Step 5: Bake the Mac n Cheese
Preheat the oven. Set the macaroni and cheese sauce in a baking dish.
Topped with panko bread crumbs and cheddar cheese.
Bake at 440°F for about 20 minutes.
Take it out and serve hot. Cajun Mac and Cheese is ready!
Watch Video
Recipe Tips
- The secret tip to making the creamy mac and cheese is to undercook the pasta. Like it takes 8 minutes to completely cook so al dente for 7 minutes. The remaining 2% will cook while baking. In this way, the pasta shells will show perfect texture. If you are worried about mushy pasta then apply this technique.
- To avoid the dried mac and cheese, add more sauce and make it with more milk than flour. The sauce will be thicker if the flour quantity is high.
- Cajun mac and cheese are spicy in taste as compared to the basic recipe. So, manage the spice level while adding Cajun seasoning. If you want spicier then add cayenne pepper along with Cajun seasoning. If you want less spicy (kids’ friendly) then add less quantity of Cajun seasoning.
- Cajun seasoning can be substituted with creole and Old Bay seasoning.
- Many times, the roux becomes lumpy, so I found the solution from my best practice. First, dilute it with a little warm milk using a whisk. Once it becomes smooth add more milk and vigorously stir to get a thicker and consistent texture of sauce. This tip is the winner to make all types of cheese sauce.
- Don’t use pre-shredded store-bought cheese. It seems funny but this is the main reason for non cheesy mac and cheese just because of the anti-caking agent.
- To make the crusted texture, don’t cover the baking dish.
- If you are using regular breadcrumbs, then make crumbs manually on the cutting board. Crumb with big flakes and toast it before adding the layer to the baking dish.
- If you have leftover blackened chicken, then use it to bake mac and cheese. It will give you the best taste ever.
How To Store and Reheat
It's simple to store the leftover cajun mac and cheese at room temperature. Shift it to airtight glass container and place in refrigerator for 3 days. Don't store longer as cheese sauce may change the taste.
Alternatively, place in ziploc bag and place in freezer for 15 days.
Reheating the Refrigerated Mac & Cheese
Transfer the mac and cheese in preheated skillet. Splash the little milk to avoid sticking and burning. Cover it and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. After that Stir well with spatula and served. Now you can topped with panko and broil it at 420F for 5 to 10 minutes to get crusted top.
Reheating the Frozen Mac and Cheese
Microwave it for 3 to 4 minutes to defrost. Shift it to oven dish and topped with panko breadcrumbs and bake/broil for about 10 minutes at 425F.
What to Serve with Mac and Cheese
- Coleslaw
- Cajun Fries
- Corns
- Fruit Salad
- Roasted Veggies: Fire roasted diced tomatoes or honey hot carrots
- Sauteed Chickpeas
- Roasted Potatoes
- BBQ sauce and Parmesan dip makes the perfect flavor.
Q & A
Cajun mac and cheese is already spicy in taste. If you want to make it more spicy add Cayenne peppers as per the taste. Hot sauce can also be used to make it spicy.
Yes, you can! You can serve it after combining Cajun chicken, macaroni, and cheese sauce. Mix it well and serve hot.
Use Old Bay or creole seasoning. Otherwise, use paprika with cayenne and Italian seasoning.
More Cajun Recipes
If you are looking forward to try this Cajun Chicken Mac and Cheese recipe or something else, then don’t forget to Rate the Recipe by clicking on stars and ask your query in comment section. I would love to reply to make your experience successful. It will be encouraging if you share your recipe shots with me to share on stories on Instagram.
Cajun Chicken Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 200 g Macaroni Pasta Al dente (Boiled)
- For Cajun Chicken
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 100 g Chicken boneless
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- 2 teaspoon Cajun Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- For Cajun Sauce:
- 2 tablespoon Butter unsalted
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 tablespoon White Flour
- 1.5 Cups Milk Full fat
- 1 tablespoon CAjun Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 30 g Cream Cheese
- 200 g Cheddar Cheese
- Topping
- 1 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
- ½ cup Cheddar Cheese diced/shredded
Instructions
Al Dente Macaroni Pasta
- Add the macaroni pasta or any other pasta of your choice to a pot of salted boiling water.
- Cook the macaroni for about 8 to 10 minutes as it get tender or chewy.
- Drain the pasta water and rinse the macaroni with tap water and keep in strainer to release excess water.
Cook Cajun Chicken
- In a pan, add olive oil and fry the chicken pieces on high heat for about 2 to 3 minutes.
- As the chicken starts to change color, add garlic powder, onion powder, cajun seasoning, salt and pepper.
- Give it a good mix and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes on medium heat.
- [Tip]: Chicken pieces are small so it will get tender to 5 to 6 minutes. If you have big chicken pieces then cover the pan for about 5 minutes and cook the chicken to get tender.
- Now shift the chicken in a plate and use the same pan to make the sauce.
Prepare the Sauce
- In a heated pan, add butter and let it melt on medium heat. Add garlic powder and all-purpose flour and cook for about a minute until the flour turns to a light brown color. Keep stirring!
- Add milk and give it a quick mix to make a blended sauce. Make sure the heat is medium otherwise, the sauce will quickly turn into a thick texture.
- Season the sauce with Cajun spices, salt, and pepper, and give it a good mix to combine all the spices in the sauce.
- Keep stirring and as the sauce turns to a thick texture add cream cheese and sharp cheddar cheese.
- Give it time to mix with the sauce on medium flame. Keep stirring to make a thick and smooth cheesy sauce.
Assembling
- Now add boiled macaroni pasta and Cajun spiced chicken that we prepared.
- Mix it well to combine with sauce.
Bake The Mac and Cheese
- Preheat the oven
- Set the macaroni and cheese sauce in a baking dish.
- Topped with panko bread crumbs and cheddar cheese.
- Bake at 440°F for about 20 minutes.
- Take it out and serve it hot. Cajun Mac and Cheese is ready!
Video
Notes
- The secret tip to making the creamy mac and cheese is to undercook the pasta. Like it takes 8 minutes to completely cook so al dente for 7 minutes. The remaining 2% will cook while baking. In this way, the pasta shells will show perfect texture. If you are worried about mushy pasta then apply this technique.
- To avoid the dried mac and cheese, add more sauce and make it with more milk than flour. The sauce will be thicker if the flour quantity is high. Cajun mac and cheese are spicy as compared to the basic recipe. So, manage the spice level while adding Cajun seasoning. If you want spicier then add cayenne pepper along with Cajun seasoning.
- If you want less spicy (kids’ friendly) then add less quantity of Cajun seasoning.
- Cajun seasoning can be substituted with creole and Old Bay seasoning. Many times, the roux becomes lumpy, so I found the solution from my best practice. First, dilute it with a little warm milk using a whisk. Once it becomes smooth add more milk and vigorously stir to get a thicker and consistent texture of sauce. This tip is the winner to make all types of cheese sauce.
- Don’t use pre-shredded store-bought cheese. It seems funny but this is the main reason for non-cheesy mac and cheese just because of the anti-caking agent.
- To make the crusted texture, don’t cover the baking dish. If you are using regular breadcrumbs, then make crumbs manually on the cutting board. Crumb with big flakes and toast it before adding the layer to the baking dish. If you have leftover blackened chicken, then use it to bake mac and cheese. It will give you the best taste ever.
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