Slow Cooker Cajun Chicken Alfredo with Sausage

Slow Cooker Cajun Chicken Alfredo with Sausage- this family favorite cooks up effortlessly in the slow cooker with so much flavor. It’s wonderfully creamy with plenty of Cajun spice to jazz it up.

No need to cook the pasta separately. For ease and convenience, everything gets cooked together in the crock pot.

How To Make Cajun Chicken Alfredo in the Slow Cooker:

1. Brown the chicken in a skillet. Note: This step can be skipped but it I think it adds extra flavor.
2. Add the chicken, smoked sausage, heavy cream, 2 cups of chicken broth, butter, and seasonings to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW 4 1/2 to 5 hours.
3. Open the crock pot. Add a final cup of chicken broth that has been heated until hot, the penne, and half of the Parmesan cheese. Stir to get the pasta submerged.
4. Cover and cook on LOW for 30 minutes. The pasta should be done at this point, but may need a little extra time depending on your crock pot.
5. Stir in the remaining Parmesan cheese. Remove the chicken and slice it. It should be fall apart tender.
6. If the sauce is too thin, remove the pasta and sausage, leaving only the sauce in the crock pot. Add a tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with a tablespoon of cold water and cook on HIGH until it starts to simmer and thicken. Then you can stir everything back together.

Recipe Tips

The trick to cooking pasta in a slow cooker is to make sure it doesn’t get overcooked. It tends to cook some more and soak up some liquid as it sits so to prevent it from becoming mushy in texture, you don’t want to overcook it even just a little bit.

I like using penne pasta in the slow cooker. It is nice and sturdy and really stands up to slow cooking without getting mushy.

Do not skip the sausage. It adds so much flavor. Andouille sausage or kielbasa sausage can be used.

Try These Other Slow Cooker Italian Recipes:

• Crock Pot Baked Ziti
• Slow Cooker Spaghetti Casserole
• Crock Pot Homestyle Ground Beef Casserole
• Slow Cooker Lasagna
• Slow Cooker Sausage Lasagna

Slow Cooker Cajun Chicken Alfredo with Sausage

5 from 1 vote

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Cook: 5 hours hrs

Servings: 8

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Slow Cooker Cajun Chicken Alfredo with Sausage- this family favorite cooks up effortlessly in the slow cooker with so much flavor. It's wonderfully creamy with plenty of Cajun spice to jazz it up.

Equipment

• 6-quart slow cooker

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Ingredients

• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• ▢ salt and pepper
• ▢ 1 (12-ounce) package smoked sausage,, sliced
• ▢ 2 1/3 cups heavy cream
• ▢ 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth,, divided
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Cajun or Creole seasoning
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• ▢ 4 tablespoons butter
• ▢ 12 ounces uncooked Penne pasta
• ▢ 1 cup freshly grated Parmesam cheese,, divided
• ▢ 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Instructions 

• Heat oil over medium-high heat in a medium skillet. Season chicken lightly with salt and pepper and add it to the pan. Cook until golden brown on both sides.

  Transfer to a 6-quart crock pot.
• Add the sausage, heavy cream, 2 cups of chicken broth, Cajun seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes and butter to slow cooker.

  Cover and cook on LOW for 4 1/2 to 5 hours.
• Heat the remaining cup of chicken broth until hot. Add it to the slow cooker.

  Stir in penne and 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.

  Cover and cook on LOW for 30 minutes or until pasta is cooked.
• Stir in remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.

  Remove the chicken to a cutting board. Let cool slightly and then slice it. Add back to slow cooker.
• If you want to thicken the sauce, first remove all the noodles, chicken and sausage with a slotted spoon and place them in a large bowl.

  Stir together cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of cold water. Add to sauce. Turn slow cooker to HIGH and cook until it begins to simmer.

  To do this step faster, you can transfer the sauce to a pot and place over high heat until it boils.

  Note: The sauce will also thicken some as it cools and the pasta absorbs some of the liquid.

Notes

Check for seasoning at the end. The cajun seasoning, chicken broth, and Parmesan all add quite a bit of salt so it is unlikely it will need more.

Nutrition

Calories: 709kcal

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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