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This chicken and shrimp Alfredo recipe has a flavorful creamy Cajun parmesan sauce that smothers tender pan-fried chicken and shrimp. It’s great with fettuccine!
You may also like my Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo or this Easy Shrimp Alfredo next.
Why you’ll love it
If you can’t make up your mind whether you want shrimp or chicken, this chicken and shrimp pasta is right up your alley. Why not do both? Despite having two different proteins in this dish, it’s actually very straightforward to make for an easy weeknight meal.
The Cajun-inspired Alfredo sauce packs a zesty kick, and the result is a restaurant-quality dish! The Alfredo sauce is based on my reader favorite Quick and Easy Alfredo Sauce, which has the classic combo of butter, cream, and plenty of parmesan along with cream cheese.
What you’ll need
- Pasta – the traditional choice is to make fettuccine Alfredo, but use any pasta
- Chicken – we’re using chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces for faster cooking
- Shrimp – I use 31/40 count frozen shrimp. They cook fast, and plump and juicy shrimp make this Alfredo recipe stand out.
- Garlic powder and minced garlic – more savory depth
- Cajun seasoning – use low-sodium or no salt!
- Olive oil and butter – for pan frying and the base of the sauce
- Heavy cream – it makes the texture of the sauce fabulous
- Cream cheese – to help the sauce thicken fast, makes it extra silky, and the tanginess offsets some of the heaviness that cream sauces have. It’s a game changer for Alfredo!
- Parmesan – always use freshly grated so it melts better
Helpful tips
- The cream cheese should be very soft, so I don’t recommend skipping the softening step.
- I recommend using a low or no-salt variety of Cajun seasoning because the quantity used in this recipe will make it too salty otherwise. My favorite low-sodium Cajun seasoning is made by Tony Chachere’s.
How to make chicken and shrimp Alfredo
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Let the cream cheese soften. Boil the pasta until al dente. Meanwhile, thaw and prep the shrimp. Cut the chicken into bites, and season them and the shrimp with the garlic powder and half the Cajun seasoning. Heat up the oil in a skillet, then cook the shrimp.
Transfer the shrimp to a plate, then pan fry the chicken until cooked through. Add it to the same plate. Take the pan off the heat, and add in the butter, cream, cream cheese, remaining Cajun seasoning, and garlic. Return to the heat, and stir until combined.
Let it bubble gently until reduced to your liking. Stir in the parmesan cheese, then return the shrimp and chicken to the pan. Taste, and add salt & pepper if needed. If it’s too thick, add a splash of hot pasta water. Toss with the drained pasta, and enjoy.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- Grating your own parmesan ensures it’s tastier and melts better. I use this zester to grate it from a block.
- Use a large skillet to give the chicken pieces a bit of space so that they brown nicely vs. steam.
- You don’t need to peel the garlic if you use a garlic press to mince it, and this butter dish has easy markings to measure it out.
Substitutions and variations
- You could use cooked/rotisserie chicken if you have some on hand! In that case, I would reduce the olive oil to 1 tablespoon (that’s plenty to cook the shrimp). Stir it in right at the end so it doesn’t get overcooked.
- This recipe is flavorful, but I would not consider it particularly spicy. If you want to kick the spice up a bit, add some crushed red pepper flakes or a pinch of cayenne pepper.
- Here’s a standalone Cajun Alfredo Sauce recipe with no protein.
What to serve with chicken and shrimp Alfredo
- I like to top it with chopped fresh parsley, a squeeze of lemon juice, and extra parm.
- This is total comfort food right here, so you may want to serve this pasta dish with a side salad. Try my Homemade Italian Dressing, 10-Minute Caesar Dressing, or simple Parmesan Arugula Salad.
- Or go all out and make some of my Extra Cheesy Garlic Bread!
Leftovers and storage
- Store leftovers of this chicken shrimp Alfredo in the fridge for 2-3 days in an airtight container.
- Reheat slowly over a low heat so that the shrimp aren’t overcooked.
- I don’t recommend freezing leftovers of this one.
More easy pasta recipes
If you made this chicken and shrimp Alfredo, please leave a star rating and review below! You can also tag me on Instagram if you made this or any S&L recipe.
Cajun Chicken and Shrimp Alfredo
Ingredients
- 8 ounces uncooked fettuccine
- 2 chicken breasts cut into 1" pieces
- 1/2 pound shrimp (I used 31/40 size) thawed & peeled
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 tablespoon + 1/2 tablespoon Cajun seasoning (use a low or no salt variety)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 4 ounces cream cheese (I used 1/2 block of Philly)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Take the cream cheese out of the fridge 30+ minutes prior to starting the recipe (or microwave it for 20-30 seconds).
- Boil a salted pot of water for the pasta and cook it al dente according to package directions.
- If the shrimp are frozen, thaw them under cool running water. Peel them (leave tails on if you want). Pat shrimp dry. Cut the chicken into 1" pieces. Sprinkle the shrimp and chicken with the garlic powder and 1/2 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning.
- Add the oil to a deep skillet over medium-high heat, and once the pan is hot, cook the shrimp for about 3 minutes (flip once), then transfer them to a plate.
- Add the chicken to the skillet and cook for 5-6 minutes or until cooked through, stirring occasionally (let it brown a bit). Transfer it to the same plate as the shrimp.
- Take the skillet off the heat and add in the butter, cream, cream cheese, remaining 1/2 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning, and garlic. Return the pan to the stove (reduce heat to medium), and stir for a couple of minutes until the cream cheese has dissolved in the sauce.
- Let the sauce bubble gently for about 2-3 minutes, or until it's slightly thickened.
- Stir in the parmesan and then add the shrimp and chicken back to the pan. Let it warm through for a couple minutes. Season with extra salt & pepper as needed.
- I like to add a splash of hot pasta water (a tablespoon or two) to the skillet prior to draining the fettuccine to thin the sauce a little (optional). Toss the drained pasta with the sauce and serve immediately. I like to add a little more grated parmesan and some chopped parsley. A squeeze of lemon is delicious too!
Notes
- Cajun seasoning can be very salty, and the quantity required for this recipe can contain too much salt, so I encourage you to use a no-salt or low-sodium one.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Amazingly good!
Awesome!! Thank you!!
Tried it tonight. It was awesome.
Fantastic!!
Oh. My. Goodness ! This was Amazing ! I forgot to put in the Parmesan cheese and it was still over the top ! Will definitely make again …. And again ….
Yay!!! 😀 That’s great to hear, thanks Lori. Glad you liked it!
This recipe is delicious! I normally don’t leave comments on actual websites, only Pinterest, but this recipe is comment worthy! I added sautéed onions and bell peppers to ours and it is restaurant quality. So good and so easy to make! Definite comfort food!
Thanks so much, Kristin! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Your comment is definitely appreciated (bloggers are small business owners so reviews help like they do with restaurants etc.). 🙂
How you make Chicken and shrimp Alfredo
…You scrolled right past the recipe to leave me a comment.
Great recipe!! It’s a favorite in my house. I added mushrooms and frozen broccoli.
Amazing! So pleased your family enjoys it.
Precooked shrimp??
Raw shrimp. They cook very fast and double cooking makes them rubbery. In all my recipes, ingredients are uncooked unless otherwise specified. I hope you like the recipe! 🙂
Looks amazing! Could I make this earlier in the day and refrigerate till that evening to warm back up?
Hi Ryan! Unfortunately, creamy sauces generally don’t reheat too well. If you do try, I’d warm it up slowly over a low heat. You should be ok if you cook the pasta at the time you’re wanting to eat it… I would add a generous splash of the hot pasta water to the sauce to revitalize it and ensure it mixes smoothly with the pasta when you toss it together.
This recipe is awesome the meal turned out awesome!!! The only improvisions I made were I used Kraft grated parmesan cheese, Half out of the shaker and half out of the bowl. I didn’t use lemon and I sauteed my chicken with red, orange, and green peppers and onions. I needed more so doubled the recipe. Thank you so much for this delicious recipe!
Excellent… I’m glad that you were able to tweak it to your preferences. 🙂
Question from inexperience. With shrimp dishes like this is it common practice to eat the tails on the shrimp? Do you remove them as one eats? Does one spit them out ? What is the proper way to consume the shrimp in this and similar recipes?
Hi Scott! In polite company for a dish like this, you’d cut the tails off and push them over to the side of your plate (or place them on a side plate I suppose). In my house, I usually pick up the shrimp and bite the tails off lol. It’s also perfectly acceptable to pick up shrimp when they’re in a shrimp cocktail (like you’d find in a shrimp ring with dipping sauce, for example), or with something like fried coconut shrimp that’s served as an appetizer. You’d pick them up by the tail and bite off the good stuff. Usually when I’m making a quick shrimp recipe like this one, I simply take the tails off prior to cooking. Then they’re easier to eat. For some recipes that are more complex like a shrimp bisque, cooking them with the tails on adds more flavor to a dish. For this recipe (and similar), I leave the tails on mostly to give the photos more definition. Here’s a handy guide on preparing raw shrimp you may find useful: https://bit.ly/3eFDNEQ