Cajun Chicken Zucchini Noodles are bursting with authentic Louisiana flavors in this low-carb, keto, and Whole30 zoodles recipe. Bell peppers, onions, and garlic are sautéed in a skillet, tossed with a creamy and dairy-free cashew alfredo sauce, and then served with seared blackened chicken breasts. You can also easily meal prep this healthy dish for those busy weeknights!
Cajun Chicken and Zucchini Noodles Recipe
This entire Cajun Chicken Zoodles recipe was inspired by my mother-in-law’s mention of her new cashew cream sauce.
She told me how easy it is to soak cashews in water, blend them up in a blender, and then have the most delightful and dairy-free cashew alfredo sauce.
The wheels in my brain immediately started turning.
What if that healthy pasta sauce had a bit of Cajun blackened seasoning to go with it…
Some sautéed bell peppers and onion…
And maybe even some seared chicken breasts?
It would almost be like having a Cajun Chicken Pasta but without the gluten, dairy, grains, carbs, or belly ache!
So yes, my dear friends. Here is the recipe you’ve been looking for when you’re craving that creamy-Cajun-flavored-alfredo sauce and carbo-loaded dish but you want to keep it healthy.
You’re welcome in advance 😉
Ingredients
Healthier recipes can sometimes call for very obscure ingredients. But not this one.
It actually only has a few relatively common ingredients that you can easily find in your grocery store. Let’s take a look at them:
- Chicken – One pound of organic chicken breasts are tenderized and pounded to 1-inch thick and then cut into 4-ounce portions. This step is important so you get the most juicy and tender chicken to go on top of your zoodles.
- Zucchini Noodles – You can either choose to buy the pre-made kind at your grocery store or learn How to Make Zucchini Noodles one of these 5 different ways.
- Blackened Seasoning – Sometimes called Cajun or Creole seasoning. I like to make my own Homemade Blackened Seasoning since I can adjust the amount of spice I add. If you’re buying one from the grocery store, make sure you taste it first and adjust the amount you add according to your taste and sodium preferences.
- Bell Peppers – No Cajun dish would be complete without these brightly colored peppers. Red and green really make the color of the dish pop, but you can also use yellow or orange if you have those on hand.
- Onion – A red onion was used, but a sweet, white, or yellow may also be substituted.
- Cashews – Make sure you get raw cashews and not roasted. You also don’t want them to have any salt or seasonings added to them.
Making Zoodles
There quite a few different ways you can make zucchini noodles at home. If you’d like to learn about the various methods, you can check out this zoodles recipe.
But hands down the best and easiest way to turn zucchini into precious pasta is to use a countertop spiralizer. It’s quick, easy, and will give you the best, longest, and most perfectly shaped zucchini noodles.
How to Make
Cashew Cream Sauce
A classic Cajun Chicken pasta recipe is normally made with a very heavy and dairy-loaded alfredo sauce.
But for those of you who are avoiding dairy or are on a Whole30 or Paleo diet, this dairy-free sauce is exactly what your food dreams are made of – and it’s SO simple to make!
- Add the cashews to a medium-sized bowl with just enough water to cover the nuts. Let them soak for at least 30 minutes or up to a few hours. (step 1 above)
- Drain the water from the cashews.
- Add the nuts to a high-speed blender (such as a Nutribullet) along with chicken broth (or water), blackened seasoning, and a bit of lemon juice.
- Blend for 1 minute or until smooth. (step 2 above)
Cook’s Tip: If you want to make a regular alfredo sauce simply substitute the blackened seasoning for salt!
How to Make
Now that you’ve got your zucchini noodles prepped, the cashew cream sauce in the works, it’s time to put it all together! Here are the step-by-step instructions for this recipe:
- Tenderize chicken with a meat mallet until it is 1-inch thick. Cut into four 4-ounce portions.
- Sprinkle chicken breasts evenly with 1 tablespoon of blackened seasoning and salt. Lightly press it into the chicken.
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a large skillet over medium heat along with the chicken breasts. Cook for 5-6 minutes per side, or until cooked through and a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees. (step 1 above)
- Remove chicken from the skillet and add remaining olive oil along with the sliced bell pepper, onion, and salt.
- Sauté for 5-6 minutes or until vegetables become tender. (step 2 above)
- Add garlic and sauce for an additional 1 minute.
- Add zucchini noodles to the skillet with the sauce and chicken. Warm up over low heat for 2-3 minutes, or until heated through. (step 3 and 4 above)
Serving and Storing
This Cajun chicken and zucchini noodles recipe is best when served immediately after making.
You can top it with finely diced tomatoes that have been seeded and a sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley.
If you refrigerate it and try to reheat it later, it will still taste great but the zucchini will have lost quite a bit of it’s moisture making the sauce pretty runny.
However, if you’d like to save some of this for leftovers, you can always store the zucchini noodles and sauce separately until you’re ready to enjoy it later.
Meal Prep
Easily meal prep your zucchini noodles up to a few days in advance. Zucchini noodles will last for 3-5 days when stored in an airtight container in your refrigerator.
The cashew sauce and chicken also store extremely well and will last for 3-4 days in your refrigerator.
On the day of serving, heat up your vegetables, sauce, and chicken first and then add in the zucchini noodles during the last 2-3 minutes of cooking.
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Cajun Chicken Zucchini Noodles
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Ingredients
- 4 zucchini spiralized into noodles
- 1 lb. chicken breasts
- 1 ½ Tbsp. blackened seasoning or Cajun seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 bell peppers red or green, thinly sliced
- ½ onion sweet or red, thinly sliced
- 3 Tbsp. olive oil divided
- 1 tsp. salt divided
- ¾ cup raw cashews soaked in water 30 minutes
- ¼ cup chicken broth milk or water
- 2 tsp. lemon juice
- Tomatoes seeded and diced, optional
- Parsley finely chopped, optional
Instructions
- Place raw cashews in a medium-sized bowl with enough water to completely cover them. Let soak for at least 30 minutes.
- Drain the water from the cashews. Add the nuts to a high-speed blender (such as a Nutribullet) along with chicken broth (or water), ½ tablespoon of blackened seasoning, and a lemon juice. Blend for 1 minute or until smooth.
- Spiralize zucchini into zucchini noodles.
- Tenderize chicken with a meat mallet until it is 1-inch thick. Cut into four 4-ounce portions.
- Sprinkle chicken breasts evenly with 1 tablespoon of blackened seasoning and ¼ teaspoon salt. Lightly press it into the chicken.
- Sauté for 5-6 minutes or until vegetables become tender.
- Add garlic and sauté for an additional 1 minute.
- Add zucchini noodles to the skillet with the sauce and chicken. Warm up over low heat for 2-3 minutes, or until heated through.
- Serve Cajun chicken zoodles with diced tomatoes and fresh parsley. Enjoy!
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Notes
- If you're not on a low-carb diet, feel free to serve with regular pasta instead.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi, this recipe seems to be missing some instructions. What to do with cashews, chicken broth, lemon juice, tomatoes? Thanks!
Hi Rochelle! My sincere apologies for that. I’ve added in the instructions for making the cashew cream sauce. Thanks for catching that and letting me know. Hope you enjoy the recipe!