Rattlesnake Pasta

Rattlesnake pasta combines tender chicken breasts, spicy cajun seasoning, and a creamy parmesan cheese sauce for a flavorful meal that’s ready in just 35 minutes. This easy recipe is perfect for weeknight dinners or when you’re craving something bold and satisfying.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Rattlesnake Pasta Recipe

Servings:

Calories: 814kcal

Ingredients

½ pound penne pasta, cooked & drained according to package directions
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tablespoon cajun spice blend, McCormick’s brand
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
¾ cup yellow onion, ¼ inch diced pieces
1 cup red bell pepper, seeds and stem removed, cut into ¼ inch thick slices
½ cup jalapeno pepper, ¼ inch thick slices (veins & seeds removed is optional for desired level of heat - see tips)
1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 ¼ cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

Cook the penne pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside.
Coat the boneless skinless chicken breast pieces with the cajun seasoning.
Heat the olive oil in a large (12 inch) skillet over medium high heat. Add the seasoned chicken breast pieces to the skillet and cook for 6-8 minutes or until golden and no pink remains.
Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate and set aside.
Add the unsalted butter to the skillet. Once melted, add the yellow onion, red bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, minced garlic, salt and black pepper. Cook the vegetables for 3-5 minutes or until softened and the onions are translucent.
Sprinkle the all-purpose flour over the cooked vegetables, stir to combine until all the flour has been absorbed by the butter.
Slowly pour the chicken broth into the skillet while stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming with the flour. Once all lumps are gone, stir in the heavy cream and bring the mixture to a low boil.
Once the sauce comes to a low boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 2-4 minutes or just until the sauce starts to thicken.
Stir the grated parmesan cheese into the thickened sauce until fully incorporated.
Add the penne pasta and cooked chicken to the sauce. Gently toss to combine all the ingredients and evenly coat all the pasta with the sauce. Remove from the heat.

Notes

The jalapeno peppers add quite the amount of flavor, and heat, to this recipe when the seeds and membrane are left attached to the jalapeno peppers. You can remove the seeds, and membrane, to reduce the heat level of these peppers for this recipe.
You can reduce the amount of jalapeno peppers to ¼ cup, or 1 medium pepper, for a more mild heat level to this sauce.
You can use any color of bell pepper for this recipe. Green and yellow bell peppers will be more mild. Orange and red bell peppers are sweeter. I find the sweeter bell peppers balance the heat of the jalapeno peppers.
Choose your favorite cajun spice seasoning blend for your rattlesnake pasta. A few common brands are Tony Chachere’s, Ragin Cajun, McCormick’s along with many other brands. Depending on the brand you choose, you will have varying levels of spice, and added heat, to the sauce.

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