The Cajun Chicken Pasta Recipe You Can Make in an RV

Last year, I lived in a travel trailer for two months. This year, it’ll be closer to three months. That’s not an easy lifestyle when you love to cook. That’s why I had to share this Cajun chicken pasta recipe that I made in my trailer — super easy, not too many dishes, and oh-so-delicious.

My disclaimer is that I don’t have pretty dishes when I’m on the road. So, like you probably have your RV stocked with plastic dishes, I have some random pastel bowls plus non-coordinating plates and flatware.

I confess all this because you can see my ugly green bowl in the food photos below. Yikes. Oh well. I assure you, this Cajun chicken pasta tastes amazing even in an ugly bowl. Which is great, because that’s a prerequisite for an acceptable RV recipe, yes?

How to make RV-friendly Cajun chicken pasta

So let’s get to it. Here’s how to make Cajun chicken pasta in your RV or travel trailer, starting with the equipment you need:

• A stovetop that’ll boil water, so you can cook the pasta.
• A deep pot for cooking the pasta and a colander.
• An oven, grill, or tabletop smoker to cook the chicken.
• A bowl to mix the other ingredients.
• A knife to slice some onions and the chicken once it’s cooked.

These are the ingredients:

• Two chicken breasts
• A 12-oz. box of dried pasta (linguine is a good choice, but I used the Rotini I had on hand)
• 3 green onions
• ½ cup chopped sundried tomatoes (buy them already chopped if you can)
• ½ teaspoon each of dried Basil and pepper
• 2 teaspoons or more of Cajun seasoning (I keep this in my trailer pantry)
• Chicken broth (I used bullion cubes which I keep in my trailer pantry)

Step 1. Season and cook the chicken

If you’re using a grill, heat it up. I used a tabletop pellet grill set at 375F.

Coat your chicken with the Cajun seasoning, using more or less depending on your spice tolerance. The simplest way to do this is to place your chicken breast in a resealable bag, add the seasoning, seal the bag, and shake it.

I seasoned whole chicken breasts, but you could also slice it first and then season it. That would deliver a more intense flavor, but the slices are harder to cook on a grill.

Place your seasoned chicken on the grill and cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 165F or 75C. This should take 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of your chicken.

When the chicken is fully cooked, let it rest for a couple minutes and then slice.

Step 2. Prep sauce and pasta

Place a deep pot of salted water on the stovetop on high. While your water heats, slice the green onions, chop your sundried tomatoes, and measure the dried basil, pepper, and garlic powder into a bowl. You can also add your broth or bouillon cubes and water to the same bowl.

Once your water boils, add your pasta and cook until it’s slightly underdone. Drain and rinse.

Leave your pasta in the colander for now. Place your sauce ingredients in the pot over medium-high heat. Bring it to a simmer.

In the bowl that formerly contained the sauce ingredients, mix 1 tablespoon of tapioca flour or cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water. Add that to your sauce in the pot and let the mixture thicken slightly.

Step 3. Combine and serve

Return the pasta to the hot pot with the sauce. Cook the pasta in the sauce until it reaches your desired level of doneness.

Place pasta on places and top with chicken slices and parmesan cheese.

Substitutions for Cajun chicken pasta Pasta

You’ll see in the photos that I used ZenB rotini pasta. ZenB pasta is made entirely from yellow peas. It has more fiber and protein — and fewer carbs — than regular pasta. This is the best non-traditional pasta on the market. If you rinse it after cooking, the taste is very similar to regular pasta.

A sidenote for RVers and campers: ZenB makes a quick-cook pasta called Pasta Agile. It cooks in two minutes in your sauce, which is super convenient. I haven’t tried yet, but you could probably make it over a campfire.

But if you’re a traditionalist, use regular pasta. Linguine is a good choice for this recipe, but any shape of noodle will do (except for lasagna of course).

Thickener

I used tapioca flour to thicken the sauce, but cornstarch works too.  

Sauce base

This recipe easily converts into a creamy Cajun chicken pasta. Simply use heavy cream instead of the broth and skip the thickening agent. You may need to add some salt at the end, because the broth naturally makes the dish saltier.

Meat

You could swap in pork tenderloin for the chicken if that’s what you have on hand.