Meal Prep
Cajun Chicken Mac & Cheese
Cajun Chicken Mac & Cheese feels like it shouldn’t exist- but here we are. Creamy cheddar sauce, crispy Cajun-spiced chicken, and a rich, comforting mac base come together in a dish that’s bold, satisfying, and shockingly well-behaved. It’s spicy without being chaotic, indulgent without being heavy, and built to reheat like a champ.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Makes
- 4 servings
- Prep Time
- 15 mins
- Cook Time
- 20 mins
- Total Time
- 35 mins
Equipment
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Ingredients
Ingredient links open Walmart products from our grocery planner. Links marked “Walmart search” need your product choice. Confirm package details and local availability at Walmart.
For the Cajun Chicken:
For the Mac & Cheese:
Instructions
Prep the Chicken:
Dice chicken into ¾" chunks. Toss with Cajun seasonings and a light spray of olive oil.
2 lb raw boneless skinless chicken breast, 1 tsp olive oil spray, 2 tsp smoked paprika, 2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, ½ tsp cayenne, ½ tsp oregano, ½ tsp thyme, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper
Cook the Chicken:
Cook the Pasta:
Boil pasta in lightly salted water until just al dente. Reserve some pasta water, then drain.
8 oz dry penne pasta
Build the Sauce:
4 oz low-fat cream cheese, ½ cup skim milk, ½ cup nonfat shredded cheddar, ½ cup nonfat Greek yogurt, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder
Combine:
Portion & Serve:
Nutrition
Per servingEstimates for one serving.
- Calories
- 621 kcal
- Protein
- 70 g
- Fat
- 13.1 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
Full nutrition and how it’s calculated
All values are per serving. Changing the recipe yield scales the ingredients and keeps these per-serving amounts the same.
- Saturated Fat
- 4.55 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 1.74 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 3.69 g
- Trans Fat
- 0.18 g
- Cholesterol
- 185 mg
- Sodium
- 947 mg
- Potassium
- 1,148 mg
- Fiber
- 3.1 g
- Sugar
- 5.2 g
- Added Sugar
- 0 g
- Vitamin A
- 165 mcg RAE
- Vitamin C
- 0.97 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.47 mcg
- Calcium
- 301 mg
- Iron
- 3.48 mg
Estimated ingredient cost
$2.39 per serving · $9.55 for this batch
Ingredient costs and assumptions
Estimated US grocery prices for the amounts used, including purchase waste and discarded marinade. Your store, brands, and package sizes may cost differently. Buying full packages can cost more. Price sources and methodology.
Quantities without exact weights use the nutrition library’s portion estimates. Purchase yields are estimates. Separate citrus ingredients are costed independently; reusing the same fruit for juice and zest can lower your cost. Labor, utilities, and delivery are excluded.
- raw boneless skinless chicken breast: $5.14
907.2 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
Authored ingredient weight. Variable-weight pack priced per pound, raw boneless skinless breast.
Walmart: Freshness Guaranteed Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast · Price checked 2026-09-21
- olive oil spray: $0.11
4.5 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 4.5 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Extra Virgin Olive Oil Cooking Spray, 7 oz Can · Price checked 2026-09-21
- smoked paprika: $0.17
4.6 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 2.3 g Four 2 oz jars; full multipack weight is 8 oz.
Walmart: (4 pack) Great Value Smoked Paprika, 2 oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- garlic powder: $0.07
6.2 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 3.1 g Representative product; brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Garlic Powder · Price checked 2026-09-21
- onion powder: $0.03
2.4 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 2.4 g Representative product; brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Onion Powder · Price checked 2026-09-21
- cayenne: $0.05
0.9 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 1.8 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Cayenne Pepper, 2.25 oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- oregano: $0.02
0.5 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp (leaves) = 1 g; texture=leaves Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Oregano Leaves, 0.87 oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- thyme: $0.05
0.4 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
0.5 tsp = 0.4 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Fresh Thyme, 0.5 oz Clamshell · Price checked 2026-09-21
- salt: $0.00
3 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 6 g Iodized table salt reference; not a kosher salt price.
Walmart: Great Value Iodized Salt · Price checked 2026-09-21
- black pepper: $0.05
1.2 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp (ground) = 2.3 g; texture=ground Ground black pepper reference; cracked pepper may cost differently.
Walmart: Great Value Ground Black Pepper · Price checked 2026-09-21
- dry penne pasta: $0.62
226.8 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
Authored ingredient weight. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Penne Pasta, 16 oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- low-fat cream cheese: $1.73
113.4 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
Authored ingredient weight. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Philadelphia Reduced Fat Cream Cheese, 1 Tub, for Smooth, Spreadable Mornings, Original, No Artificial Preservatives, Flavors or Dyes, 8 oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- skim milk: $0.09
123.5 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 cup = 247 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Fat-Free Milk, Gallon, 128 fl oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- nonfat shredded cheddar: $0.84
56 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 cup (shredded) = 112 g; Editorial shredded hard-cheese estimate: 112 g/cup (four 28 g quarter-cup portions); loose packing varies. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Kraft Natural Fat Free Cheddar Shredded Cheese, 7 oz Bag · Price checked 2026-09-21
- nonfat Greek yogurt: $0.41
113.5 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 cup = 227 g; Editorial Greek-yogurt volume proxy using King Arthur's generic yogurt weight, 227 g/cup. Plain nonfat Greek yogurt reference; unspecified-fat Greek yogurt uses this as a price estimate.
Walmart: Great Value Greek Plain Nonfat Yogurt, 32 oz Tub · Price checked 2026-09-21
- garlic powder: $0.03
3.1 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 3.1 g Representative product; brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Garlic Powder · Price checked 2026-09-21
- onion powder: $0.03
2.4 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 2.4 g Representative product; brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Onion Powder · Price checked 2026-09-21
- paprika: $0.04
2.3 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 2.3 g Representative product; brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Paprika · Price checked 2026-09-21
- salt: $0.00
3 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 6 g Iodized table salt reference; not a kosher salt price.
Walmart: Great Value Iodized Salt · Price checked 2026-09-21
- black pepper: $0.05
1.2 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp (ground) = 2.3 g; texture=ground Ground black pepper reference; cracked pepper may cost differently.
Walmart: Great Value Ground Black Pepper · Price checked 2026-09-21
Make it yoursRecipe notes & meal-prep tips
Macro breakdown
- Protein70g46%
- Carbs52g34%
- Fat13.1g20%
Per serving · Share of calories from macros
Calculated using 4 calories per gram of protein and carbs, and 9 for fat. Rounding and fiber can affect the listed calorie total.Triple B's Meal Prep Notes
The Cajun seasoning belongs on the chicken before it cooks, which lets you keep a creamy, fairly simple pasta sauce around it. That separation is useful when making a batch for people with different heat preferences: go lighter on the cayenne in the chicken, then let anyone who wants more add hot sauce to their own serving. You still get the paprika, garlic, oregano, and thyme that make this fit the Cajun recipe rotation.
Save the pasta water before draining the penne. It is much easier to loosen the sauce a spoonful at a time while combining the batch than to force thick sauce around dry pasta. Keep the heat gentle once the Greek yogurt and cheese are involved. While the chicken cooks in the air fryer, the pasta pot can handle the rest of the meal, which makes this a practical choice among the mac-and-cheese meal preps. Keep a little firmness in the penne when you drain it; finishing in sauce and reheating later will take it the rest of the way.
Portion from a thoroughly mixed batch so the chicken is distributed evenly. For the next day's serving, a small splash of milk or water can help the sauce loosen again. For a refrigerated serving, microwave on high for 90 seconds, stir, then heat for another 45 seconds. Use that as a starting point and continue in short intervals as needed until the food reaches 165°F throughout. Fold through the center during the stir, then taste before adding hot sauce. The spice level is easiest to personalize at that final step. With a listed 35-minute prep and cook time, this is also worth keeping alongside your other under-45-minute recipes.
Notes from your kitchen
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From the community
I invented this recipe because I realized how much I had historically underutilized the glorious vessel that is mac & cheese. No longer! I made the BEST low calorie mac & cheese sauce- and the cajun seasoning brings a little edge to keep it interesting without overpowering it. If you like your comfort food with some attitude, this one’s calling you!