Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta with Sausage
A spicy and creamy Cajun pasta dish with blackened shrimp and andouille sausage.
Do you have a dish that you always order at a favorite restaurant? I do, and it's Creole Pasta at this lovely little bistro in our new neighborhood. I crave it and I wish I could try something else from the menu, but I just can't. Obsessed and inspired, I set out to make something like it at home. It took a few tries, but I came up with a creamy cajun shrimp and sausage pasta dish that can compete ~ alleluia.
I love cajun spices or creole seasonings, both terms seem to be used interchangeably, but they are actually a little different. I'm no expert but, simply put, some label Creole food as "city food" and Cajun as "country food". I'm just gonna go with cajun here, and leave the nuanced differences to others.
I'm not from St. Louis ~ I'm a Chicago girl, through and through ~ but after living here for almost 14 years, I would definitely say St. Louis is more southern than midwestern.
There's a huge French influence here and St. Louis is home to the largest Mardi Gras celebration outside of New Orleans. Just a little observation I thought I'd share. ?
This dish has such great flavor and heat, neither of which overwhelms the other. The sauce is creamy and decadent and tossed with fettuccine, blackened shrimp and andouille sausage. Cajun spices are great on shrimp, seared or "blackened" for a few minutes so they're not overcooked and rubbery.
Andouille is a smoked sausage full of wonderful Louisiana cajun spices. The combination of shrimp and andouille ~ a perfect match. And lately, I've been making this with bowtie pasta, I like the leftovers with bowties, a little easier to reheat.
This pasta dish comes together easily if you have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go, mise en place. It's perfect for a weeknight dinner or entertaining. Creamy cajun pasta with blackened shrimp and andouille sausage ~ not gonna lie, I licked my plate and then the pan, before Meathead could beat me to it! ~ Kelly
If you have a love of Cajun spiced southern dishes, then try these recipes, too:
- Creamy Cajun Pork Chops
- Cajun Brown Sugar Salmon
- Skillet Cajun Chicken Thighs
- Cajun Southern Fried Corn
- Cajun Macaroni Salad
- Southern Fried Okra with Rémoulade Sauce
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Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta with Sausage
Ingredients
- ½ pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed
- 1 andouille sausage, about ½ pound, sliced into rounds
- 1 - 2 tablespoons cajun/creole spice mix, adjust to your spice/heat level
- Olive oil
- ½ medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
- ½ red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon cajun/creole spice mix
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 - 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (1 large or 2 small)
- ½ cup crushed tomatoes
- ¾ cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¾ cup heavy cream, or ½ & ½ (I prefer heavy cream!!)
- 12 ounces fettuccine or farfalle (bowties)
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
- Grated Parmesan and chopped parsley, for serving
Instructions
- Bring large pot of water to boil for pasta. Toss shrimp with 1 - 2 tablespoons of cajun seasoning and coat well. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and drizzle bottom of pan with olive oil. Add shrimp and cook for 2 minutes or so until starting to curl. Flip shrimp over and cook another minute or two and then remove to a plate and set aside. Drizzle pan with a little more olive oil, add sausage and brown until nicely caramelized, about 4 - 5 minutes. Remove to plate, set aside.
- Add pasta to salted boiling water and cook until al dente, a minute less than package instructions.
- Lower heat to medium and add another good drizzle of olive oil to the pan, add the onion, red bell pepper, thyme, smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon cajun seasoning, brown sugar and a generous pinch of salt. Sauté until onion and pepper have softened a bit, scraping up any browned bits that you can. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add crushed tomatoes, chicken broth and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer, stirring and scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pan, simmer a couple minutes. Add cream and stir to combine, bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add cooked pasta and andouille sausage and stir to combine and heat through, 2 - 3 minutes. Add more chicken broth or cream if it seems dry or you'd like more sauce (I added ¼ cup of each). Salt and pepper to taste and then lastly, add blackened shrimp and combine, or place shrimp on top of pasta. Sprinkle with some more freshly cracked black pepper, grated Parmesan and chopped parsley. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
*Inspired by Immaculate Bites and The Flavor Bender and, of course, Roux Royale ~ St. Charles, Missouri
Just made this, just simply amazing. I didn't have chicken stock but had beef stock on hand, it worked. Delicious and more than enough leftover to do lunch for both of us tomorrow!
So glad you liked it!
I just made this and it was awesome!! I didn't have andouille so I used chicken smoked sausage. This is a keeper in my house!
Glad you liked it! Smoked sausage sounds like a perfect choice.
I love this recipe!! Easy and delicious, can't beat it, I'm a southern girl who likes her spicy food!! Thanks for sharing!
Zee
I have never gone back to leave a review on a recipe, but holy cow... this was amazing!!!!! I couldn't get enough of it. I wanted to drown myself in the sauce, it is sooo good!!! Thank you so much for this recipe!! My fiance said "that was like something you'd order in a restaurant!!!"
Thanks so much for letting me know you tried and liked this Cajun pasta! I really did try and come up with this recipe based on my favorite dish at a local restaurant. Glad your fiancé liked it!
Made this tonight and it is fabulous! My husband and daughter love spicy so it was perfect! I didn't have crushed tomatoes so I used tomato purée. I also didn't have andouille so I used turkey smoked sausage. It was still delicious!!! Thank you! This is a keeper!
Your tweeks and substitutions sound just perfect ~ so happy to hear you liked this pasta dish. It is a keeper!
My boyfriend and I love this meal! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Thank you for trying it and letting me know you liked it ?
My 6 yr old grandson said this dish is amazing. I added chicken to this and doubled the ingredients. I must say my self "AMAZING"!
Thank you, it is amazing1 I've added chicken before, nice.
My family and I made this recipe for dinner tonight. We added a bit of red pepper flakes to add some spice as our andouille sausage was very mild. We usually change recipes up, but this recipe requires very little need for change. It's full of flavor and very very tasty! Will definitely make again and would 100% recommend.
Thanks so much! I think it has the right amount of spice/heat ~ at least for my family, and maybe yours, too ?
I tried this a while ago and it was fabulous!!! Right now I dont have shrimp but I have chicken and sausage....im going to give it a try! Thx
Doubled up the measurements because my husband can eat 4 servings of pasta by himself (greek). He, my daughter and I all loved it. We love spicy so this was great!
I just made it and It was great. I should have added some more sausage because I'm a sausage person but I loved it. Thanks!
I made this tonight and we loved it.
Made this with rice instead of pasta and equally as delicious! My husband LOVED it ! Thanks
Great idea with the rice ~ glad you liked it.
I love shrimp, sausage and pasta - throw them together with a kick of cajun and I think this is a winning recipe. Must try!!!
This is my husband's absolute favorite! (and I love it too!) Easy to throw together, and great for impressing guests. Be sure to save the shrimp shells for making soup stock. Thanks! 😉
My husband loves it, too! So do I ~ glad you liked it.
I found your recipe via google and made it for dinner tonight. It was delicious!!! The spicy sausage with the shrimp was wonderful. This was the most inspiring dish I've cooked in a long time!
That makes me happy, it really does. I'm so glad you liked it! My husband loves it.