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
This came out SO close to my favorite Gordon Biersch dish! OMG! ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!!!
Thanks, happy to hear this!
My boyfriend and I fought over who got to take the leftovers for lunch. Could not get enough of it!
I hear you, my husband usually wins.
Just made this....thank you, thank you for sharing. Nothing short of amazing.
Literally just found this recepe online and ran to the market to grab the ingredients. Hope it comes out good ❤️
How did it come out?
I made this last night and it was delish! I am part creole and this was very good! Thanks for the receipe!
My girlfriend and I made this for dinner and it was so good! We added some crushed red peppers for a little extra spice and it was perfect. Thanks for great recipe!
Can never have enough spice and heat! Glad you liked the recipe.
Made this tonight because it sounded very close to a dish I had at a restaurant in downtown Cleveland. Instead of thyme and smoked paprika, I used Herbes de Provence and paprika. It was very close to the dish I had. Thank you for posting this recipe. It is absolutely delicious! My husband and I enjoyed it immensely.
Great recipe. The family loved it (4 generations). Thanks!
This makes me happy, thanks!
Made this for dinner tonight w/ my mom. It was a hit! So yummy. Thanks for sharing
It's a favorite in my house, glad you liked it ~ mom, too!
I love this recipe! I am from Louisiana, but spent 15 years in St. Louis. Now, I am in Dallas. What bistro are you referring to in your post?
Rue Royale in St. Charles. I'm glad you like the recipe!
This sounds amazing. I have precooked, peeled and viened, frozen shrimp in my freezer right now. I was wondering if I would be able to use that instead of fresh shrimp and how I would go about using it.
Ive never used precooked shrimp but I imagine you could try it. Toss the thawed shrimp with the spices and don't cook very long, just a quick sear on each side.
Can you freeze this?
I don't think so, but I've never tried to freeze it.
My husband loved this and said he would order this at a restaurant. Thanks for the great recipe! It's a keeper!
Made this twice in the past month. Followed directions to a T & both times, it is an absolutely devine, restaurant quality meal! Thinking about making it again today! Last time I made a double batch & took leftovers to work for lunch two days in a row. This dish is quick & easy to make, love the combination of cajun spices, brown sugar, worsteshire. Used heavy cream (not milk) & sauce turned out perfect both times. Just the right amount of heat but not overwhelming. Can't go wrong with this recipe.
Was aiming for a hearty but special NYE dinner at home with my husband before we headed out, and it was perfect!! Added some chopped green peppers and spinach we already had on hand to the dish for leftovers today, and it was delicious the 2nd time around too! Definitely at the top of my repeat recipe box now!