Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta is filled with Cajun flair, tender shrimp, and savory sausage in a lovely creamy alfredo sauce.
It’s perfect with Garlic Parmesan Breadsticks or a side salad with Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing.
Cajun Shrimp Pasta
You’re going to be swept off your feet by the bold, spicy flavors of this Louisiana-style shrimp pasta with Cajun seasoning. It has a creamy, dreamy sauce, perfectly cooked pasta, lovely Cajun flavored sausage, and tender shrimp, seasoned to perfection.
What Is Cajun Seasoning?
Cajun seasoning is a lovely bold spice blend originating from Louisiana. It typically contains paprika, onion powder, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and black pepper.
Ingredients Needed
Here’s what you’ll need to whip up this Cajun Pasta with Shrimp and Sausage. As always, you can find the full list of ingredients located in the printable recipe card below!
- Butter
- Tomato Paste
- Garlic – fresh minced
- Cajun Seasoning
- Oregano – dried
- Heavy Cream
- Parmesan Cheese – shredded or grated
- Parsley
- Linguine Pasta
- Andouille Sausage – Cajun Style
- Shrimp – large, peeled, tails removed
- Salt & Pepper
How To Make Cajun Shrimp Pasta
It’s super simple to whip up this easy cajun pasta recipe. Start with the meats (shrimp and sausage), then make the base for the sauce, all while the pasta is cooking!
Make Pasta
Start by boiling a large pot of salted water and cooking the linguine noodles until they’re al dente **Make sure to reserve at least 1/2 cup to 1 full cup of pasta water for the sauce later.
PRO TIP: Pasta water in the sauce helps to bring your sauce to the perfect consistency while adding a touch of flavor. If you forget to save it, that’s alright. You can just use regular water. I won’t tell.
Cook Sausage
While the pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil to the pan. Toss in the sliced sausage and cook, stirring occasionally until lightly browned.
Prepare Shrimp
Season the shrimp with salt and pepper to taste, plus 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning, Add the shrimp to the pot with sausage and cook for an additional 4 to 5 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through. Remove the shrimp and sausage to a bowl and set aside.
Make The Sauce
To the same pan, add the butter and tomato paste, over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, stir in the garlic, cajun seasoning and oregano and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Pour in the heavy cream and parmesan cheese and stir until melted and bubbly. Use the reserved pasta water to add to the sauce to thin your desired consistency. Start with a small amount and add more as needed.
Add the Pasta
Add the drained linguine, shrimp, and sausage to the sauce and toss to coat. Garnish the dish with freshly chopped parsley and black pepper. Enjoy!
What To Serve With Cajun Shrimp Pasta?
This is simply lovely with a little toasted garlic bread or a side salad, but here are a few of my favorite veggie side options!
Variations and Substitutions
Here are a few different ways to customize this amazing cajun pasta with sausage to fit your needs.
- Add less cayenne pepper if you want this pasta LESS spicy.
- Add in a fresh diced tomato on top before serving for an added pop of color and flavor to the dish.
- Seafood not your thing? You can leave out the shrimp and double the sausage!
How To Store?
To Refrigerate: Cool and transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 3 days.
To Freeze: After cooling, transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating. Add a little cream or whole milk if needed when reheating.
More Cajun Pasta Recipes
Whether it’s a main dish or delicious pasta side dish, you can’t go wrong with Cajun pasta! Make sure to try at least one of these unique pasta recipes.
You’re going to LOVE this flavorful sausage shrimp pasta. Let me know how you like it!
Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz linguine pasta, uncooked
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 13 oz Cajun Style Andouille Sausage, cut into rounds
- 1 lb raw shrimp, large, peeled and tails removed
- salt and pepper, to taste
For the Cajun Pasta Sauce
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp garlic, minced
- 2 tsp cajun seasoning
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- 2 oz parmesan cheese, shredded or grated
- 1 tbsp parsley, freshly chopped
Instructions
- Start by boiling a large pot of salted water and cooking the linguine noodles until they're al dente. *Make sure to reserve at least ½ cup to a full cup of the pasta water for the sauce later.
- While the pasta is boiling, heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add the olive oil to the pan. Toss in the sliced sausage and cook, stirring occasionally until lightly browned. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper to taste, plus 1 tsp cajun seasoning. Add the shrimp to the pot with sausage and cook for an additional 4 to 5 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through. Remove the shrimp and sausage to a bowl and set aside.
- To the same pan, add the butter and tomato paste, over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, stir in the garlic, cajun seasoning and oregano and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Pour in the heavy cream and parmesan cheese and stir until melted and bubbly. Use the reserved pasta water to add to the sauce to thin to your desired consistency. Start with a small amount and add more as needed.
- Add the drained linguine, shrimp and sausage to the sauce and toss to coat.
- Garnish the dish with freshly chopped parsley and black pepper. Enjoy!
Did the recipe exactly except we used smoked sausage. We fried the sausage with onions and olive oil. We removed from pan and did up the sauce. When sauce was done we added back the sausage. Serve with any noodles
Five Stars! Finally, a recipe that turns out exactly how it should intended to. Thank you for your description and pictures. We were very pleased. The only thing we did differently is we added chicken of course the shrimp and the andouille sausage.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for your comment!
This was a very easy and flavourful dish. I used a Herb n Onion sausage with this dish. I also added a bit of red and yellow peppers with some slivered onions. For an extra flavour boost I added Monterey Jack cheese plus the Parmesan cheese. I added less of the cream but once I added the pasta water; perfect consistency ! Husband raved over the dish! Lots of Yums! Thank you very much for the recipe !!
Really good. Easy to follow. Fun to experiment with additional ingredients.
This is another hit! I had to cut the spice a tiny bit because not everyone in the house likes spicy, but man!… this was phenomenal! Thank you!
This was the greatest, family loved it
This is delicious. I’ve made it to the exact recipe. I’ve also made it with chicken thighs instead of shrimp (it’s what I had on hand). My whole picky family loves it!
This is very easy to put together and my whole family loves it! Because my wife doesn’t care for spicy foods, I slice the sausage extra thin so she doesn’t get a spice overload but gets the delicious flavor.
This looks delicious but we are on a restricted diet – do you think the recipe will work well if I substitute half and half for the heavy cream? Thank you