Creamy Cajun Shrimp and Sausage Pasta (One Pot!)
This Creamy Cajun Shrimp and Sausage Pasta is an easy ONE-POT weeknight meal! Pasta is cooked in a creamy tomato sauce that is perfectly seasoned with delicious Cajun flavors! This delicious comfort food meal is an easy dinner that comes together in about 30 minutes!
You’re going to love this creamy cajun pasta! Sausage, shrimp, and pasta are all tossed in a delicious, slightly spicy, creamy Cajun sauce that comes together in ONE POT!
One-pot meals are a Godsend if you loathe washing dishes…especially pots and pans! If you’re anti-pots and pans washing like me, give my One Pot Tuna Mac and Cheese or this amazing One Pot Spaghetti with Sausage a try! Or this Easy Cheesy Slumgullion (AKA: Goulash!) or Velveeta Hamburger Helper!
For this Cajun Shrimp and Sausage Pasta, you can easily adjust the spice level based on the type of Cajun seasoning you use. If you love Cajun dishes, you have to try this delicious Creamy Cajun Salmon Pasta and this super easy Creamy Cajun Chicken Orzo!
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
- Slightly spicy, creamy sauce the whole family will love!
- One-pot dish = less dishes to wash!
- Easy weeknight meal — can be made in about 30 minutes!
RECIPE INGREDIENTS
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this delicious One Pot Shrimp and Sausage Pasta:
INGREDIENT NOTES
Sausage: Sweet or Hot Italian Sausage works perfectly in this dish. I prefer the fresh kind in the casings — you’ll remove the casings before cooking. To make this dish come together more quickly, pre-cooked andouille sausage like this one is also super yummy!
Shrimp: Medium-sized shrimp (40-50 count) work best for this dish…they’re not too big and not too small! Of course, you can always use bigger shrimp if you like!
Pasta: Fusilli (corkscrew) is my favorite to use in this dish because it soaks up the delicious sauce so well. Feel free to use any shape you like! Just note that you may have to adjust the cooking time a bit if you use a bigger sized pasta (such as Rigatoni) or a smaller pasta (like macaroni).
HOW TO MAKE SHRIMP AND SAUSAGE PASTA: STEP BY STEP
Here are some quick visual instructions. Remember that full instructions with exact ingredients will be in the recipe card below!
Step 1: Season shrimp and cook quickly. Remove from skillet, cover and set aside.
Step 2: In the same pan, cook onion, garlic, and bell pepper.
Step 3: Add sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.
Step 4: When sausage is cooked, add dry pasta, tomatoes, chicken stock, and thyme. Cover and cook 13-15 minutes until pasta is al dente.
Step 5: Stir in cream cheese. Last, gently fold in the shrimp. Serve garnished with Parmesan, green onions, and crushed red pepper flakes, if you like!
RECIPE TIPS & TRICKS
- Different pasta shapes cook at different rates, so if the pasta isn’t al dente after 13-15 minutes (and most of the liquid is absorbed), add a splash more chicken stock and continue cooking until the pasta is done.
⭐️ CONFIDENCE TIP ⭐️
At the end, taste your pasta, and season with salt and pepper ONLY if needed. The sausage, chicken broth, and Cajun seasoning contain a good amount of salt so no need to add additional salt unless needed. ALWAYS taste your food and adjust if you need to!
STORAGE & REHEATING
- Storage: Leftovers are fantastic the next day! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Reheating: Reheat individual portions in the microwave or in a skillet You may want to add a splash of chicken stock to loosen the sauce up a bit as it heats.
- Freezing: Because of the dairy in this recipe, I do not recommend freezing it.
SIMPLE SUBSTITUTIONS
Here are a few substitutions you can make:
- Red Bell Pepper: Sweet red bell peppers are great, but whatever color bell peppers you have on hand works, too!
- Cream Cheese: If you don’t want to add cream cheese, you can add a splash of heavy cream to add a little creaminess.
- Sausage: You can use hot Italian sausage, sweet Italian sausage, or pre-cooked andouille, or smoked sausage.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Serve this yummy Cajun pasta dish with a crisp Caesar salad and some garlic bread or this sweet cornbread. This arugula salad and this tossed green salad are also perfect sides.
Medium-sized shrimp (40-50 count) work best for this dish. Of course, you can always use bigger shrimp if you like!
There are so many great Cajun seasoning blends but my favorite is Slap Ya Mama All Natural Cajun Seasoning. I also use Creole seasoning interchangeably with Cajun seasoning in this recipe. I absolutely LOVE Shawty with the Seasonings “Creole Daddy,” and the Original Tony’s.
You can also make your own homemade Cajun seasoning! This way, you can adjust the heat level.
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TOOLS FOR THIS RECIPE
Check out all of my kitchen essentials in my Amazon store!
Large Skillet: This is my most-used skillet! It’s huge, non-stick, and comes with a lid!
Potato Masher: Great for getting ground meat broken up nice and fine!
Garlic Chopper: One of the most-used items in my kitchen!
TRY THESE NEXT…
I hope you love this Creamy Cajun Shrimp and Sausage Pasta! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Creamy Cajun Shrimp and Sausage Pasta (One Pot!)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced about one cup
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 14 oz. Italian sausage or andouille sausage casings removed, if necessary
- 10 oz. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined medium or large (I used 40/50 count)
- 1 large red bell pepper, sliced or diced
- 2 1/2 cups uncooked pasta fusilli (corkscrew) and pasta shells work well
- 1 15 oz. can crushed tomatoes
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tsp Cajun seasoning can also use Creole seasoning
- 3 1/4 cups chicken broth or stock See Note 1
- 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 4 heaping tablespoons of cream cheese, softened or room temperature about 4 oz (See Note 2)
- grated Parmesan, green onions, lemon juice optional, for serving
- salt, fresh ground black pepper, red pepper flakes, to taste
Instructions
- Prep: In a small bowl, season the shrimp with half of the Italian seasoning (1 tsp) and half of the Cajun seasoning (1 tsp). Season with a little salt and fresh black pepper. Drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil and mix well.
- Cook Shrimp: In a large skillet, pot or dutch oven (make sure it has a lid) over medium high heat, add the shrimp. Cook for just a couple of minutes until no longer pink. This will happen very fast! Remove shrimp and set aside.
- Add Veggies: In the same pan, add onion and bell peppers until they start to soften (about 2-3 minutes). Add in garlic and cook for 30 seconds more. Season with remaining Italian and Cajun seasoning.
- Cook Sausage: To the onions and peppers, add sausage. Cook about 3-5 minutes, breaking the meat up with a wooden spoon. Pro tip: In the last minute of cooking, use a potato masher to break up the meat–it gets it broken up nice and fine!
- Add Pasta: Add the dry pasta, crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, and thyme springs. Give everything a big stir to get all the yummy browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cover and simmer on medium heat for 13-15 minutes, until pasta is cooked al dente. Stir every so often to ensure the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom. Remove and discard thyme sprigs.Note: 13-15 minutes cooks fusilli pasta to al dente. If you use another pasta shape you may have to adjust the cooking time a bit.
- Make it Creamy: Stir the softened cream cheese into the pasta and mix well. Gently fold in cooked shrimp (plus all the juices from the plate)!
- Taste & Season: Taste, and season with salt and pepper or more Cajun seasoning ONLY if needed. The sausage, chicken broth, and Cajun seasoning will contain a good amount of salt so no need to add additional salt unless needed.
- Serve: Garnish with green onion and lots of fresh Parmesan cheese! Add some red pepper flakes or a sprinkle of cayenne pepper if you want a little kick! A squeeze of lemon juice is also delicious!
This is one hearty, comforting and flavor packed pasta dish. Looking forward to making this for my family.
This is such a comforting recipe that is packed full of flavour. Love the combination of the sausage with the shrimp.
This is one of the best recipes I’ve made for my family in a while. The flavors all worked so well with the shrimp and the sausage. It’s just delicious.
Absolutely incredible and SO tasty! Thank you for this amazing recipe!!
My while family really enjoyed this meal! I can’t wait to make it again! So delish!