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!
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!
Notes
Nutrition is only an estimate based on the Very Well Fit Nutrition Calculator
Nutrition
Calories: 641kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 45gFat: 38.5gSaturated Fat: 12.6gCholesterol: 245mgSodium: 1798mgPotassium: 701mgFiber: 5.1gSugar: 10gCalcium: 162mgIron: 5mg
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