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Cajun Shrimp Pasta is a restaurant-worthy pasta dish that is made from scratch and ready in just 25 minutes! It has tender pasta and succulent shrimp coated in a spicy, creamy sauce.
For more shrimp recipes, try my Southern Style Shrimp and Grits or Blackened Shrimp next.
Why We Love This Recipe
- Perfect for Shrimp Lovers – If you like shrimp as much as I do, you’re going to love this pasta recipe!
- Quick 25 Minute Meal – Made from scratch, this recipe comes together super fast and is perfect for a quick weeknight dinner.
- Homemade Cajun Seasoning – With my homemade cajun seasoning blend, you can control the spice level for this dish.
RECIPE WALK-THROUGH
Ingredient Notes
- Shrimp – Fresh shrimp are best! Sometimes I’ll ask the butcher if they have any in the back to get the freshest possible. I suggest shrimp that’s already been peeled and deveined to save time.
- Pasta – I love linguine with this recipe but you could use fettuccine, spaghetti, or even smaller pasta shapes like penne or rotini.
- Cajun Seasoning – I prefer to use my homemade cajun seasoning which has onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, chili powder, paprika, oregano, thyme, and black pepper. Feel free to adjust the cayenne pepper to your desired level of spice or use your own favorite Cajun seasoning blend. Note: My blend is salt-free so you may need to adjust the salt level in this dish if you substitute it for a storebought one.
How To Make Cajun Shrimp Pasta
See the recipe card below for full, detailed instructions
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water. Make sure to reserve some of the pasta water towards the end of cooking.
- Melt some butter and olive oil in a separate skillet. Cook the shrimp coated in cajun seasoning (tails on for presentation or tails off for easier eating, take your pick!) The shrimp cooks quickly, just 2 minutes per side. Transfer the shrimp to a plate.
- Add butter to the pan, cook some garlic, then add some pasta water for deglazing, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Then add some flour for thickening and cook until it’s golden.
- Whisk in milk, cream, and more pasta water and simmer for several minutes or until it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in some Parmesan cheese.
- Toss together the pasta and shrimp with the sauce until everything is coated well.
Serving Suggestions
This Cajun Shrimp Pasta is fantastic all on its own, but would be extra delicious served with garlic breadsticks and veggies, like my roasted broccolini.
Storage Tips
How To Store Leftovers
This dish is best enjoyed immediately. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
Recipe Tips
- Switch Up The Protein – Instead of shrimp, try chicken breast or spicy sausage.
- Large Shrimp – I prefer large sized shrimp for this recipe. With large, you’ll get about 30-40 per pound, which makes it about 9-10 shrimp per serving for this recipe.
- Adjust The Spice – Add more or less cajun seasoning based on your liking.
- Use Freshly Grated Parmesan – I always recommend freshly grated cheese in recipes like this where you want the cheese to melt smoothly. Pre-shredded cheese is coated to avoid clumping, which causes some issues with melting into the sauce.
- Garnish – It’s optional, but I love to sprinkle some fresh diced tomatoes and fresh minced parsley on top.
More Shrimp Recipes to Try
Recipe
Cajun Shrimp Pasta
Creamy Shrimp Pasta has tender pasta in a spicy cream sauce topped with succulent shrimp for a quick and easy meal that's versatile and flavorful.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 pound Linguine pasta
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Butter
- 1 pound Large shrimp peeled and deveined
- 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
Sauce
- 3 tablespoons Butter
- 1 clove Garlic minced
- 4 tablespoons All-purpose flour
- Kosher salt
- 1 cup Reserved pasta water
- 1 cup Nonfat milk
- 1 cup Heavy cream
- 1/2 cup Freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon Fresh chopped parsley
- 3 Roma tomatoes diced
Instructions
- Cook pasta in generously salted boiling water according to package directions. Before draining, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. Drain and set aside on a plate or in a large bowl until ready to use.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter and olive oil. Add shrimp and season with salt, pepper and Cajun seasoning. Cook until pink, about 2 minutes per side, then transfer to a plate.
- Add 3 tablespoons of butter to the skillet and melt, swirling around to coat. Stir in minced garlic and cook for about 30 seconds to a minute. Whisk in about ¼ cup of the pasta water and stir constantly to deglaze (loosen and scrape up all those lovely brown bits of flavor) the pan if needed, then stir in flour and cook for about one minute or until golden.
- Whisk in milk, cream and remaining pasta water and simmer for several minutes until thickened (sauce should coat the back of a spoon). Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese until melted.
- Toss the cooked pasta and shrimp with the sauce to coat.
- Serve immediately, garnished with diced tomatoes and fresh chopped parsley.
Notes
- Instead of shrimp, use chicken breast or spicy sausage.
- Add more or less cajun seasoning based on your liking.
- I suggest fettuccine or linguine, but I also love penne, rigatoni or even spaghetti.
Nutrition
Calories: 988kcalCarbohydrates: 100gProtein: 48gFat: 44gSaturated Fat: 24gCholesterol: 407mgSodium: 1242mgPotassium: 685mgFiber: 6gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 3643IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 465mgIron: 5mg
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
