Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta
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This Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta is an easy dinner made with tender shrimp, perfectly cooked pasta, and a rich, flavorful Cajun cream sauce ready in about 30 minutes.
Want more shrimp recipes? My Baked Crispy Shrimp with Dynamite Shrimp Sauce, Honey Walnut Shrimp, Baked Coconut Shrimp, and Easy Grilled Lemon Garlic Shrimp are just a click away.
Why You’ll Love This Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta
Easy: This creamy cajun shrimp pasta is easier than it sounds. Thirty minutes are spent letting the shrimp marinade so you can cook the pasta during that time. And most of the ingredients you probably already have. It’s perfect for a busy weeknight or a weekend date night so you don’t feel like leaving the house!
Family favorite: Growing up we used to love to eat at this seafood restaurant called McGrath’s. Although it’s no longer around, I’ve grown to love their cajun shrimp pasta so much that I made my own super similar version that my family now begs for on the regular.
Garlic, all the garlic: The very first thing you do in this easy cajun shrimp pasta is to marinate it in a garlic-y sauce. If you’re a garlic lover like me, may I suggest doubling the garlic just for good measure.
Pasta: I love penne with this dish but you can use any kind of pasta you like. Or, serve this shrimp with crusty bread to sop up all the delicious sauce.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Olive Oil — I use EVOO But you can use whatever olive oil you like. Be careful not to turn the heat of your skillet up too high when you go to cook the shrimp as the olive oil retains its flavor and beneficial compounds at a lower temperature.
Minced Garlic — Fresh or jarred, whatever you like is fine, just be sure you use a fine mince. Add extra if you like!
Soy Sauce & Brown Sugar — The key to this Cajun shrimp pasta recipe is the salty and sweet from the soy sauce and brown sugar. You won’t want to miss out on this flavor combination. (Not pictured.)
Shrimp, Peeled and Deveined — Save yourself the hassle of peeling shrimp after they’ve cooked and just use shrimp that’s already peeled and deveined for your convenience.
Red Pepper Flakes — Adjust for how hot you’d like this dish to be or leave them out all together. (Not pictured.)
Parmesan Cheese — I prefer two kinds of parmesan in this dish. For the shredded parm, I like to shred from the block so that the cheese melts into the dish. The other kind of parmesan I use is the “cheese topping” from a can. This gives a bit of texture with the parmesan flavor.
Penne Noodles — Starting with cooked pasta makes it easier to just toss the creamy Cajun shrimp into the pasta right when you’re ready to serve. Make sure the pasta has been cooked that day though or that you’ve reheated it with a bit of olive oil to keep it from all sticking together.
How to Make Cajun Shrimp Pasta
- Prep the shrimp and pasta. Pat the thawed shrimp dry and toss with the Cajun seasoning. Cook the penne in salted boiling water according to the package directions, reserving a little pasta water before draining.
- Cook the shrimp. Heat ½ tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and cook until just pink on both sides, then transfer to a clean bowl.
- Sauté the veggies. Add the remaining olive oil, onion, bell pepper, and a pinch of salt to the skillet. Cook over medium heat for 8–10 minutes, until the vegetables soften and the onion starts to turn golden. Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute.
- Make the sauce. Pour in the white wine or chicken broth, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Let it simmer for about 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes and cook for a few more minutes until they begin to break down. Stir in the heavy cream.
- Toss everything together. Add the cooked pasta and shrimp to the sauce, stirring gently until combined and heated through. Add a splash of reserved pasta water as needed to help the sauce coat the pasta.
- Finish and serve. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the parmesan. Add lemon juice, black pepper, and salt to taste, then serve with extra parmesan and chopped parsley.
Tips for Perfectly Cooked Shrimp
Shrimp cooks VERY fast. Blink and they’ll be done. To make sure you cook shrimp the right way:
- They are done when they turn from opaque to pink.
- Stir as they cook.
- When the shrimp form a “C” shape as they cook, that is another indicator that they are ready.
- Make sure you have a big enough pan for all the shrimp to be able to touch the pan equally for even cooking.
- Medium-high heat works best for cooking shrimp, any higher and they will cook too fast and unevenly.
- When the shrimp are JUST pink, pull them off the burner. They will continue to cook in the hot pan for another minute or so.
- Make sure the shrimp are thawed before cooking or the extra water from thawing in the shrimp will cook off the proteins and keep the marinade from absorbing.
FAQs
This Cajun shrimp pasta as written is moderately spicy. But you can make this recipe as spicy as you want it to be. Honestly. Love spice? Add more red pepper flakes. Hate spice? Leave it out. My recommendation is to start with just a pinch and taste, add more and taste, etc. till you receive the spice level that you like.
If you’re serving this to a group, my suggestion is to let people adjust/add the heat for themselves. Serve with red pepper flakes and/or hot sauce on the side.
Variations & Add-Ins
- If you’d like to add some greens to this shrimp, I recommend some finely chopped kale or spinach. Add this at the very end, take it off the heat and stir. It will wilt quickly.
- For more of a “sauce” to add to this shrimp dish, save the marinade. Pull the shrimp out with a slotted spoon to cook on the skillet as directed. Pour the remaining marinade into a sauce pot and put on high to boiling. Once the sauce boils, turn it down to simmer and add one cup of heavy cream. Let this simmer for a bit. Add a slurry if you’d like the sauce to be thicker. Pour the sauce over the shrimp and pasta when serving.
- I like to garnish this with chopped basil, thyme, or even green onions.
- For more of a Cajun feel, consider adding cooked andouille sausage with the shrimp. All you’ll need to do is heat it alongside the shrimp to warm it through and serve.
Storage & Reheating
This Cajun shrimp will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. I do not recommend freezing it as it will get rubbery.
To reheat, add back to a skillet or pan and cook over medium heat till just heated through. Don’t overcook.
More Recipes to Try
- Creamy Garlic Shrimp Pasta – restaurant worthy dish right at home!
- Cajun Shrimp Alfredo Pasta – creamy, spicy, and utterly irresistible.
- Shrimp Alfredo – a lighter twist on a classic.
When you make this recipe, snap a photo and tag me on social – I love connecting with you and seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
Cajun Shrimp Pasta
Ingredients
- 10 oz peeled frozen shrimp, thawed
- 3 tbsp Cajun seasoning
- 14 oz penne pasta
- kosher salt, to taste
- 1 ½ tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 small yellow onion, sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- ¾ cup white wine or low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped (see note)
- ⅔ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup shredded parmesan, plus extra to serve
- fresh lemon juice, to taste
- cracked black pepper, to taste
- chopped parsley , to serve
Instructions
- Pat the shrimp dry on a piece of kitchen paper and toss with the Cajun seasoning. Set aside.
- Cook the pasta in a pan of boiling salted water as per the packet instructions. Start checking for doneness around the 12 minute mark. Once it is cooked, drain and set aside reserving a little of the pasta cooking water.
- Meanwhile, heat a large non-stick frying pan over a medium high heat. Add 1/2 tbsp of the oil and cook the shrimp until just pink on each side. Remove from the pan and return to the bowl with any leftover Cajun seasoning with a slotted spoon.
- Add the sliced onion, chopped bell pepper and a generous pinch of salt to the pan along with the remaining 1 tbsp of oil. Reduce the heat to medium and fry for about 8-10 minutes until the onions are just starting to take on some color and the bell pepper is starting to soften. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for a further minute, until aromatic.
- Pour in the wine or chicken broth and using your wooden spoon scrape up any browned bits from the bottom into the sauce. Allow to bubble away for about 2 minutes to cook off the alcohol and slightly reduce the sauce before stirring in the tomatoes. Cook for a few more minutes until the tomatoes are starting to break down into the sauce.
- Stir in the heavy cream, then the cooked pasta and the cooked shrimp, including any residual Cajun seasoning from the bowl. Stir until combined, adding a little pasta cooking water if the sauce is not clinging to the pasta or is too thick.
- Once the pasta and shrimp are heated through and the sauce has reached the desired consistency remove from the heat and stir in the shredded parmesan. Add lemon juice and black pepper to taste, and salt if it is needed. Serve with a little extra parmesan and some parsley scattered over each bowl.
Notes
- To go the extra mile you can remove the skins from the tomatoes before chopping them by making a cross with a sharp knife at the base and in a heatproof bowl covering them with just boiled water. Then, once the water has cooled enough to fish out the tomatoes you should be able to peel off the skins from where you made the incisions.
- This pasta does not reheat, but it can be easily cut in half to serve just two.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
So Yummy! Comes Together so quickly and is very flavorFul for the minimal work that goes into this one. I added some broccoli to the pan with the ShrimP, OtheRwise follOwed exactly. Thank you!
I bet the addition of broccoli was fabulous! Great idea. Thanks for sharing, Laura!