Creamy Cajun Sausage Pasta is full of Italian sausage, cajun spices, onion, garlic, and bell pepper in a creamy sauce flavored with Parmesan cheese.
A Quick and Easy Pasta Dish
Can be made start to finish in under 20 minutes for a quick and easy meal. Perfect for a weeknight dinner.
What to Serve With Creamy Cajun Sausage Pasta?
This is a fairly heavy dish so I like to keep portions small and serve it with a few sides. Serve with:
- Steamed Broccoli
- Green Salad with Creamy Italian Dressing
- Crusty Rolls
- Pepperoncini Garlic Bread
How Spicy is This Dish?
This dish is fairly spicy. The heat comes from “Hot” Italian sausage, cajun seasoning, and cayenne pepper. To make it less spicy, leave the cayenne pepper out and use sweet Italian sausage. To make it spicier, add a few sprinkles of hot sauce or double the cayenne pepper.
Which Shape of Pasta to Use?
I love mini penne, but any pasta shape can be used. Cavatappi, linguine, and rotini work well.
Recipe Tips
Don’t forget to reserve a little of the pasta liquid for the sauce. The starch in the liquid will help bind the sauce to the pasta. If you forget, no worries. Add a little chicken broth or milk if you need to thin the sauce some.
Leftovers will keep for 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator and can be reheated in the microwave. Add a splash of half-and-half or milk if it has gotten too dry.
More Amazing Pasta Dishes To Try
- French Onion Pasta– full of onion flavor and gooey melted cheese.
- Creamy Angel Hair Pasta with Bacon and Shrimp
- Creamy Pesto Chicken Tortellini– a one pot meal with a creamy pesto Parmesan sauce, chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, and lots of garlic flavor.
- Slow Cooker Chicken Alfredo Pasta with Sausage
- Cheesy Garlic Shrimp Alfredo
- Slow Cooker Crack Chicken Pasta
Creamy Cajun Sausage Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces pasta,, I use mini penne
- 1 pound hot Italian sausage
- olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion,, thinly sliced
- 1 green bell pepper,, thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves,, minced
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes,, drained
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cajun seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add about 1 tablespoon of salt and pasta. Cook according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta liquid and then drain pasta.
- If sausage is in casings, remove them. Cook the sausage in a large skillet, crumbling it as it cooks.
- Remove sausage from skillet and set aside. Add a drizzle of olive oil to the skillet and cook the onion and bell pepper until soft.Add garlic and cook 30 seconds.
- Add diced tomatoes, heavy cream, cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and black pepper. Simmer for a few minutes.
- Add sausage and pasta to skillet and stir into sauce. Add reserved pasta liquid if the pasta is too dry.
- Stir in Parmesan cheese and parsley and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have made this 2 times in the last month. So good!