Cajun Shrimp with Tomato Alfredo Pasta
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A creamy Tomato Alfredo Sauce, tossed together with yummy pasta and perfectly sautéed Cajun seasoned shrimp to make this easy Cajun Shrimp with Tomato Alfredo Pasta! It’s an incredibly delicious dish that you can make with just a handful of ingredients in under 30 minutes!
Easy Cajun Shrimp With Tomato Alfredo Pasta Recipe
This easy Cajun shrimp pasta is one of those recipes that I threw together one night with what I had on hand. You know you’re running around the house doing stuff and suddenly realize it’s almost dinner time. You look in the pantry and fridge, throw some stuff together in a pot, and think okay let’s see how this goes!
But I thought to myself how could this dish not be super tasty!?! I love anything with Cajun shrimp and anything coated in Alfredo! If you haven’t noticed I’ve got other Cajun shrimp dishes on my blog like my Cajun Shrimp Tacos and Cajun Shrimp Foil Packs as well as a bunch of Alfredo pasta recipes too like my Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, Salmon Alfredo, and Pasta Shells with Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce.
So let’s face it, Cajun shrimp tossed together with pasta and Alfredo sauce with tomato was not a stretch! I always say that some of the best recipes are the ones that we create in a pinch. And this Cajun Shrimp with Tomato Alfredo Pasta was no exception to the rule. It’s absolutely delicious with each creamy bite and the Cajun seasoned shrimp blend perfectly together with the tomato infused cheesy white sauce. It’s so darn tasty!
Why We Love Cajun Shrimp with Tomato Alfredo Pasta
- Simple Recipe! You can whip this recipe together in under 30 minutes and don’t need any fancy ingredients. Any type of pasta will work and if you don’t have shrimp on hand you can use any type of meat you like.
- Alfredo Tomato Twist! Comforting and not too spicy, classic cheesy Alfredo sauce with tomato and Cajun seasoned shrimp is a winning addictively yummy combination tossed with pasta.
- Easy Family Favorite! Everyone loves pasta night including kids. And even more so the cook because it’s super easy to make! Just add a simple Caesar Salad and your work is done.
- Pasta – Any dry pasta you’d like! Like fettuccine, linguine, mafalda, bow ties, whatever!
- Shrimp – Large shrimp, deveined with the shells removed.
- Cajun – I’m using my homemade Cajun seasoning today, I consider this spice blend a staple in my pantry!
- Olive oil and butter – Combining these two to brown our ingredients gives us all that brown butter deliciousness with none of that burnt butter bitterness.
- Onion – One small onion chopped up to be sautéed.
- Garlic – Use as much or little as you like.
- Tomatoes – You’ll need one can of crushed tomatoes, or if using diced, you can blend them up a bit in a blender.
- Cheese – Fresh Parmesan cheese grated up and sprinkled liberally!
- Cream – I used heavy cream today but feel free to use a different fat percentage if you’d like to make this dish lighter.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper to taste.
- Basil – Fresh basil leaves chopped up.
This recipe for creamy Cajun shrimp pasta may sound a tad complex, but it’s actually really simple! Like most pasta dishes, you just boil some pasta and toss it with sauce. In this case, the sauce just happens to be an easy 15-minute tomato Alfredo that will blow your mind!
Cook The Pasta
To start, you’ll need to bring a big large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions. The most important thing when cooking pasta is to salt the water really well and to cook it to al dente. Then once it’s done, drain the pasta and set it aside for a later step.
Cook The Shrimp
While the pasta is cooking, it’s time to sauté some Cajun seasoned shrimp! First, generously sprinkle the shrimp with Cajun seasoning. You can even use your own Cajun Seasoning. Then heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium high in a large skillet.
Now, add the shrimp to the pan and cook them on both sides until they are pink in color. This should only take a few minutes time. Fully cooked shrimp are firm in texture and no longer translucent. Then when the shrimp are done remove them from the skillet and set them aside for now.
Sauté The Onion And Garlic
Next, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and butter to the same skillet once again and heat over medium high just until the butter melts. Then toss the chopped onion and garlic into the skillet and cook for about 3 minutes or until the onion is soft and translucent.
Start The Sauce
Add the crushed tomatoes to the skillet with the onions and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Now, bring the mixture to a simmer. Then turn down the heat, and let it simmer for about 5 minutes while stirring from time to time. The mixture will thicken up as it simmers.
Finish The Sauce
Once the tomato mixture has reduced, stir in the heavy cream and parmesan cheese. Now allow the sauce to simmer for another 5 minutes. Then taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. You want the Alfredo sauce to be seasoned well to coat the pasta but not overly salty. So it’s best to just add a little salt at a time and taste with each addition.
Add The Pasta And Shrimp
Now that your sauce is perfect, add the cooked pasta and seared shrimp to the skillet. Then toss everything together to fully coat the noodles in the tomato Alfredo. You want each and every bite to be covered in the yummy sauce. Finally, garnish with some fresh basil and additional Parmesan cheese.
What Is Cajun?
When we’re talking about food, Cajun is usually referring to a spice blend which originated from Acadians living in Louisiana. Dry Cajun spice blend is made of paprika, cayenne pepper, herbs, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
How To Make Your Own Cajun Seasoning
Want to make your own jar of Cajun seasoning? Use my recipe here, it’s really easy, all you need are a few ingredients which you likely already have in your pantry.
How To Prep Your Shrimp
You’ll want to start at the small legs on the shrimp. Simply pull those off and the rest of the shell should start to release. Pull off the rest of the shell – but keep the tails on. To remove the vein along the top simply cut a slit with a small knife down the middle of the shrimp’s back before removing the black vein with the tip of your knife.
Alternatives
- Instead of shrimp you can use sausage, chicken or ground beef.
- Rather than diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes will work beautifully
- To cut down on calories you can use half and half or a light cream.
- I used a type of pasta that’s shaped like calamari. Since that’s not super easy to find, you can use any type of pasta that you like.
Expert Tips
- Salt your pasta water. When cooking any noodles, you want to salt your cooking water really well to season the pasta. So use about one tablespoon of salt.
- Use both the butter and olive oil. Make sure to use the olive oil with the butter. Doing so prevents the milk solids in butter from burning and becoming bitter.
- Don’t cook the garlic on high. Never cook onions and garlic on high heat. It will cause them to brown and burn. They need time to soften and develop in flavor.
- Temp the shrimp for doneness. To make sure that the shrimp are fully cooked you can use an instant-read digital thermometer to ensure they have reached at least 120°F (49°C) for food safety.
Leftovers
This recipe will last well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 – 4 days. If you’d like to freeze this recipe you may want to only make the tomato Alfredo sauce and store for up to 3 months, thaw in the fridge over night and make the pasta fresh as needed.
Other Delicious Recipes To Try
- Crispy Cajun Shrimp Fettuccine
- Creamy Cajun Pastalaya
- Cajun Meatballs in Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce
- Bruschetta Pasta
- Cajun Honey Pork Tenderloin
- Cajun Chicken Pasta
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Cajun Shrimp with Tomato Alfredo Pasta
Video
Ingredients
- 12 ounces pasta (uncooked, such as fettuccine)
- 12 ounces large shrimp (uncooked, shells removed)
- 1 tablespoon cajun seasoning
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 small onion (chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 15 ounces crushed tomatoes ((1 can))
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1 ounce Parmesan cheese (grated)
- ¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
- 3 leaves fresh basil (chopped for garnish)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions.
- While the pasta is cooking, season the shrimp with the cajun seasoning. In a large skillet heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the shrimp and cook on both sides until pink, it shouldn't take more than a couple minutes. Remove the shrimp from the skillet and set aside.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the butter to the skillet and heat until butter melts over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic, then cook for about 3 minutes until the onion becomes soft and translucent.
- Add the crushed tomatoes to the skillet, bring to a simmer then turn down the heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the heavy cream and Parmesan cheese to the skillet, and cook for another 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Add the cooked pasta and shrimp to the skillet and toss everything well together.
- Garnish with fresh basil and more Parmesan cheese if preferred, and serve immediately.
Equipment
Notes
- To cut down on calories you can use half and half or a light cream.
- You can use sausage or ground beef if you don’t like shrimp.
- Salt your pasta water. When cooking any noodles, you want to salt your cooking water really well to season the pasta. So use about one tablespoon of salt.
- Use both the butter and olive oil. Make sure to use the olive oil with the butter. Doing so prevents the milk solids in butter from burning and becoming bitter.
- Don’t cook the garlic on high. Never cook onions and garlic on high heat. It will cause them to brown and burn. They need time to soften and develop in flavor.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Hi! I want to try a lower carb version of this recipe by using zoodles and using halved grape tomatoes. Have you ever tried this?
Hello! That sounds like a fantastic idea for a lower carb version! I personally haven’t tried this specific combination, but I love the idea of using zoodles and halved grape tomatoes – they should work great. The zoodles will definitely lighten up the dish while still keeping it filling, and the grape tomatoes will add a nice touch of sweetness and freshness. When you add the zoodles, you might want to do it near the end of the cooking process to prevent them from getting too soft. Please let us know how it turns out, I’d love to hear about your experience! Happy cooking!
Love this recipe. Make it just as listed. My college daughter request this when visiting home. Made over 20 times!
Just made this tonight. Instead of the heavy cream, I used 2 tablespoons of half & half. Also, I added some mushrooms, because, I like mushrooms. And a little rosé wine that was lying around. Followed your recipe for the Cajun seasoning.
It came out fantastic! My husband and I both really loved it! Thanks!
I made this for supper tonight it was so delicious. I used your recipe for Cajun seasoning it was perfect!
I don’t know how it happened but I saw a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and decided to incorporate it here hahaha. I seasoned my shrimp with Old Bay and cajun seasoning and let it marinate with the can of peppers. I also subbed the diced tomatoes for crushed but followed the recipe from there. This gorgeous red spicy chipotle concoction over buttery fettuccine noodles, oh my. Delicious!!!!
Ha! It must have been a bit spicy too!
holy crap! this looks yummy and I’m going to make it–or a version of it for supper tonight. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
2 words…The Bomb! Tweaked it just a tad used Italian seasoned diced tomatoes and stewed. It’s a keeper…thank you!
I doubled the recipe except for the pasta. I also used tomato’s with green Chile’s since it was all I had on hand. Family loved it. I have a very picky 12 year old who went back for 3 helpings and I caught my oldest catching a bedtime snack of it. Will definitely be repeating this one. Have you tried a dash of Cayenne with it.
I haven’t but that sounds like a great idea! Happy to hear you guys enjoyed this recipe!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious!
Can I used crushed tomatoes instead of diced or will that mess up the consistency?
I think crushed tomatoes will work just fine.
There are ingredients that are imported by necessity, but are generally perceived as expensive, fussy and snobbish. Add to that how 99% of the time they’re prepared wrong, and the reputation is in tatters.
With this recipe, I finally convinced my 61-year old mother that shrimp is not the root of all evil! In fact, she and I both loved this!
This was wonderful, even though I didn’t have Cajun seasoning (smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, and seasoning salt was a great substitute) the flavor was excellent. This satisfied my tomato cravings. I do have a question; could zucchhini noodles from a spiralizer be a good substitute for the pasta noodles to cut carbs?
Yes, absolute, but I’d make a bit less sauce because pasta soaks up that sauce whereas zucchini noodles won’t really soak up much sauce, but yeah great idea!
Jo, I made this tonight and oh we loved it!!! I loved the amount of spice it had but husband gave it more of a kick with cayenne. He told me this one is a keeper. Thank you so much!!!!!!
Glad you guys liked it Carol!
I am gonna make this dish. What about adding sausage. I don’t like to alter people’s recipes, but the addition of sausage sounds awesome.
Thanks for sharing!
Michelle
Sausage would work great here, some spicy chorizo? 🙂
This recipe looks delicious!! Would it also work with fat free half and half?
Yes, absolutely!