Crispy Cajun Shrimp Fettuccine with an incredibly simple creamy sauce and crispy cajun shrimp with a little hit of heat. This can all be on your dinner table in 20 minutes tops!
This recipe is really all I could think about today, it was a long work day and as the hours dragged on I began to crave something creamy, dreamy, carby, and filled with flavorful plump shrimp. Pretty specific craving huh? Luckily I had this one stored in the old brain bank and decided to take it out for a test drive.
And I’m so glad I did because this dish was stellar. Packed full of perfect cajun seasoning, which is simultaneously spicy, sweet, smokey, and complex. The perfectly cooked shrimp is crispy and plump, all swimming in a rich creamy sauce served up on twirl-able and slurp-able fettuccine.
What Does Cajun Mean
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.
That’s where this beautiful spice comes into play, it will not only help form a beautiful crust on the shrimp, but it will also flavor our sauce. If you’ve never cooked with this spice, or at least never created a pasta dish using it, then I’m happy to introduce you to your new favorite meal. Perfect for a chilly night or any where you’d rather just curl up with a big bowl on the couch.
Ingredients
- Pasta – Fettuccine is what I chose to use today, but feel free to use any kind or shape you happen to have lying around.
- Shrimp – Large, deveined and deshelled.
- Seasoning – Cajun seasoning, you can pick it up at your local grocery store and is the flavor key for our entire dish.
- Flour – We’re just using all purpose today to thicken up our sauce.
- Butter and olive oil – To brown our shrimp in, it’s important to use both to achieve a brown butter flavor without burning it.
- Liquids – We’re using both low sodium chicken broth and heavy cream. You can substitute a lighter cream if you’d like to cut the fat.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper to taste.
- Garnish – Fresh ground Parmesan cheese and fresh chopped parsley.
How To Make Crispy Cajun Shrimp Fettuccine
- Cook the pasta: Cook fettuccine according to package instructions.
- Prepare the shrimp: Sprinkle the shrimp with 1 tbsp of cajun spice and toss well. Drizzle the flour over the shrimp and toss in a bowl to make sure each shrimp is covered in flour.
- Cook the shrimp: In a deep skillet add the butter and olive oil and heat over high heat. Add shrimp and cook on each side about 2 min until crisp. Remove shrimp from the skillet and set aside.
- Form the sauce: In the same skillet add chicken broth and heavy cream. Season with additional cajun spice if preferred and/or salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then add the Parmesan cheese and whisk. Add fettuccine and shrimp back to the pot and toss.
- Finish the dish: Garnish with parsley and additional Parmesan cheese.
Choose The Right Cajun Seasoning
Try to buy a Cajun seasoning with no salt to avoid making this recipe to salty. If your seasoning does have salt then just add salt to taste, be sure to taste test regularly. To make your own Cajun seasoning use my recipe here.
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. 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.
Can I Use Other Proteins?
You sure can! I like to add cubed up chicken breast to either pair alongside the shrimp or to replace it all together. If you’re really getting into the Creole spirit, feel free to add some spicy sliced up sausage to the dish.
Can This Shrimp Pasta Be Made In Advance?
You can absolutely make this cajun shrimp pasta in advance and as a matter of fact, the longer this sits, the better it will taste because the flavors will develop even better. However, do keep in mind that this pasta won’t be as creamy anymore as when you first make it because the fettuccine will absorb all the sauce.
If planning to make this ahead, another option would be to just make the sauce, and when ready to serve, cook the pasta and heat the sauce together with the pasta. This way it will taste fresh and it will still be super creamy and delicious.
Leftovers
Store this cajun shrimp pasta in an airtight container in the fridge. It will last 4-5 days, which makes it perfect for your weekly meal-prep!
Freezing
In an airtight container, this pasta will last 3-6 months in your freezer. I would freeze this in individual servings so that it will be easier to thaw. You can thaw this in the microwave, or covered in the oven at 350 F until the pasta is heated through. If you reheat in the oven, the pasta will absorb some of the sauce. Keeping it covered will help it from getting dry.
Craving More Shrimp? Try These Delicious Recipes:
- Brazilian Shrimp Soup
- Avocado Shrimp Salsa
- Firecracker Shrimp
- Easy Shrimp Fried Rice
- Honey Garlic Shrimp
- Shrimp Scampi
- Garlic Butter Shrimp
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Crispy Cajun Shrimp Fettuccine
Ingredients
- 8 oz fettuccine
- 1 lb large shrimp deshelled and deveined
- 1 tbsp cajun seasoning
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup chicken broth low sodium
- 1 cup heavy cream
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Cook fettuccine according to package instructions.
- Sprinkle the shrimp with 1 tbsp of cajun spice and toss well. Drizzle the flour over the shrimp and toss in a bowl to make sure each shrimp is covered in flour.
- In a deep skillet add the butter and olive oil and heat over high heat. Add shrimp and cook on each side about 2 min until crisp. Remove shrimp from the skillet and set aside.
- In the same skillet add chicken broth and heavy cream. Season with additional cajun spice if preferred and/or salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then add the Parmesan cheese and whisk. Add fettuccine and shrimp back to the pot and toss.
- Garnish with parsley and additional Parmesan cheese.
Video
Recipe Notes
- Try to buy a cajun seasoning with no salt to avoid making this recipe to salty.
- You can use cubed chicken for this recipe instead of shrimp.
- Store this pasta in an airtight container in the fridge. It will last 4-5 days, which makes it perfect for your weekly meal-prep!
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
This was so yummy – especially loved the crispy breading for the shrimp! Such a simple and easy dinner. We paired it with salads and garlic bread on the side. Thank you!!
So glad you liked it!
That was amazing! I made my own cajun seasoning because I didn’t have any, and overall it was a quick delicious weekday lunch.
Hi Jo, and Hello Peeps who read this comment. This recipe is absolutely fabulous. I made it for dinner and my husband was put in a totally loving mood after eating it, thinking that I made it up. Jo, you made my husband go from grouchy to appreciative with this tasty meal. I couldn’t tell him that it was someone else’s recipe, so thanks so much for renewing our marriage. This dish is fabulous and I love that I can add as much Cajun spice as needed as I like a light touch and he likes a little more spice. You are amazing!!!!
Josette, you’ve made my day!
Loved this recipe!! I did let the sauce simmer for an extra 10 minutes to make it thicker. Otherwise, it was an instant hit for dinner 🙂
Great recipe! I may have added garlic & extra crushed red peppers to add more spice. It was bomb!
This is hands down the best alfredo my husband and I have tried! Thanks for an awesome dinner night. Super easy and quick, followed the directions to a tee. Highly recommend 👌
Great and easy to make. This helped spice up my cooking at the house instead of serving the usual dishes everyone is used to.
This recipe is amazing! It was really easy to follow the directions and it’s enough to serve atleast 4 people. I will definitely be making this dish more often.
Very good recipe but you need to simmer the sauce for an additional 8 to 10 minutes to reduce it, and thicken it, or you end up with a watery sauce.
I thought my sauce was too watery at first, but i simmered for 5ish minutes, mixing everything together, then let sit for about 5 minutes before serving. The sauce thickened perfectly.
This recipe was amazing!!! Put it in my cook book it’s a keeper. Jo you make amazing recipes. As a mom of 4 little ones I appreciate how easy the recipes always are. Thanks again.
I loved this recipe! Can’t wait to try with chicken! I’m thinking a cajun jambalaya pasta!
This was delicious. I doubled both the fettuccine and shrimp so I increased the cajun seasoning I made my own) to one and half tablespoons, the flour to three tablespoons, an extra tablespoon of butter and the broth and cream to a cup and a half and the parmesan to 3/4 of a cup. Came out great.
My friend recommended this recipe and it was good..
I made mine a little thin though..
I think I added too much heavy cream or chicken broth..
but it still came out great..