Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta is my new favorite! The flavor is amazing and I could not stop eating it. As I watched my family devour it, including my very picky daughter, I wished that a had made more for dinner. I was feeling a bit greedy. Well, now I know for next time. Mardi Gras is right around the corner and this tasty dish shall be served!
This Cajun shrimp pasta is so quick and easy to make. You can have dinner ready in less than 20 minutes. You can also easily customize this recipe to your personal preference. I made this pasta using my homemade Cajun seasoning. You can use store-bought as well but I highly recommend making your own, it’s so easy and you are in control of the flavor and the heat. Speaking of heat, this pasta has a spicy kick, it is Cajun. If you want to tone it down, use less seasoning. If you really like it hot, add some extra cayenne pepper to your bowl.
Note: The printable recipe is located at the end of this post. Please visit The Scoop for my latest posts or you can search or browse my Recipe Index.
Ingredients needed to make Cajun Shrimp Pasta:
- shrimp – raw shrimp peeled and deveined – I use jumbo or extra-large.
- bow-tie pasta – You can also use the pasta of your choice.
- olive oil
- minced garlic
- Cajun seasoning – I used my own homemade Cajun seasoning, but you could also use store-bought.
- white wine – I used Sauvignon blanc, it pairs well with this dish.
- unsalted butter
- heavy cream
- parmesan cheese – Finely grated parmesan.
- diced tomatoes
How to make Cajun Shrimp Pasta:
First, if you are using frozen shrimp, thaw them by running them under cold water. Remove all the tails prior to cooking the shrimp. While you are making the shrimp and sauce, boil your pasta according to the package instructions and drain when finished. Note: Make sure you add salt to your pasta water.
In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat then add 1 tablespoon of cajun seasoning. Swirl to combine the oil and seasoning. Cook the shrimp in the spicy oil until fully cooked, about 2 minutes per side or until the shrimp are pink, opaque and fully cooked. Transfer the cooked shrimp to a plate or a bowl and set aside. Tent with foil to keep warm.
Use the same pan to make the sauce, do not wipe it down. Add the wine to the pan to deglaze it, and simmer for 1 – 2 minutes. Add the butter and minced garlic to the pan. Cook for about 1 to 2 minutes, or until butter is completely melted and garlic is fragrant, whisk to combine.
Stir in the heavy cream and 1 tablespoon of Cajun Seasoning. Bring to a simmer and keep at a simmer for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low then add the parmesan cheese to the pan and whisk quickly to combine, just heating through. Stir in the diced tomatoes, pasta, and cooked shrimp. Serve hot and enjoy!
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If you make this Cajun Shrimp Pasta, please leave a comment. I would love to hear from you and I truly appreciate your feedback! I will always do my best to respond to every comment ASAP. Thank you and happy cooking!
| Cook Time | 15 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 1 lb. Shrimp raw peeled and deveined / jumbo or extra-large (tail-off)
- 12 ounces bow tie pasta
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning homemade or store-bought (homemade recipe link in notes)
- 1/3 cup white wine I used Sauvignon blanc
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese finely grated
- 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes drained - no salt added
Ingredients
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- If you are using frozen shrimp, thaw them first by running under cold water. Remove all the tails prior to cooking the shrimp. While you are making the shrimp and sauce, boil your pasta according to the package instructions and drain when finished. Note: Make sure you add salt to your pasta water.
- In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat then add 1 tablespoon of cajun seasoning. Swirl to combine the oil and seasoning. Cook the shrimp in the spicy oil until fully cooked, about 2 minutes per side or until the shrimp are pink, opaque and fully cooked. Transfer the cooked shrimp to a plate or a bowl and set aside. Tent with foil to keep warm.
- Use the same pan to make the sauce, do not wipe it down. Add the wine to the pan to deglaze it, and simmer for 1 - 2 minutes. Add the butter and minced garlic to the pan. Cook for about 1 to 2 minutes, or until butter is completely melted and garlic is fragrant, whisk to combine.
- Stir in the heavy cream and 1 tablespoon of Cajun Seasoning. Bring to a simmer and keep at a simmer for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low then add the parmesan cheese to the pan and whisk quickly to combine, just heating through. Stir in the diced tomatoes, pasta and cooked shrimp. Serve hot and enjoy!
This is as good as promised! Really glad you advised me to make a big batch. I forgot all about portion-control.
Thank you, Rhonda! I really appreciate the compliment and I’m happy to hear that someone can relate to my gluttonous pasta eating.
My family loves this pasta dish! I sometimes sub with chicken and it turns out great! Really delicious.
Thank you so much for the compliment, Joanie! I’m happy to hear that you and your family love the Cajun pasta. Happy cooking!
My family is OBSESSED with this recipe! Every time I take out shrimp for dinner my husband is mad if it is not for this pasta 😂 Thank you so much for the recipe!
Thank you, Melissa, for such a kind compliment! I am so happy to hear that you and your family love the Cajun shrimp pasta. Your comment brightened my day.
I want to thank you for this recipe. It truly is restaurant quality. I’ve made this 4 times now and it has become one of our favorites. I used grilled cajun sausage once and plan to try it with blackened chicken next. The shrimp is still our favorite, but it works great with the sausage as well. Thanks again!
You are so welcome and thank you for the compliment! I’m glad it’s one of your favorites. Adding both the shrimp and the Cajun sausage would be a great combination. Yum!
This was excellent. Just made it for 16 people (typing in 16 in the field to scale the ingredients) and people loved it.
Thank you so much for the compliment, Paul! I’m glad everyone loved the shrimp pasta, it’s one of my favorites. Also, way to go cooking for 16 people, that’s a party!
This recipe is amazing! It is a regular at my house and my husband’s absolute favorite!!
Thank you for such a nice compliment, Melissa! I’m glad you both enjoy the Cajun shrimp pasta, it is one of my favorites as well.
This recipe is literally “the bomb”. It’s incredible! This is the 3rd time I’ve made it in about 5 weeks and my husband gets super excited about it. History: my husband DOES NOT LIKE PASTA AT ALL and he LOVES this recipe!
Thank you so much, Trista, I love hearing that! I’m glad that you and your husband loved the Cajun shrimp pasta. Your comment just brightened my day!
Substituted the tomatoes with roasted red peppers the 2nd time I made it and it was delicious! It’s a keeper!
Thank you, Paige! I love roasted red peppers, sounds yummy! Glad you enjoyed the Cajun pasta!
Just made this. Wow so good. Learned from another mom on tight schedule as mine. Cooked pasta ahead of time .sounds silly but everything was already measured. She took everything out of 2gal baggie and started to cook. Done in no time.
What a great idea to save time! Thank you for sharing and thank you so much for the compliment!
I highly recommend trying my Cajun Seasoning recipe. It is made for this recipe and not too salty. Many store bought seasoning mixes are very salty. That is why I always create my own blends.
So glad I found this recipe. It was absolutely delicious and the family went bad for seconds and thirds! Also was able to whip up a whole lot of the Cajun spice to use for a later recipe. Thank you
I’m so glad you found it too, Shannon! Thank you for the compliment, I am so happy that you and your family enjoyed it! Also, thank you for taking the time to make my cajun seasoning recipe, it really has the best flavor.
Can you please recommend other white wines that would work best? I dont have sauvignon blanc on hand but I do have pinot grigio and chardonnay.
Both of those are great substitutes! Any dry white wine will work and I have personally used pinot grigio in this recipe.
Delicious! Perfect weeknight dinner. It’s fast, yummy, and filling. I used chicken breast instead of shrimp because I had that on hand. My toddler asked for seconds! It was super simple, quick, great to throw together after work. Will definitely make this again again!
Thank you, Candice! I love that your toddler liked it too, that’s awesome!
Wow ! That went down well “best dinner they’ve had a week apparently ” lol
Thank you, Amelia! I love hearing that!
Turned out delicious! Used 1 tbsp Slap Ya Momma mild and 1 tbsp Louisiana crawfish boil seasoning as the cajun seasoning. Also added 2 cups chopped kale in the garlic step. We all loved it!!! I wish I had made more. Thanks for sharing!!!
I love that you added kale! What a great healthy addition. Thank you so much for the compliment, I truly appreciate it!
My 13 year old who is extremely picky, loved this meal. If I could hug you, I would. My oldest son is cooking this for his girlfriend tonight. It is their first Valentine’s together and the first time he has ever cooked dinner! Thanks for the great recipe.
This comment just made my day brighter! So, thank you for that and I am sending you digital hugs right back! I hope your son’s dinner went well, a man who cooks for his lady is a real winner!
What could you use in place of wine?
You can use chicken broth as a substitute.
I made this for my husband tonight and he loved it! ?
That’s great, Erica! I’m happy to hear it and thanks for sharing!
This was AMAZING! I made it last night for my husband and I and he kept raving about it (he makes his own cajun seasoning so this meal was right up his alley). Thank you again!
Thank you, Cat, for the kind words! I am so happy to hear that you both enjoyed the pasta and that someone else appreciates homemade seasoning!
Made this for the first time tonight and omg it was delicious! My son is all about Cajun seasoning on everything nowadays and he loved this! Will definitely make again!
Thank you, Renee! I’m happy to hear that you both enjoyed it. I love Cajun as well!
I made this tonight and it was a hit! My entire family loved it… even my picky 5 year old. I will most definitely make this one of my go-to meals.
That’s awesome, Shana! I swear my daughter is the pickiest eater in the world, so reading this just made my day! Thank you for sharing!
This was an excellent recipe! Too often shrimp+pasta recipes turn out bland, but this was full of flavor and a big hit with my hard to please husband. We did add some fresh Mussels that I steamed in the sauce while it was simmering. It was perfect. According to my husband it’s “restaurant quality” and one we should serve when we have company.
Thank you so much, Danna! I am glad that you and your husband enjoyed it and I love that you added mussels. Yum!
I want to make this tonight. Could I use a white sweet mascoto wine instead?
Hi Jessica,
Yes, absolutely! Just know that the flavor will be a little different due to it being a sweet wine instead of a dry wine. I would love to hear how it turns out.
Just tried this and it was absolutely wonderful! I threw in a handful of spinach before adding the parmesan and let it cook a couple of minutes. Got a little more veggie in there and the pretty green color. This one moved to my “Seal of Approval” board!!
Thank you, Lynn! I am happy to hear it got the “Seal of Approval”!
This has to be the best shrimp pasta I have ever had. Truly restaurant quality! It’s not only delicious but it is easy a quick to prepare. My family loved it. I omitted the tomatoes because I’m not a tomato fan. Try it, you’ll love it!
Thank you so much! Your kind words just brightened my day!
This was absolutely amazing! Restaurant quality meal. Definitely a repeat!!!???
Thank you, Lisa! I love hearing that!
Thank you for an awesome recipe! Definitely will be making this again!
You are very welcome! Glad to hear it!
This was truly an amazing dinner. We will definitely make this again. I did not make any changes to the recipe and it was perfect. If you make this you will not be disappointed!
Thank you, Sheryl! I truly appreciate the compliment!
Thank you so much for this incredibly flavorful dish. My husband and I enjoyed it a lot and we have lunch to take for work for a few days.
The homemade Cajun spice mix was incredible and made this dish extra special – AND it was so easy. I had Cajun spice and tasted it after making the homemade one and promptly threw it away. It was tasteless.
I had extra meat I had to cook so I added 1 chicken breast and spicy Cajun sausage to the shrimp. Because of this I added a bit more of everything because I didn’t want it to be dry.
It wasn’t and we will cook it again!
Thank you so much, Lisa! I am so glad that you and your husband enjoyed it! I always prefer my homemade spice mixes as well and it really helps control the flavor of the dish.
Thank you Sum of Yum!
My husband and I (newlyweds) decided to begin this “unofficial/official” tradition of making one Pintrest meal per week. This was our first and what a success it was!
Super hit! Thank you for sharing 🙂 we skipped the wine and subbed with Veggie broth, Loved LOVED!
Happy Holidays!
You are so welcome and thank you, Linda, for the kind words! I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed the pasta and congrats on your marriage! Have fun cooking together and happy holidays!
This recipe was delicious!
Thank you, Pat!
Could you make this without tomato? Maybe substitute mushrooms??
Hi Tara!
Yes, you can omit the tomatoes and add mushrooms. I have a “Creamy Mushroom Pasta” recipe that you might want to take a look at to help with the mushrooms. I hope you enjoy!
My kids love spice, so i added rotel diced tomatos with chillis. And some broccoli. Everyone loved it even gma! Lol.
Hi Lynn,
That’s great that your kids like spicy! I am glad that your family loved it. Thank you so much for letting me know!
I have made this several times.. added kielbasa sausage with shrimp. Tonight doing chicken ( actually left over chicken breast cut up) had on hand can of artichoke hearts, small can of mushrooms, and 1/2 a small jar of left over sun dried tomatoes in oil.., Delish…. can really do anything … great sauce great recipe!!!!!!
Hi Bonnie,
Thank you so much for sharing, I truly appreciate it! Adding kielbasa sounds delicious. I might have to try that sometime. Have fun cooking!
Could you leave the wine out or would it ruin any other item in the recipe?
Hi Kayla,
You can substitute broth for the wine. Hope you enjoy!
What kind of broth do you recommend?
Chicken broth is a great substitute.
I made this tonight and it was a hit! Could be from a restaurant. I loved that it was so easy. Thank you!
Thank you so much, Melissa! I am so glad that you enjoyed it! This is one of my favorite pasta dinners!
Just wanted to say that I’ve tried a lot of recipes found on Pinterest but this is the first one that my husband has said with big eyes “this is f-ing fantastic!” And I could not agree more! I cannot wait to make this for our families. I switched out the pasta for penne and it was still great. Thank you!!
Thank you so much Carinna! So sorry for my late response, I was on vacation. I am so glad that you enjoyed the pasta! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know, I truly appreciate it!
Made this tonight for the family. It’s a new family favourite. I was showered with compliments. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Thank you so much, Gillian! I am so happy to hear that you and your family enjoyed it! Compliments are always so nice.
Made this last night for dinner and it was out of this world!! It will definitely be a favorite dish at my house now!!
Thank you so much Stephanie! I am so glad that you love it too! It is one of my favorites as well.
Just made this for lunch and it was flipping delicious. Thanks for posting!
Thank you! I am so glad you liked it!