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The Best Cajun Pasta Shrimp
Shrimp, noodles, and Cajun spices are a winning combination. Add to that lemon, cream, and Parmesan and you’ve got our new favorite Cajun shrimp pasta recipe. It’s a lovely dish that’s as great for guests as it is an easy family dinner. Like all of our pasta nights, we like to serve this with a big salad (this Corn Salad would be fab), and a crunchy loaf of Garlic Bread.
Ingredients You’ll Need For Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta
Pasta – We like penne, fettuccini or farfalle.
Shrimp – Large raw shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed.
To season the shrimp – Olive oil, lemon juice, Cajun seasoning, and salt.
For the sauce – Garlic, chicken stock, sugar, tomatoes, tomato paste, heavy cream, parmesan, Cajun seasoning, lemon juice and reserved pasta water.
How to Make Cajun Pasta With Shrimp
Cook the pasta. We like our noodles al dente.
Season the shrimp. In a medium bowl, toss the shrimp with olive oil, lemon juice, cajun seasoning, and salt until coated.
Cook the shrimp. In a large skillet or Dutch oven, cook until pink and cooked through. Shrimp cook quickly!
Make the sauce. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes.
Add the shrimp and pasta. Add the pasta to the skillet and toss until coated. Cook until the pasta is tender and coated in the sauce. Stir in the shrimp and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve! Sprinkle with parmesan, parsley and red pepper flakes, if using.
How to Store Leftovers + Tips
Leftovers are best eaten within a couple of days when stored in the fridge. We don’t recommend freezing these leftovers, because freezing will change the texture of the cream sauce and it might break when it is reheated.
Different brands of Cajun seasoning vary. We like Tony’s for this recipe. You can leave out the lemon and/or sugar, but we love how this brings extra flavor and balance to the cream sauce.
Should you peel shrimp before cooking in pasta? Yes! This makes the entire dish a lot easier to eat. Our Cajun pasta with shrimp recipe calls for one pound, about 24 peeled, deveined and tails removed shrimp.
Substitute or add sausage for a little variety.
Want more info about buying shrimp? This post has some great tips about how to shop for shrimp.
More Great Shrimp Recipes From The Modern Proper
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