A creamy Cajun Shrimp Alfredo pasta that's comfort food and the flavors you love from Cajun spices, celery, bell pepper, onion, and garlic.
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What I love about this cajun creamy shrimp pasta
I love that it starts with the Cajun style cooking trinity of onion, bell pepper, and celery. Combined with the Cajun spices, it brings a whole new level of flavor to your standard shrimp alfredo.
ingredients you'll need for cajun alfredo
- linguine
- avocado oil
- shrimp
- garlic powder
- cajun seasoning mix
- celery
- green bell pepper
- onion
- garlic
- Kosher salt & black pepper
- butter
- heavy whipping cream
- Cream cheese
- Parmesan
how to make this creamy cajun shrimp pasta
Detailed instructions and measurements for Cajun Shrimp Alfredo are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add your linguine and cook according to the package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water before draining.
- While your pasta is cooking, heat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium and add the avocado oil.
- Season your shrimp with garlic powder & cajun seasoning. Be sure it is coated on all sides.
- Once your oil is heated and shimmering, add your shrimp to the skillet. Don’t overcrowd the skillet and do them in batches if needed. Cook about 2 minutes per side.
- Once the shrimp has cooked through, remove it from the skillet and set it aside.
- Add the celery, green bell pepper, garlic, and onion to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until they are softened and cooked through.
- Add butter to the skillet with the vegetables. Mix it around and let it melt.
- Once the butter has melted, add in the heavy whipping cream. Mix it to combine and let it heat through. Don’t let it boil.
- Once the heavy cream has heated through, add in the cream cheese. Mix to combine and let it melt.
- When the cream cheese has melted completely, stir in the parmesan cheese and allow it to melt.
- Add the cooked shrimp to the skillet with the alfredo sauce.
- Combine the alfredo sauce and the pasta, mixing to combine. As you mix it together, pour in a little of the reserved pasta water as needed to help it combine.
- Serve with your favorite garlic bread and a little extra cajun seasoning on top!
tips and tricks
It’s important to be sure that your shrimp is fully thawed and dry before adding to the skillet. You want them to be able to sear in the oil without water being released.
Reserving some of the pasta water and adding it to the sauce with the pasta will help the sauce stick to the noodles.
If you like extra spice, you can add more cajun seasoning to the alfredo and the vegetables.
Cajun and creole seasonings have similar flavor profiles and came from the same region. There are some small differences like herbs and spices and creole food generally uses more tomato based items.
It completely depends on how much Cajun seasoning you add. If you like it extra spicy, you can add more to the sauce and the vegetables.
how to lower calories or ww points
- Instead of linguine, you could use a pasta alternative like spaghetti squash or hearts of palm pasta.
- You could omit the butter entirely or use a butter substitute.
- Swap the heavy whipping cream for fat free half & half.
- Use reduced fat or fat free cream cheese in place of full fat.
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Cajun Shrimp Alfredo
Equipment
- saucepan
- skillet
Ingredients
- 8 ounces linguine
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 pound large shrimp peeled & deveined
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 ½ tablespoon cajun seasoning mix
- 2 whole stalks Celery
- 1 whole green bell pepper
- ¼ large onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- Kosher salt & black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 4 ounces Cream cheese
- ¼ cup Parmesan
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add your linguine and cook according to the package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water before draining.
- While your pasta is cooking, heat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium and add the avocado oil.
- Season your shrimp with garlic powder & cajun seasoning. Be sure it is coated on all sides.
- Once your oil is heated and shimmering, add your shrimp to the skillet and do them in batches if needed. Cook about 2 minutes per side.
- Once the shrimp has cooked through, remove it from the skillet and set it aside.
- Add the celery, green bell pepper, garlic, and onion to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until they are softened and cooked through.
- Add butter to the skillet with the vegetables. Mix it around and let it melt.
- Once the butter has melted, add in the heavy whipping cream. Mix it to combine and let it heat through. Don’t let it boil.
- Once the heavy cream has heated through, add in the cream cheese. Mix to combine and let it melt.
- When the cream cheese has melted completely, stir in the parmesan cheese and allow it to melt.
- Add the cooked shrimp to the skillet with the alfredo sauce.
- Combine the alfredo sauce and the pasta, mixing to combine. As you mix it together, pour in a little of the reserved pasta water as needed to help it combine.
- Serve with your favorite garlic bread and a little extra cajun seasoning on top!
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