Easy Cajun Jambalaya Pasta with all the delicious bold Louisiana flavor you love in just 30 minutes. A tasty Cheesecake Factory copycat!
If you love Classic Jambalaya, you won’t regret this amazing Pasta Recipe! Also known as pastalya, it’s a breeze to make with all the bold Cajun flavors you love. For a similar dish, check out my Cajun Chicken Pasta too.
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Cajun Jambalaya Pasta Recipe
You might think Louisiana flavors have to take a lot of effort but I promise this pasta will knock your socks off in less than 30 minutes! It’s packed with everything that makes jambalaya so delicious – tender chicken and shrimp, spicy sausage, bell peppers, and of course that signature bold Cajun seasoning!
You can make this dish with your favorite store-bought Cajun spice but I love to use my own homemade version. And lucky for you I’ve included it for you to add to your recipe box! If you really want a kick, up the cayenne pepper or add a couple dashes of hot sauce.
Step by Step Instructions
Time needed: 30 minutes.
- Cook Pasta
Cook the pasta 1 minute shy to the package directions for al dente. Drain and set aside. You can reserve 1 cup of pasta water in case you need it later.
- Season
Add the chicken, shrimp, sausage, cajun spices, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, red onion, garlic, Kosher salt and black pepper to a large bowl. Toss well to coat everything in spices evenly.
- Heat
Heat the oil in a large heavy bottomed skillet, like a 12-inch cast iron skillet.
- Sear
Working in 2-3 batches, sear off the ingredients until they’re cooked through, about 4-5 minutes each batch.
- Make Sauce
Add all the cooked ingredients back to the skillet and stir in the tomatoes and chicken broth.
- Reduce and Coat
Simmer the sauce for a minute or two then add in the cooked pasta. Using tongs coat the pasta with the sauce. If it isn’t as saucy as you like, you can add a little reserved pasta water (about 1 tablespoon at a time) until it loosens up.
- Serve
Top the pasta with fresh parsley and serve.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breast , cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 pound shrimp , deveined
- 1/2 pound andouille sausage , sliced into 1/2-inch thick pieces
- 3 tablespoons Cajun spice blend
- 1/2 red bell pepper , diced
- 1/2 green bell pepper , diced
- 1/2 red onion , thinly diced
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 medium tomato , diced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 pound fettucine pasta , cooked but not rinsed
- parsley and leftover minced bell peppers , for garnish
Instructions
- Cook the pasta, 1 minute shy of al dente according to the package directions. Drain but do not rinse. You can reserve a cup of pasta water, in case you need it.
- In a large bowl add the chicken, shrimp, sausage, cajun spices, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, red onion, garlic, Kosher salt and black pepper. Toss well until everything is coated in spices.
- In a large skillet or a cast iron skillet add the canola oil on high heat.
- In two batches sear off the ingredients until the chicken is cooked through, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and chicken stock to the pan with all the cooked ingredients.
- Cook for a minute or two then add in the cooked pasta and using tongs coat the pasta with the sauce.
- Garnish with parsley and leftover minced bell peppers if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
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Tips for Jambalaya Pasta
- Want to make this into a creamy jambalaya pasta? Add a ½ a cup of heavy cream in after your chicken stock.
- You don’t need to use Zatarain’s to make a quick jambalaya and those boxes of dinner kits are not going to have half the flavor of making it yourself. Want a shortcut, buy some cajun seasoning and you’re 75% of the way there already.
- This recipe is based on a recipe from The Cheesecake Factory Cajun Jambalaya Pasta with some alterations made to make it easier and quicker.
Homemade Cajun Seasoning
- The following amounts should give you the 3 tablespoons of seasoning you need for this recipe:
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 ½ teaspoon paprika
¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
¾ teaspoon onion powder
¾ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¾ teaspoons dried oregano
¾ teaspoons dried thyme
Kitchen Tools
- Cast Iron Skillet: This is my most used pan in my kitchen! It’s heavy, keeps heat well and gives the best ever sear for meat and veggies.
- Chef’s Knife: A good quality chef’s knife is one of the three most used tools in my kitchen. It makes chopping all the vegetables and sausage a breeze.
- Tongs: I prefer using a set of large tongs to toss my pasta. It just seems to coat and distribute everything evenly.
Related Recipes
More Delicious Cajun Dishes!
The following pictures were used in previous versions of this post:
Really good, added red pepper flakes was super good!
Cooked meats and veggies separately
Will do it again!
I have made this many times, pretty much as is, except for some spice adjustments and I always make it creamy. I reduce the pasta by a third for a saucer dish. I think the homemade cajun spice mix kicks it up a couple levels. Plus, you can tweak the spice mix for personal taste. I have received more compliments from this recipe than any other. I like all of Sabrina’s recipes, but this one is the bomb!
Thank you Jack. Means a lot and thanks for the 5 star review.
Mine was a little wetter than I expected. Did not tweak, just cooked meats and veggies separate. Was really good. Too spicy for small children.
Used some tomato paste and half and half and it turned out great! Will definitely make again.
Delicious! I cooked everything separately. My juice thickened a little bc I used pasta water and chicken bouillon. I would have loved to make it creamy, but realized I didn’t have any heavy cream. This recipe is definitely going in rotation.
I love this pasta so much I’m making it for our next get together.
Question- if I’m making it for 15 servings how much heavy cream will be adding?
Hi Jaime, At the top of the recipe card there is “Yield” with a bar that you can slide to how many people you wish to serve. It will automatically update the ingredients for you. Enjoy.
I made this tonight after craving the cheesecake factory’s version and man was it good!! Even my picky eater 7 year old loved it and ate her entire bowl. I did use Tony’s seasoning out of convenience and it was a tad on the salty side, more than I’d like but not too unbearable it was still really delicious. I like cream sauces so I did add some heavy cream. I also added some asparagus, yellow squash, fresh lemon juice and shredded parm for a garnish. Again super delicious thanks for this easy delicious recipe!!
AWESOME recipe! Thank you. I add more cayenne for more kick. 🙂
My solders son was visiting for Christmas I made this the other nite he loved it , very good . I-made one batch of home spices and then sprinkled some Tony Cajun on, thought everyone could add more if wanted
Easy to make and the flavor is outstanding, one pound of noodles is to much I will cut in half next time and maybe use bow-tie noodles only because they are not as sloppy when eating.
I used cooked and deveined shrimp added at the end just to warm, used 2 bags of birdseye colored peppers and onions to make it easy and basically follow your recipe fast this recipe hubby asked me to make it again and again
This was awesome!! I didn’t have any sausage, so I cut back 1tbsp of the cajun seasoning. I made a skillet with shrimp for me and the hubby, and one without for my allergy kids… and they loved it! One of my children thought it was quite spicy, but couldn’t stop eating it. Lol. I love spicy foods! I had to apologize to my husband with his heartburn. Told him he’s going to have to take a couple Tums tonight? Thanks! Definitely a keeper?
Very good. Made some modifications:
– omitted the shrimp (did not have any on hand) and it would be tricky not to overcook it.
– cooked the proteins and veggies separately and in batches. Sausage first, then chicken (in the sausage oil), then veggies. Each batch was cooked for 4 -5 minutes over medium high heat, being careful not to crowd the pan. Kind of like a stir fry. Allowed for better browning of the proteins.
– added the garlic to the pan and stirred for about a minute.
– added the proteins back, then added 2 tablespoons of Paul Prudhomme Chicken Magic (3 would have been too much). Cooked for about 1 minute to allow the spices to bloom.
– added about 1/4 cup of chicken broth (enough to deglaze the pan), scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan.
– added the rest of the chicken broth, then brought the mixture up just about to a slow boil.
– removed from heat. add 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter (instead of the cream), cut up into about 6 pieces (to facilitate melting), stirring it into the mixture.
– added the cooked pasta, tossed and served!
My toddler and I LOVE to try different recipes. It’s one of the only ways I can get him to eat is if he helps. We will try tomorrow and report back here!
It did not turn out well for me. The sauce was so thin it wasn’t sticking to pasta!
I am so sorry Meka! Maybe, I have another recipe that would work better for you!
How is the carbs 2g when there’s a pound of fettuccine in this dish?
Adds a tablespoon of corn starch!
After applying step #4, remove all the vegetables & meat from the pan, then either make a rue or corn starch / flour to the sauce so as to thicken it.
Great recipe. Thanks for sharing. Made it tonight and it was delicious. My wife and I like spicy food so we did add 1 additional tsp of cayenne pepper and 2 diced jalapeños. Like others have said, it’s a keeper recipe and we have lots of yummy leftovers.
Chuck, this is awesome thank you for the support! Thrilled you guys enjoyed it!
Loved it, but a tad spicy. Too spicy for my wife and kids. Going to make it again and try to bring it down a notch
Can I use chicken thigh meat instead of breast meat.?
Sure!
Very delicious will be making it agin !! Added heavy cream to the dish and made it more creamy !!
Thank you for this quick, delicious and pretty darn healthy recipe. I have made this a lot, exactly as written and with variations such as adding half and half, cream cheese, etc. Very easy recipe to make your own depending on what you have on hand.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Ash. Thanks for the 5 stars.
Hi! I made this last night- and overall it was good…….but SUPER salty. Luckily my husband loves extra salty things, but for me it was way too much.
Reading the reviews it doesn’t seem like anyone else had this problem so I’m trying to figure out what I did wrong LOL. 3 TBL of cajun seasoning and 1/2 tsp salt – maybe I’ll try omitting the salt and cutting back the cajun seasoning to 2 TBL?
I did also make a couple of modifications (although not sure that any of them would have impacted the salt): Omitted chicken and used turkey kielbasa and shrimp. Subbed 1 can diced tomatoes and omitted the chicken stock and fresh tomato. I did add half & half to help with the saltiness (and up the creaminess factor!).
Open to any ideas on how to cut the salt
Kielbasa is inherently salty. The cajun seasoning you chose could be very salty too, so I would probably skip the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Canned tomatoes can also have sodium in them, so I would check that. It could’ve just been a few things working together to make it saltier.
This dish was so easy to make and absolutely delicious! As my husband said while enjoying it “this one’s a keeper!” Will be saving this and using again for sure!
Thanks!
You’re welcome, Donna.
Love this recipe, once prepping is done the process moves fast. I may have added a little more broth, so I added some whipping cream and it thickened up the sauce! Will be making again
Glad you enjoyed it, Tina.
Sabrina, thanks so much for the recipe. A huge hit with my wife and kids for sure! I made it pretty close to as written, but used half and half cream instead of the heavy cream.
This is definitely a keeper!!
Thanks for coming back to let me know how much you all enjoyed it, Michael.
Excellent! This will be in my rotation for sure! Very flavorful.
Fantastic!
The spice mix is awesome, and made from pantry items I have on hand! I used only shrimp, and we all loved it! Thank you?
Yay!! Thanks so much!
I have done all the chopping and am ready to make this recipe today but my son will not eat tomatoes so I want to omit them. What can I use to substitute. Will a bit of tomatoe sauce do the trick?
I am just seeing this tonight. I am sure the recipe has long been cooked/or not but I still want to try to help.
Tomato sauce would do it, but I’d probably just go with additional red bell peppers for texture.
This recipe was so good! I did modify some things; added corn starch, heavy cream, and reduced Cajun spice to 2 Tbs. my husband LOVED it which was great, because he loves Cajun food. I liked a lot, as well.
Thanks for an awesome recipe!
You’re welcome, Jackalyn.
I just made this last night, it was very delicious. I modified a couple things out of necessity – used a yellow onion instead of red, used a while yellow pepper and half a red because I didn’t have a green one, and I omitted the chicken since I didnt have any.
The sauce coated the pasta nicely and it was decently spicy without being overwhelming. I would highly recommend!
These were pretty vague instructions. Completely ruined my kitchen. If you could be more clear with the step to step process that would be great cause this looks very yummy.
My family loved this! We like our pasta with a lot of sauce, so I only used 1/2 pound of pasta, and I added 1 TBSP of corn starch to thicken the sauce. It was delicious! Thanks for a great recipe!!
Super easy! Prepping the protein and veggies is the most time consuming part. My family loved it. It also makes a huge portion!