Easy Cajun Jambalaya Pasta

6 Servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Easy Cajun Jambalaya Pasta with chicken, sausage and shrimp and all the delicious deep Louisiana flavor in just 30 minutes!

30 Minute Cajun Jambalaya Pasta just like the Cheesecake Factory!Easy Cajun Jambalaya Pasta sounds like I’m trying to trick you guys, I know. You think Louisiana flavors have to take a lot of effort and I promise this dish will knock your socks off in less than 30 minutes!

This Easy Cajun Jambalaya Pasta is made with a pre-made cajun spice but I used my own homemade version which I’ve detailed below. Want something with a bit of a kick? Add double the cayenne pepper.

Some tips about this Cajun 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.

Quick and EASY Jambalaya Pasta in just 30 Minutes!!So if you’re craving easy jambalaya pasta (also known as pastalaya) you won’t regret this dish, its a breeze to make and if you’re looking to make your own cajun seasoning I’ve listed my blend below:

Homemade cajun seasoning (triple this for the recipe):

½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoons dried oregano
¼ teaspoons dried thyme

We LOVE this Cajun Jambalaya Pasta!

Looking for more delicious Pasta recipes?

Tools Used in the making of this Cajun Jambalaya Pasta:
Cast Iron Skillet:
This is my most used pan in my kitchen, heavy, keeps heat well and gives the BEST sear ever.
Cajun Seasoning: If you want to grab a jar and skip the homemade blend.
Chef’s Knife: This knife is one of the three most used tools in my kitchen.
Tongs: are great for tossing all the spices with the ingredients and getting them in and out of the pan.

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Easy Cajun Jambalaya Pasta

Easy Cajun Jambalaya Pasta with chicken, sausage and shrimp and all the delicious deep Louisiana flavor in just 30 minutes!
Yield 6 Servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 1 pound chicken breast cut into 1? pieces
  • 1/2 pound shrimp deveined
  • 1/2 pound andouille sausage sliced into 1/2? 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

  • 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 in a bowl and toss.
  • In a large skillet or a cast iron skillet add the canola oil on high heat.
  • In two batches sear off the ingredients until they're 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

If you are nervous about overcooking your shrimp, after adding the spices pull them out to a separate bowl. Then once the other ingredients are done cooking add it to the pan to cook through.

Nutrition

Calories: 327kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 175mg | Sodium: 1023mg | Potassium: 510mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 385IU | Vitamin C: 27.2mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 1.7mg
Keyword: Easy Cajun Jambalaya Pasta
Easy Cajun Jambalaya Pasta with chicken, sausage and shrimp and all the delicious deep Louisiana flavor in just 30 minutes!
Quick and EASY Jambalaya Pasta in just 30 Minutes!!
30 Minute Cajun Jambalaya Pasta just like the Cheesecake Factory!

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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?

    1. 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.

  4. 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!!

  5. 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

  6. 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.

  7. 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

  8. 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?

  9. 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!

  10. 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!

    1. 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.

  11. 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.

  12. 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

  13. 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.

  14. 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

    1. 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.

  15. 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!

  16. 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

  17. 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!!

  18. 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?

  19. 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?

    1. 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.

  20. 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!

  21. 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!

  22. 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.

  23. 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!!

  24. Super easy! Prepping the protein and veggies is the most time consuming part. My family loved it. It also makes a huge portion!