Creamy Spicy Cajun Sausage Alfredo
Today I have a pasta dish that is creamy, spicy and very filling. I used sausage, but feel free to switch it up to chicken, shrimp or a combination of any of the three.
This meal reminded me of the Spicy Romano Chicken from Johnny Carino’s. If you were to swap the sausage for chicken, all that would be missing was artichokes. This was a big win for me, as I inadvertently made one of my favorite eating-out pasta meals. Enjoy!
Creamy & Spicy Cajun Sausage Alfredo
Makes about 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 12 oz. mini farfalle pasta
- 1/2 cup finely diced onion
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 pound plain sausages
- 1/8 cup green bell pepper, diced small
- 1 1/2 cups white mushrooms, diced small
- 1/4 cup julienned sun dried tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 1 teaspoon Cajun/Creole Seasoning or any other creole seasoning (Add more if you want it extra spicy)
- for garnish: 1 green onion, sliced and/or extra cheese
Directions:
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Remove from heat, drain reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta water. After draining, put back in pan, add the reserved water, stir and set aside.
- Cut the sausages down the middle to break the casings. Cut into chunks. Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add sausage; cook and stir until browned and cooked through. Use a large spoon to break apart the sausage so it is in smaller pieces. Remove from skillet. Drain most of the oil out of the pan.
- Melt the butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Add bell pepper, onion, mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes to skillet; cook and stir 3 minutes or until tender. Add heavy cream, Parmesan cheese and creole seasoning and bring to a simmer. Cook until sauce has reduced slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Add the sausage and sauce to the cooked pasta. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and garnish with green onion, if desired. Serve immediately.
Adapted from Laura Fuentes.
I just ate lunch, but this makes me hungry! That looks so good!
Yum this looks so good. I home smoke sausages and then thinly slice and stir through pasta, just one goes a long way and its a fairly cheap meal too 🙂
You are killing me with your Mardi Gras dishes! I want to eat them all.
Trying this now, but missing where you add the cheese the first time…is it when the cream goes in?
Yes – Sorry about that Suzanne. I'll fix the recipe.
Turned out great! I added the cheese in mid simmer after adding cream. I also made it with chicken instead. My family really liked this!
So glad you liked it. Chicken is a great alternative to the sausage.