Pastalaya – Creamy Jambalaya Pasta – seriously delicious! TONS of great flavor and it is ready in about 20 minutes. Pasta, smoked sausage, heavy cream, garlic, onion, cajun seasoning, paprika, white wine, tomato sauce, and parmesan cheese. Better than any restaurant! Everyone RAVES about this easy pasta dish!
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This Creamy Pastalaya is the best thing we ate last week. SO much better than The Cheesecake Factory! Pasta and smoked sausage simmered in a quick cajun cream sauce. I wanted to lick the bowl! This dish had the perfect amount of cajun flavor! It’s not too spicy, but it definitely had a little kick to it from the cajun spice mix. This is effortless to make with little prep time and on the table in under 30 minutes. This easy recipe has quickly earned a spot on our favorite weeknight dinners list. You must add this to your menu. Your taste buds will thank you!
What is Jambalaya?
Traditional jambalaya is a Cajun dish made with meat, vegetables, and rice. Most commonly it consists of smoked andouille sausage, chicken, pork, and seafood (shrimp or crawfish), sauteed green bell pepper, onion, celery (holy trinity vegetables), and white rice. Everything cooks together in the same pot for an easy and flavorful recipe.
How to Make Creamy Jambalaya Pasta Recipe
This pasta is super simple to make with only a few simple ingredients. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water over medium-high heat according to the package directions for al dente. Drain and set aside.
While the pasta cooks, brown smoked sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. Once browned, add onion flakes and garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add white wine to the skillet, making sure to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom. Let the liquid reduce by half, about two minutes.
Stir in Cajun/Creole Seasoning, paprika, kosher salt, black pepper, and tomato sauce. Add heavy whipping cream and heat to almost bubbling, then reduce heat to low. Allow the cream mixture to reduce by half, about 5 minutes. Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and toss to coat. Garnish with fresh parsley and a dash of hot sauce.
Helpful Tips & Frequently Asked Questions
- Can use andouille sausage, smoked pork sausage, or smoked turkey sausage.
- Feel free to add chicken thighs. chicken breasts, and/or shrimp to the pot.
- This is also delicious with some vegetables. Celery, green bell peppers, red pepper, diced tomatoes, and mushrooms work great.
- What is Cajun seasoning? It is a combination of paprika, salt, garlic, onion powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, oregano, and thyme.
- Here is our recipe for Homemade Creole Seasoning made with paprika, salt, garlic, onion powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, oregano, and thyme: https://www.plainchicken.com/creolecajun-seasoning-secret-recipe/
- If using a store-bought Cajun/Creole seasoning, I suggest a salt-free seasoning to reduce the sodium in the dish.
- You can use any pasta that you prefer. Penne, bowtie, fettuccine, spaghetti, linguine are all good.
- Can substitute chicken broth or chicken stock for the white wine.
- Garnish the pasta with some green onions.
What Sides to Serve with Louisiana Jambalaya Pasta
This Cajun Pastalaya is a new favorite at our house. Everyone went back for a second helping. It is easy enough for a weeknight yet fancy enough for diner guests. We like to serve this with some green beans or a salad and some garlic bread. This recipe is perfect for any Mardi Gras celebration! Don’t forget the king cake for dessert! Give this a try ASAP! I promise you won’t be disappointed!
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Creamy Jambalaya Pasta (Pastalaya)
Equipment:
Ingredients:
- 1 (16-oz) box Farfalle pasta
- 1 lb smoked sausage, cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup minced garlic
- 1/4 cup dried minced onion flakes
- 1 Tbsp Cajun/Creole Seasoning
- 1 Tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ts pepper
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 Tbsp dried parsley
- parmesan cheese
Instructions:
- In a large pot, boil water for pasta. Salt water. Boil pasta and cook until al dente. Set aside.
- Brown sausage in a skillet over medium heat. Once browned, add onion flakes and garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add white wine to skillet, making sure to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom. Let wine reduce by half, about two minutes.
- Stir in Cajun/Creole Seasoning, paprika, salt, pepper, and tomato sauce. Add heavy cream and heat to almost bubbling, then reduce heat to low. Allow the cream mixture to reduce by half, about 5 minutes.
- Drain pasta and add to skillet. Toss with parsley and freshly grated Parmesan.
Notes:
- Can use andouille, smoked sausage, or smoked turkey sausage.
- Feel free to add chicken and/or shrimp to the pasta.
- Here is our recipe for Homemade Cajun/Creole Seasoning: https://www.plainchicken.com/creolecajun-seasoning-secret-recipe/
- Can substitute chicken broth for the white wine.
Steph
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This has become a favorite recipe here. I use andouille sausage and for anyone questioning the amount of garlic, use it!! It’s delicious. If using a salty Creole seasoning like Tony Chachere’s, I recommend omitting the additional tsp. of salt in the recipe. I use chicken broth in place of the wine and lighten up the dish a little by using low-fat half and half instead of the heavy cream. It still turns out wonderful! Mushrooms and/or chicken are a nice addition. Thank you!
Is it really 1/4 cup minced onion and garlic? That seems like a lot! Thanks!
make it however you want
This is one of our absolute favorite recipes! I tweek It a little and add sautéed red and green peppers and blackened chicken and double the sauce and we serve it over rice instead!
Loved it, great tasting recipe..I cut the salt a little since my cajun seasoning had salt but this is I could go into a carb coma with!
This was delicious! I made a version with turkey sausage for my husband and one without for me (vegetarian). We both loved it. Thanks!
I made this today with chicken sausage. I didn't have white wine so I used hard cider. I also added red and green peppers from my garden. So delicious. Thanks for a great recipe!
Julie – so glad you enjoyed it!
Just made this tonight for dinner, and it was absolutely delicious! Tastes just like my favorite restaurant's jambalaya pasta. Thanks for the recipe!
Ok. Thank you!
Kdpics – you can substitute chicken broth for the wine.
Kdpics – I've never done this in the crockpot. I'm not sure this would be good prepared that way. You could certainly make the pasta and keep it warm in the crockpot.
I don't see the answers to the previous questions and I'm wanting to try this for a church potluck dinner. Can it be done in the crockpot? And can something else be substituted for the white wine? I don't have any.
In new orleans we call this pastalaya
This was amazing!!! I have 4 kids so have a hard time pleasing everyone. This dish was a favorite for the whole family!!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was awesome! I sautéd some shrimp and added them at the end. My husband said he felt like we were eating at a restaraunt. So glad I ran across this pin on Pinterest!
I made this for dinner tonight & it was ABSOLUTELY awesome! The kick from the spices makes you keep going back for more & more & more, til you can't walk when you stand up! LOL! I love your blog & your recipes!! Thank you so much!
Sounds good. I like the cream sauce. Was it a smoked beef sausage or more of an andouille?
Oh my…. this looks so good! Definitely bookmarking this one!
YUM! Steph this sounds right up my alley and if I follow your suggestion and throw in some shrimp too I'll make everyone happy.
~ingrid
That sounds and looks good. I've been on kitchen strike the past few days. Told hubby he had to eat up leftovers or cook his own.
Mainly, I'm tired of something over rice…. I luv pasta and we have smoked sausage. Will have to give this a try.
Since I'm a bigger fan of pasta than rice, this is right in my wheel house and it looks great. Like you said, some shrimp tossed in with the sausage would have kicked it up a notch or two. I'll have to give it a try.