This flavorful cajun pasta is filled with a wide variety of fresh foods, herbs, and spices! It's a hearty pasta dish that makes a great comfort meal.
This creamy cajun pasta with sausage is completely plant-based (including the sausage!) and packed with amazing flavor.
It's perfect for a super satisfying weeknight meal or a great recipe to make for an at home date night. You can make small adjustments to this dish to make it everything you're looking for in a creamy pasta.
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Recipe:
- Vegan/plant-based: Though many cajun-style dishes contain meat, this is a fully vegan cajun pasta dish!
- Hearty and comforting: Between the plant-based sausage, pasta, and hearty vegetables, this recipe will keep you nice and full.
- Full of nutrients: Not only is this pasta recipe packed with fresh vegetables and herbs, it has 21 grams of protein per serving and 4.2 grams of dietary fiber!
If you're looking for more cozy recipes try my Wild Rice Mushroom Soup or my Buffalo Cauliflower Sandwich next!
Ingredient Notes
Sausage: Since this is a fully vegan recipe I used a vegan spicy Italian sausage. You can use any type of plant-based sausage that you love best in this dish.
Pepper: I used a combination of fresh red bell peppers and roasted red peppers. This really brings the flavors to the next level.
Onion: I opted for sweet onion in this recipe.
Pasta: You can use a fresh homemade pasta for this recipe or a classic store-bought option. I chose shells for this recipe because I like the way the sauce gets inside the pasta.
Cajun Seasoning: Work smarter not harder, I like to keep things nice and easy by using a pre-made cajun seasoning in the spice section of the grocery store.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
There are plenty of simple ways to make this cajun sausage pasta your own.
Make vegan cajun spaghetti: Simply swap the shells for spaghetti instead.
Turn up the heat: The original recipe turns out to have a small kick of spiciness from the cajun seasoning and the spicy sausage. If you want to make a really spicy cajun pasta use an additional teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes when adding the seasoning.
Sausage: I used Beyond Meat spicy Italian sausage in this recipe but you can use any brand and flavor that you like best.
Add extra veggies: You can double the onion and peppers if you prefer to get extra vegetable servings in cajun veggie pasta recipe.
Make it creamier: To make things extra creamy, use ½-1 additional cup of oat milk at the end of cooking. You might need to add half a cup less vegetable broth and add a little extra seasoning to balance things out if you're adding extra oat milk.
Step by Step Instructions
Image 1: For your first steps you will make the sausage in a large sauce pan according to package instructions. Once the sausage is made, set that aside and cut them into bite-sized pieces.
Once the sausage has finished cooking start boiling the water for the pasta and then cook it according to package instructions.
Image 2: Use the same pan that you made the sausage in to cook the sauce. There is no need to clean it between making the sausage and the sauce.
Sauté the red bell pepper and onion in the olive oil over medium-low heat for about five minutes stirring frequently. Next, add the roasted red peppers and minced garlic, stir well and continue to cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.
Image 3: Pour in the broth, cornstarch, cajun seasoning, tomatoes, and the cooked sausage. Mix it all together and bring it to a low boil. Once it's boiling reduce it to a simmer and continue to cook for 10-15 minutes as the pasta finishes cooking.
Image 4: Drain the pasta well and gently stir the oat milk, pasta, and basil into the sauce.
Expert Tips
- Use a thick pasta. This is a really hearty sauce so you'll want to choose a thick pasta to accompany it. Anything like shells, spaghetti, penne will work great.
- Cook the sausage in the same pan as the sauce. Though you'll cook the sausage and remove it from the pan before starting on the sauce, using the same pan can give you better flavor. You'll get some of the oils and leftover bits of sausage when making the sauce.
- Use as many fresh ingredients as possible. Cajun cooking is known for its fresh, bold flavors. If at all possible, use fresh garlic, onions, peppers, and basil to get the best flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
The classic cajun flavor is made up of a combination of cayenne pepper, paprika, along with herbs, onion and garlic. It has quite a kick to it and is sometimes described as being a spicy, smoky flavor.
Cajun style food comes from Louisiana and was originally brought to the area by the French colonists after moving from Nova Scotia. Cajun style food is classically seasoned very well and uses a lot of vegetables and meats.
Typically cajun style foods have a bit of kick to them but they are not overly spicy. They do contain a lot of flavors and some spice but overall they are not very spicy unless you choose to make them that way.
More Plant-Based Pastas You'll Love
If you loved this recipe or any recipe on my website, please consider leaving a star rating or a comment below. I love hearing your feedback!
Vegan Cajun Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta
- 2 spicy Italian sausages plant-based
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- ½ sweet onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ cup fresh basil chopped
Cajun Pasta Sauce
- 1 cup roasted red pepper diced
- 15 oz diced tomatoes
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoon cajun seasoning
- ½ tablespoon cornstarch
- ¼ cup oat milk
Instructions
- Make the Italian sausages according to package instructions in a large sauce pan. After they have are fully cooked transfer them to a cutting board and cut into bite-sized pieces then set them aside.
- While the sausages are cooking, prep the peppers, garlic, and onion according to the ingredient list.
- Combine the olive oil, red bell peppers, and onion in a large sauce pan and cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Next, add the garlic and roasted red peppers to the pan, stir well and continue to cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.
- Add the cooked and sliced sausages, broth, cornstarch, tomatoes, cajun seasoning and mix really well. Bring the pot contents to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Allow to simmer for about 15 minutes so it thickens and reduces slightly.
- While the sauce cooks, cook the pasta according to package instructions. Once fully cooked, drain and rinse the pasta, and gently stir in the pasta, basil, and the oat milk into the sauce.
Leave a Comment