Cajun Shrimp and Chicken Pasta (Creamy, Spicy One-Pan Dinner)

My husband doesn't really love pasta — except for this one. The first time I made this Cajun shrimp and chicken pasta, he ate two full plates and then asked if there was more. That doesn't happen often, so I wrote the recipe down immediately.

What makes this work is the layering. You cook the chicken and shrimp separately in the same skillet — not together — so each one gets properly browned instead of steaming in its own liquid. Then the sauce comes together in the same pan, picking up all those brown bits from the bottom. That's where the flavor lives. I use a good Cajun seasoning from the spice aisle at Walmart or Kroger, nothing fancy, and it does exactly what it needs to do.

I make this most often on Friday nights when I want something that feels like a treat but I don't want to stand in the kitchen for an hour. The whole thing, including boiling the pasta, takes about 35 minutes. It sits alongside my Mexican Street Corn Chicken as one of those recipes I keep coming back to when I want something a little spicy and a lot satisfying.

One thing to know going in: this is a rich dish. The cream and Parmesan make a sauce that coats every piece of pasta, which is exactly the point, but it means a little goes further than you'd expect. I always make the full recipe even on nights it's just the four of us, because the leftovers reheat well the next day.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• One pan, start to finish: The chicken, shrimp, and sauce all cook in the same skillet, which means the cleanup is minimal. I use a 12-inch cast iron or a heavy stainless skillet — either works. By the time the pasta is done boiling, the sauce is almost ready too.

• Real Cajun heat without burning your face off: The spice level here is warm and present but not aggressive. My kids can handle it, which is saying something — Saad is not a fan of anything too spicy. If you want more heat, it's easy to add. If you want less, just dial back the seasoning slightly.

• Two proteins, one sauce: Shrimp and chicken together sounds like it might be complicated, but the technique is simple — cook them separately, set them aside, make the sauce, bring everyone back together at the end. The shrimp stays tender and the chicken stays juicy because neither one sits in the sauce longer than it needs to.

• Leftovers that actually hold up: The sauce thickens a bit overnight, but a splash of broth or cream when you reheat it on the stove brings it right back. I've eaten this cold straight from the fridge at midnight and it was still good, though I won't fully endorse that as a serving suggestion.

• Flexible enough to work with what you have: No shrimp? All chicken works fine. Want to throw in some bell peppers or spinach? Go for it — the sauce absorbs everything. This isn't a recipe that falls apart if you swap one thing out.

Ingredients

• 8 oz fettuccine or penne pasta
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, diced into bite-size pieces
• ½ lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (store-bought is fine — I use McCormick or whatever's at Walmart)
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ½ cup chicken broth
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Directions

1. Cook the pasta: Boil the pasta in well-salted water according to package instructions until al dente. Before you drain it, save about ¼ cup of the pasta water — you can use it to loosen the sauce later if it gets too thick. Drain and set aside.
2. Cook the chicken: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the diced chicken and season with half the Cajun seasoning and a pinch of salt. Cook for 6–8 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from the skillet and set aside on a plate.
3. Cook the shrimp: In the same skillet, add the shrimp. Season with the remaining Cajun seasoning. Cook 2–3 minutes per side until pink and just opaque — don't walk away here, shrimp overcook fast. Remove and set aside with the chicken.
4. Build the sauce: Add the diced onion to the same skillet (don't wipe it out — those browned bits are flavor). Cook over medium heat for 3–4 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Stir in the paprika, salt, and black pepper.
5. Add the cream and cheese: Pour in the heavy cream and chicken broth, stirring to combine. Let it simmer gently for 3–4 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the Parmesan until melted and smooth. If the sauce looks too thick, add a splash of that reserved pasta water.
6. Bring it all together: Return the chicken and shrimp to the skillet and toss to coat them in the sauce. Add the cooked pasta and stir everything together over low heat until the pasta is warmed through and well coated. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
7. Serve: Plate it up and scatter the fresh parsley on top. Eat it immediately — this is best hot.

Tips for Success

• Don't crowd the chicken in the pan: I learned this the hard way — if you pile too much chicken into the skillet at once, it steams instead of browns and you lose all that caramelization. If your skillet is smaller than 12 inches, cook the chicken in two batches. It takes an extra 5 minutes but the result is worth it.

• Pull the shrimp off heat early: Shrimp continue cooking even after you remove them from the pan. The moment they curl into a C-shape and turn pink, take them off. If they curl into a tight O-shape, they're already overdone and will be rubbery. This is the single most common mistake with shrimp dishes.

• Use freshly grated Parmesan if you can: The pre-shredded stuff from the bag has anti-caking agents that sometimes make the sauce grainy instead of silky. I buy a block and grate it with a box grater — takes about 2 minutes. If you only have the bag kind, that's fine, just stir slowly over low heat.

• Keep the heat low when the cream goes in: If the cream hits a screaming hot pan it can break or reduce too fast. Turn it down to medium or medium-low before you add the cream and broth. A gentle simmer is what you want — small bubbles, not a rolling boil.

• Salt your pasta water generously: This is one of those steps that sounds optional but isn't. The pasta absorbs water as it cooks, and if that water is seasoned, the pasta carries flavor into the dish. I add about a tablespoon of salt to a large pot — it should taste noticeably salty, like light seawater.

Variations

• Add vegetables to the sauce: Diced bell peppers (red or orange) go in right after the onion and add a little sweetness that balances the Cajun heat nicely. Spinach stirred in at the very end wilts into the sauce and disappears in the best way. Sliced mushrooms work too — cook them with the onion until they release their liquid and brown up a bit.

• Turn up the heat: If you want it spicier, add ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper along with the Cajun seasoning, or finish with red pepper flakes at the table. My husband does this every time — he adds extra flakes to his own plate and is very happy about it. The base recipe is mild enough that this variation is easy to accommodate without making two separate dishes.

• Swap the pasta shape: Penne and fettuccine both work great here. I've also made it with rigatoni, which holds sauce especially well inside the ridges. If you want a lower-carb version, zucchini noodles can work, but be aware they release water as they cook — add them at the very end and don't let them sit in the hot sauce too long or they'll go soggy.

• Use andouille sausage instead of chicken: Slice andouille into coins and brown them in the same oil before cooking the shrimp. The sausage adds a smoky depth that's very Cajun and very good. This is actually my husband's preferred version — he finds it reminds him of a dish he had in New Orleans once. I can't verify the authenticity of that memory, but the pasta is genuinely excellent.

• Make it dairy-free: Full-fat coconut milk can replace the heavy cream — it changes the flavor slightly, adding a mild coconut undertone that actually works with the Cajun spices. Use nutritional yeast or a dairy-free Parmesan in place of the cheese. I haven't tested this version as many times as the original, so adjust the seasoning to taste as you go.

Serving and Storage

Serving

Serve this straight from the skillet while it's hot and the sauce is still loose and silky. Garlic bread on the side is the obvious move — you want something to scoop up the extra sauce from the bowl. A simple green salad with a sharp vinaigrette cuts through the richness well. If you're making this for a dinner where people will linger, keep the skillet on the lowest heat setting to stay warm, and stir in a splash of broth if it starts to tighten up.

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. When reheating, do it on the stovetop over low heat — the microwave works in a pinch but tends to make the shrimp rubbery. Add a splash of chicken broth or cream as it heats to bring the sauce back to life. I don't recommend freezing this one; the cream sauce tends to separate when thawed and the shrimp texture suffers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use pre-cooked shrimp?

Yes, but add them at the very end — literally the last 60 seconds before you serve. Pre-cooked shrimp just need to warm through, and if they spend any real time in the hot sauce they'll turn rubbery and tight. I've done this on nights when I had frozen cooked shrimp and no time to thaw raw ones, and it works fine as long as you're quick.

What Cajun seasoning should I use?

Store-bought works great — I use McCormick Cajun Seasoning, which is easy to find at most grocery stores. If you want more control over the salt, look for a low-sodium version or make your own with paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, oregano, and thyme. The recipe as written uses a small amount, so most store-bought blends won't make it too salty.

Can I make this ahead of time?

You can cook the chicken and shrimp ahead of time and refrigerate them separately. The sauce can also be made in advance. When you're ready to eat, reheat the sauce gently, add the proteins back in, then toss with freshly cooked pasta. I wouldn't assemble the whole dish ahead of time if I could help it — the pasta absorbs sauce as it sits and the texture changes.

How do I make this less spicy for kids?

Use just ½ teaspoon of Cajun seasoning instead of a full teaspoon, and skip the paprika or use sweet paprika instead of smoked. The extra cream and Parmesan naturally mellow out heat, so you can also just add a bit more of both if the finished dish is still too warm. My kids eat this with the amounts listed and it's totally manageable for them — it's more of a gentle warmth than actual spice.

Can I make this gluten-free?

Yes — just swap in your preferred gluten-free pasta and double-check that your Cajun seasoning and chicken broth are certified gluten-free (most are, but it's worth reading the label). Everything else in the recipe is naturally gluten-free. Gluten-free pasta can get mushy faster than regular pasta, so cook it just to al dente and don't let it sit in the sauce too long before serving.

Final Thoughts

This pasta has earned a regular spot in my Friday night rotation, and that doesn't happen easily. I'm picky about what gets repeated, mostly because I have too many recipes I want to try and not enough weeknights. But this one keeps coming back because it delivers reliably — the sauce is silky, the chicken stays juicy, the shrimp cook in minutes, and the whole thing feels like more effort than it actually was.

I also appreciate that it works for a crowd without scaling up being complicated. I've made a double batch of this for a casual dinner with friends — just used a bigger pot for the sauce at the end — and it held up perfectly. If you're looking for another one-pan dinner that hits similarly, my Mexican Street Corn Chicken is worth making on the same week. They're different flavor profiles but the same idea: one pan, not a lot of fuss, everyone happy.

And if you're planning dessert, my Mini Cinnamon Roll Cheesecakes are the kind of thing you can prep earlier in the day and forget about until dinner is done. Something sweet after all that Cajun spice is genuinely a good idea.

Make this once and see what you think. I hope your family likes it as much as mine does. 🍝❤️

If you liked this recipe, these are some others worth trying:

• Mexican Street Corn Chicken (Elote-Topped Skillet Dinner)
• Egg Roll in a Bowl (One-Pan, Low-Carb Takeout Fake-Out)
• Chi-Chi's Baked Chicken Chimichangas
• Mini Cinnamon Roll Cheesecakes
• Homemade Chili