cajun pasta
Fair warning: I do not in any way consider this to be the healthiest recipe I’ve ever made or even close to it. It just tastes delicious and everyone deserves to have access to this! I typically follow the 80/20 rule (healthy habits 80% of the time and free to be 20% of the time), some weeks it’s more 50/50 some weeks its 90/10. As long as there is balance, I’m good! This is one of my favorite go-to comfort recipes! There are plenty of ways to modify this recipe if spice is not your thing, see my notes and tips below!
Ingredients:
1 red + 1 green bell pepper
1 medium sweet onion
1 normal size bag of spinach
1 pack of sliced mushrooms
1 box of penne pasta
1 1/2 cup shredder parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cup of chicken broth
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
1.5lb (or 1 pack) of hot Italian sausage (use mild/sweet to reduce spice level)
cajun seasoning to taste (see below for mix!)
Cajun seasoning mix:
2 tsp salt
2 generous tsp garlic powder
2 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (regular is fine too)
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 generous tsp onion powder
1 packed tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/4 generous tsp oregano
1 /4 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (can leave out to make less spicy)
Directions:
Put a large skillet on the stove top and let it heat over medium heat
Prep the veggies and meat! Slice the onions + peppers in small chunks as seen in the pictures below, and give the mushrooms a rough chop or break them up with your fingers. Set the veggies aside into a mixing bowl and cut the sausage into bite size pieces.
Once the skillet feels hot with your hand hovered over it (you can also test the heat by tossing a small piece of sausage or small crumb of veggie onto the skillet, look for sizzling!), toss the sausage onto it and let it cook almost all the way through on medium heat. (I let it brown up a bit for the first 8-10 min, then cover the skillet to cook for the remainder few minutes—important to cover at some point as it helps create more “juice” for the veggies to cook in later)
While the sausage is cooking, start boiling water for the pasta.
Once the sausage is almost cooked through, remove from the skillet and place on a paper towel covered plate. DO NOT REMOVE THE OIL/FAT/GREASE from the skillet!
Put the onions, peppers + mushrooms into the same skillet that you just cooked the sausage in. Toss the veggies to coat them in the grease from the sausage and cover the skillet (important to cover here so that the veggies steam vs browning up!). Let the veggies cook down to your liking! Longer for soft, not as much for crunchy—this is totally your preference but note that they will continue to cook later on (see below).
While the veggies are cooking, boil the pasta to half way done then set aside. If the box says 8 min—cook for 4.
Once the veggies are cooked to your liking, stir in the chicken broth + heavy whipping cream. Pour in the cajun seasoning to your liking and mix well with the sauce and veggies (more seasoning = more spice! *Notes on how to add some cajun but not as much spice below!)
Stir in the pasta and sausage and cover the skillet. Let the dish cook covered for 6-8 minutes until pasta has softened.
Stir in the parmesan then place spinach on top and cover for another 2-3 min (until spinach starts to wilt). Uncover and stir the spinach around within the pasta.
Portion onto your plate and garnish with a sprinkle of some more parmesan cheese and parsley!
Enjoy!
*If you want some cajun flavor but not as much spice, pour in a small amount of the cajun seasoning. I then suggest taking a quick taste test of the broth/sauce and adding additional salt, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano/thyme to your liking for more flavor!
-> If you want to modify this to make a slightly healthier version here are some swaps that you can make:
sub an Italian chicken sausage for the hot Italian sausage (note that you may want to use an olive oil or avocado oil spray first when cooking the sausage + veggies as there won’t be as much fat in the chicken sausage to grease the pan)
sub greek yogurt for the heavy whipping cream (you may want to add an additional 1/4 cup of chicken broth as there is obviously not as much liquid in greek yogurt as heavy whipping cream, start with 1/4 cup at a time and add more as you see fit.)
sub a chickpea or lentil based pasta for regular pasta
*I have not tried these swaps myself, yet, so no promises on flavor but these are common substitutes I have used on other recipes in the past!
Note: I am in no way a professional chef nor do I ever intend to be. All of my cooking knowledge has come from growing up in a household with a mother who is 100% Italian and a father who is 50% Italian and 50% Greek (he never cooked though but he was the first person to show my how to open up an Oreo and put peanut butter inside!). My cooking knowledge and influence has come mostly from my mom and grandmother (also 100% Italian) and inspiration from recipes that my amazing aunts/uncles/cousins have made. Enjoy :)
