Creamy Cajun Pasta Skillet! This skillet meal brims with savory depth, a hint of smoke, and a touch of garlic, making this one-pan pasta a satisfying hug in a bowl that’s perfect for busy families and date-night dinners alike.

Wholesome, hearty, and flavorful, this Creamy Cajun Pasta Skillet is a satisfying and comforting weeknight meal. Picture al dente pasta swirled in a dreamy, Cajun-inspired sauce—bold with spice and silky with cream—cloaked around sautéed veggies for color and crunch.

Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients.

Hi there, Ameera here!

This dish is super tasty and absolutely addictive, the kind of recipe that disappears from the table in minutes. We whipped up a batch, and every plate was polished clean—my family powered through bowls of creamy sauce, spicy notes, and perfectly chewy pasta, all balanced by bright veggies and a gooey finish.

You gotta give this one a try!

Tips for Success:

• Flavor Profile: This Creamy Cajun Pasta Skillet is a delicious pasta dish in lightly creamy Cajun sauce. This dish is for Cajun lovers everywhere.
• Spices and Herbs: This dish is moderately spiced. It is delicious, but we can see how some folks could wish to ramp some spices and/or herbs, we did not feel the need, we loved it just as is.
• Veggies: Be sure to make sure the veggies are perfectly tender before adding the almond butter.
• Almond Butter: Almond butter was used to create a creamy sauce without the use of a high-speed blender.  Make sure you thoroughly dissolve the almond butter into the sauce.
• Almond Butter Substitutions: You can use cashew butter or other nut or seed butters with the understanding that the flavor will be impacted accordingly.
• Thickness of the Sauce: The sauce will initially appear very lightly creamy; however, as the pasta cooks in the sauce at the very end of the recipe, then it slightly cools, and some additional starches will be released into the sauce.  The sauce will thicken up as it sits so it is important to allow the dish to sit for 4 minutes after removing from the stove.
• Pasta: We used cellentani pasta, simply because that is both Yasmeen and Yara’s favorite pasta. Feel free to use your favorite small-to-medium pasta like elbows, etc.
• Gluten Free Pasta: Feel free to use gluten free pasta. Rinse it really well to remove the excess starch.
• Amount of Pasta: We used approximately 8 ounces of uncooked pasta in each kitchen test. We preferred 8 oz. as that allowed for a nice amount of sauce which we felt was important. If you use more, feel free to do so with the understanding that the dish will be drier than what we originally intended.
• Dried Crushed Thyme Leaves: If you can’t find dried crushed thyme leaves, you can use ground thyme but use half the amount.
• Regular Chili Powder: Feel free to use your favorite chili powder, just be sure to select a mild one and not one that has a lot of heat to it.
• Baking Soda: Baking soda is often used as a neutralizer for dishes that contain a lot of acidity, typically from tomatoes. We use it in this dish to remove some of the tomato acidity (from the petite diced tomatoes and tomato paste) without losing the tomatoey flavor. When you add it, the mixture may bubble up, then settle down as it neutralizes the acidity. If you prefer that tinny taste that is typically associated with canned tomatoes, feel free to leave it out or only add a pinch.
• Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.

Leftovers and Freezing:

Leftovers will generally keep 5 days in the refrigerator.  Store in a covered air-tight container.

This dish can be frozen.  This dish is best when served immediately after making.

Pantry Products:

• Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.  Feel free to use your favorite vegetable broth.
• Almond Butter: We used Artisana Organics Raw Vegan Almond Butter.  Feel free to use your favorite raw almond butter in this recipe.  Read the label, make sure the only ingredient is raw almonds.  Do not use a salted or sweetened almond butter.
• Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

Kitchen Equipment:

• Large skillet
• Stock pot (to boil the pasta)

If you try this flavorful dish, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.

Creamy Cajun Pasta Skillet

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• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 15 Minutes
• Cook Time: 30 Minutes
• Total Time: 45 Minutes
• Yield: 5 Servings 1x
• Category: Dinner, Lunch
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Cajun Inspired
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

Wholesome, hearty, and flavorful, this Creamy Cajun Pasta Skillet is a satisfying and comforting weeknight meal.

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Ingredients

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Base Ingredients:

• 1 medium yellow onion, fine dice
• 1 red bell pepper, small dice
• 1 celery rib, fine dice
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth *
• 1 cup water
• 1 – [ 14.5 oz. can ] petite diced tomatoes
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda * 

Spice/Herb Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano (+/-)
• ½ teaspoon dried basil (+/-)
• ½ teaspoon dried crushed thyme leaves *
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley (+/-)
• 1 ¼ teaspoons smoked paprika (+/-)
• ¼ teaspoon sweet paprika (+/-)
• ¾ teaspoon regular chili powder (+/-) *
• ¼ to 1 1/8 teaspoons sea salt (+/-)
• Pinch to ¼ teaspoon black pepper (+/-)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (+/-) * 

Other Ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons almond butter *
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 8 oz. pasta (of choice) *

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Instructions

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions, when done, drain and rinse pasta in cold water and set aside to drain.
2. Place the Spice/Herb Ingredients (except the bay leaf and cayenne pepper) into a small bowl, whisk well to combine, set aside.
3. In a large skillet, add the finely diced onions, sauté over medium-high heat for 7 to 9 minutes until perfectly tender, add a splash of water, if needed to avoid burning. Then lower the heat to medium, add the minced garlic and tomato paste, sauté, stir constantly for one minute.
4. Then add all the remaining Skillet Ingredients (except the bay leaf, cayenne pepper, and baking soda) and the Spice/Herb Mix to the skillet, stir well, bring the mixture to a boil, add the baking soda, stir well, then immediately lower to a simmer. Tuck in the bay leaf.
5. Simmer over medium-low heat for 7 minutes.
6. After 7 minutes, stir in the almond butter until dissolved, then add the apple cider vinegar, simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Add the cooked pasta and cayenne pepper, stir to incorporate, heat through and allow to simmer for 3 minutes.
8. Taste test the flavors, ramp spices and/or herbs, if needed, and simmer for several minutes if additional spices are added.
9. Remove the skillet from the stove and allow to sit for 4 minutes undisturbed to allow the flavors to develop and the sauce to thicken, remove and discard the bay leaf, stir well, then serve and enjoy!

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Notes

Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.

Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.   

Serving:  5

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