You’d never know I used to be a pasta hater with all the pasta recipes I’ve added to the blog recently. From the garlic parmesan mac and cheese to the taco pasta bake, I’ve definitely been exploring all pasta-bilities. I know you hear this all the time, but this cajun sausage pasta bake could be my favorite pasta recipe to date.
I’m not sure if it’s all the veggies, the creamy sauce, or the cheddar sausage and melted cheddar on top—I just know I love it.
And that’s a penne for your thoughts.
How to Make Cajun Sausage Pasta
Puns and dad jokes aside, this recipe is super easy to make. If you have an oven safe skillet, you can make the entire thing in one pan.
Here’s a quick look at what you’ll need:
- lower fat sausage links
- zucchini and red bell pepper
- reduced fat alfredo, marinara, and cajun seasoning
- a lower carb pasta like Banza (chickpea pasta)
- shredded cheddar (optional)
Prepping the Veggies
Most of the recipe is simply cooking pasta and mixing sauce ingredients together. The most complex step will be slicing and dicing the zucchini, pepper, and sausage. Another nice addition might be tomatoes, like in my Traeger Smoked Cajun Pasta recipe.
Sausage Jokes Are the Wurst
In case you’re wondering, you can use any sausage you’d like. You could even use shrimp or sausage and shrimp like I used in my low carb jambalaya recipe. (If you go this route, cook the veggies first and add the shrimp in the last minute or two.)
You’ll see in the recipe card below I used Johnsonville Turkey and Cheddar Sausages. For comparison, each one has 120 calories, 10g protein, 4g carbs, and 6g fat. If you live near a Trader Joe’s, I love their chicken sausage options. I recently used their garlic herb sausage in my Italian Sausage Pasta Bake, which has similar ingredients to this recipe.
Update 3/1/21: TJ’s now has an andouille chicken sausage that I used to make Instant Pot Red Beans and Cauliflower Rice
Sauce It Up
The sauce for the cajun sausage pasta is crazy simple with nothing but alfredo, marinara, and cajun seasoning. You’ll find cajun seasoning in the spices section of every grocery store I’ve been on.
In terms of brands, I used McCormick, but you could use just about anything. An important note with any sauce is to actually taste it. Every palate is different, and you may find my recommendation too strong or not strong enough!
If you wanted to add a bit of protein to the recipe, you could try blending cottage cheese and alfredo together like in my high protein alfredo lasagna.
You could also go with something like the cheese sauce in my cajun low fat mac and cheese recipe.
Final Cajun Sausage Pasta Recipe Notes
I always like to add that I do my best to keep recipes as simple as possible. You’re always encouraged to get creative with my recipes and make them your own. Have fun!
One way to have fun and mix things up might be using the pasta and sauce from this recipe with my air fryer cajun chicken and veggies or work it into some air fried chicken alfredo.
And if you do make this cajun sausage pasta, let me know! Take a photo of your creation and tag me on Instagram @mason_woodruff.
Cajun Sausage Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 8 oz dry Banza Penne , or your choice of pasta
- 1 C 244g Light Alfredo Sauce
- 1/2 C 120g Marinara
- 2 tsp Cajun Seasoning*
- 1/2 C 56g Shredded Cheddar
- 1 Zucchini, chopped
- 1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
- 4 Turkey Sausages, sliced (I used Johnsonville Turkey and Cheddar)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Cook the pasta according to its packaging.
- Chop the zucchini and red bell pepper and slice the sausages before adding to a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the sausages develop a crisp exterior. (Over medium-high heat, this should take ~12 minutes.)
- While the pasta and sausage/veggie mix cook, mix the alfredo, marinara, and cajun seasoning together.
- Add the sauce to the sausage and veggies after they’ve cooked, stirring well.
- Drain the pasta and add to the pan, stirring to fully coat the pasta in sauce.
- If you have an oven safe skillet, top with cheese and bake for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Without an oven safe skillet, transfer the cajun sausage pasta to an 8×8 baking dish before topping with cheese.
- Top with fresh parsley or parsley flakes and enjoy!
Anything that I can find to hide turkey sausage in is a crowd pleaser in my house. My boyfriend loves sausage but I always buy the healthier turkey option which he hates. He didn’t even know that’s what was in here. The blend of Alfredo and marinara to make “pink sauce” was mind blowing. Now I catch myself doing it on spaghetti nights. This recipe is a must try.
If we don’t have a cajun seasoning. What can we use to make our own? Any suggestions?
I’ve never attempted to make my own but if I had to guess, this recipe looks like it would have a similar flavor profile to what I used: https://www.theflavorbender.com/cajun-seasoning-recipe/
This meal was so filling. I was a little skeptical of the cheddar sausage Mason used for this, but it was a perfect addition to this dish. I will make this super easy meal again but next time I want to try spinach instead of the zucchini! You won’t regret making this satisfying dish!
This recipe is ridiculous easy and versatile. I’ll usually use any veggie that doesn’t get too soft and throw it in. The creamy ness of these recipe is amazing, and I turned down the spice just a bit since I’m a wimp. Another win on this one!
This is our all time favorite WW dinner! My entire family loves it which makes dinner so much easier…no making another meal for the kids. Just the right amount of heat – we love using Luzianne’s Cajun Seasoning in it!
This is my go-to for meal prep, it’s delicious and quick which is SO important to me since I’m so busy trying to navigate PA school and being healthy. I usually add 2 TBSP of Cajun seasoning because I like it to be a bit spicier! This recipe is healthy but I feel like I’m cheating on my diet because it’s so good!
This was one of the first healthy-subs meals I made for my husband to ease him into all of the healthy swaps I knew we needed to make. It was a huge success! Cajun flavors were great, super filling, a definite winner all around!!
We tried this on the weekend and it was amazing. We added a bunch of broccoli as well. Made great leftovers.
I love the use of the banza pasta. This recipe tastes like it took a long time to make but it was very simple. I have made this twice in one week it’s that tasty.
This was a huge hit with my husband which is always a plus! I couldn’t find light Alfredo, so I used a plant-based Alfredo and was a little worried it affect the taste, but I don’t think I could tell a difference! It turned out just as creamy as a traditional pasta dish and the turkey cheddar sausage was the perfect addition!