Traeger Smoked Cajun Sausage Pasta

When you think of high volume meals, pasta may not be the first thing that comes to mind, but this Traeger smoked cajun sausage pasta is packed with filling protein and fiber. Every massive 2-cup serving has 20 grams of protein thanks to andouille chicken sausage. And with mini heirloom tomatoes, bell pepper, and red lentil pasta, you’ll get veggies in every single bite. So if you’re in search of a Kinda Healthy recipe for your Traeger Grill, the hunt ends here.

Below you’ll find a full rundown of the ingredients and potential substitutions, as well as a visual recipe walkthrough. If you’re a seasoned vet, you can skip down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post. Just remember to jump back here if you have any ingredient questions, as they’ll likely be covered in the post.

Ingredients for Cajun Sausage Pasta

The ingredients for this smoked cajun pasta are pretty straightforward. You’ll need a green and red bell pepper, mini heirloom or cherry tomatoes, fresh parsley, shredded cheddar or a cheese blend, and some cajun seasoning.

For the cajun seasoning, you can use any brand, just keep an eye on the sodium content. The Louisiana cajun seasoning I used here has 290mg of sodium per 1/4 teaspoon. If you wanted to make your own (lower sodium) seasoning, you could use the blend from my cajun fries recipe.

Aside from the basics above, you’ll need three “specialty” ingredients: andouille chicken sausage, cajun alfredo sauce, and red lentil pasta. All three come from Trader Joe’s, but there are plenty of comparable alternatives.

You could use the light alfredo from my cajun pasta bake (or any alfredo with some extra cajun seasoning), any chicken or turkey andouille sausage, and any red lentil pasta. And if you’re familiar with my beaucoup of Banza pasta recipes, that would work great for this smoked pasta. Just keep in mind the standard box of Banza is 8 ounces, and you’ll need 12 ounces here.

Making the Traeger Smoked Sausage and Veggies

For smoking, I used the Traeger Signature Pellets on a Traeger Pro 575. If you don’t have a disposable foil pan, use any smoker-safe dish or cast iron pot (the more surface area, the better). Just make sure you’ll have enough space for the sauce and pasta.

Before adding the pasta to the smoked sausage and veggies, you’ll want to cook it in boiling salted water for 3-4 minutes. The pasta will finish cooking in the last 15-20 minutes in the smoker.

Ingredient note: If you’re using the real-deal wheat pasta, you’ll probably want to cook it a few minutes longer (maybe 7-8) to avoid any extra al dente pasta in your finished dish.

You can get an idea of what kind of coverage you get from 4 ounces of cheese in the photo below. If you’re not concerned about the calorie or fat content of your smoked pasta, by all means, add more cheese.

Be sure to increase the temperature for the final 15-20 minutes to get some color on the melted cheese.

And as a final tip, throw some Trader Joe’s garlic bread (or any type of bread) on the grill with your cajun sausage pasta for the last 3-5 minutes. That way you’re ready to dig in and serve right off the Traeger.

Can I Make This Cajun Sausage Pasta Without a Smoker?

You have a lot of options for making this recipe without a smoker. First off, you could slow roast the chicken sausage and veggies in a large baking dish and add the sauce, mostly cooked pasta, and cheese at the end just like the recipe is written.

Or you could speed things up by roasting the sausage and veggies on a sheet pan before adding to fully cooked pasta and sauce. Then you could top with cheese and pop back in the oven to broil the cheese. Using this recipe for roasted sausage and peppers, 450ºF for 15-20 minutes should do the trick.

You could also accomplish this method by using my air fryer cajun chicken sausage and veggies recipe. That recipe also includes mushrooms, which would be a nice addition for your smoked sausage pasta.

What to Serve with Pasta

I mentioned throwing some garlic bread on the grill at the very end above, but you could also do some pan grilled bread like in my whipped feta recipe. And if you need some more ideas, check out this roundup of 25 side dishes for pasta. The kale salad with lemon dressing, lemon arugula salad, and cauliflower breadsticks stood out to me.

Let me know what your spread ends up looking like in a comment or recipe review. I can’t wait to hear what you think about this pasta smoked in your Traeger!