Roasted Red Pepper Pasta with Cajun Shrimp – Smoky, sweet, and creamy with just a touch of spice.
Roasted Red Pepper Pasta with Cajun Shrimp combines the mellow sweetness and smoke of roasted red peppers and roasted garlic with a silky cream sauce and a little heat from Cajun seasoning. Sautéed, seasoned shrimp top a bed of fettuccine and the dish is finished with fresh parsley and grated Parmesan.
This recipe was born from a typical weeknight moment — a fridge with fresh red peppers, a head of garlic, and the urgent question of what’s for dinner. Roasting the peppers and garlic brings out their natural sweetness and smoky depth, which pairs beautifully with spiced shrimp and pasta for a satisfying, restaurant-quality meal made at home.
This is an easy, fast dinner for busy nights but impressive enough for guests. For larger gatherings, the sauce and shrimp scale up easily; prepping the vegetables ahead shortens the final assembly time. The sauce is rich and tempting — so good you’ll want to scrape your bowl — and kids love it too.
Start by roasting two red peppers and one head of garlic. While they roast, season and briefly marinate peeled, deveined raw shrimp in olive oil, chili powder, paprika, onion powder, and black pepper.
Use ancho or chipotle chili powder and smoked paprika if you have them for extra depth, but common chili powder and regular paprika work fine. Let the shrimp marinate about 20 minutes while the peppers and garlic finish roasting.
When the peppers and garlic are done, peel away the skins from the peppers and roughly chop both the peppers and the soft roasted garlic. Dice an onion and chop fresh flat-leaf parsley.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a medium-hot skillet until the butter foams. Add the shrimp in a single layer, sprinkle lightly with salt, and sauté 4–5 minutes, turning once, until they are just opaque. Avoid overcooking — shrimp should be tender, not rubbery. Remove the shrimp to a bowl and set aside.
Add another tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter to the pan. When the butter foams, add the diced onion with a pinch of salt and sauté about 5 minutes until it softens and begins to brown. Add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, the chopped roasted red peppers, and the roasted garlic. Cook about a minute more until fragrant.
Pour in 1/2 cup dry white wine and bring to a gentle simmer, reducing the wine by about one-third to one-half, approximately 3–5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup chicken stock and 3/4 cup cream or half-and-half and bring back up to a gentle simmer.
Remove the pan from the heat and puree the sauce to the desired consistency. Use an immersion blender or a countertop blender to pulse the sauce — it should be mostly smooth but with a bit of texture for body. Stir in most of the chopped parsley, reserving a little for garnish, and taste to adjust salt if needed.
Either toss the cooked fettuccine with the sauce or spoon the sauce over plated pasta. Top with the sautéed Cajun shrimp, garnish with the remaining parsley, and finish with freshly grated Parmesan.
This pasta pairs nicely with simple roasted asparagus and the same dry white wine used in the sauce. If you try this recipe, please leave a comment — feedback is always appreciated.
Roasted Red Pepper Pasta with Cajun Shrimp
Ingredients
Roasted Red Peppers
- 2 red peppers, roasted and roughly chopped
Roasted Garlic
- 1 head roasted garlic, cloves removed from skins
Shrimp
- 24 ounces peeled and deveined raw shrimp (medium or large)
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided (2 tbsp for marinade, 1 tbsp to sauté)
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder (ancho or chipotle preferred)
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika (smoked preferred)
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sea or kosher salt (to use during cooking)
- 1 tablespoon butter
Sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3/4 cup diced onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 3/4 cup cream or half-and-half
- 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley
- Grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish
- 12 ounces fettuccine, cooked to package directions
Instructions
Shrimp
- Mix the raw, peeled, and deveined shrimp with 2 tablespoons olive oil, chili powder, paprika, onion powder, and black pepper. Let marinate 20 minutes.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a medium skillet until the butter foams.
- Add shrimp in a single layer, sprinkle with salt, and sauté, flipping once. Cook just until opaque, about 4–5 minutes total. Remove shrimp to a bowl.
Sauce
- After removing the shrimp, add another tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter to the pan and return to medium heat. When the butter foams, add the onion and a pinch of salt.
- Sauté the onion about 5 minutes until soft and starting to brown.
- Add crushed red pepper flakes, roasted red pepper, and roasted garlic; cook about 1 minute until fragrant.
- Stir in the white wine and simmer gently, reducing by one-third to one-half, about 3–5 minutes.
- Add chicken stock and cream (or half-and-half) and bring to a gentle simmer.
- Remove from heat and puree or pulse the sauce to your desired consistency. Some texture is preferred; it need not be perfectly smooth.
- Stir in most of the chopped parsley, reserving some for garnish. Taste and adjust salt if needed.
- Toss the cooked fettuccine with the sauce or plate the pasta and spoon the sauce over it. Top with the sautéed shrimp, garnish with remaining parsley and grated Parmesan, and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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Carbohydrates: 47 g
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Protein: 33 g
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Fat: 21 g