Creamy Cajun Pasta Skillet with Kielbasa
I am becoming a HUGE fan of skillet dinners. They are so fast and, done correctly, can be pretty freaking fantastic! This Creamy Cajun Pasta with Kielbasa is one of my favorites.
An awesome dinner in about thirty minutes. Yes, Please.
I love the little hint of creole spice in this dish and the mushrooms, carrots, onion and green pepper add the perfect amount of texture and flavor to balance out each bite.
I love to add lots of veggies when I make skillet dinners. My kids eat them well this way, but I do make them large enough that if someone has a real aversion to say, mushrooms, they can pick them out and give them to their mother who LOVES them.
The coolest thing about this quick and easy dinner is that the creamy-ness factor comes from a scoop of cream cheese instead of heavy whipping cream which not only cuts back on the calories but adds a tiny zip that will have you drooling for more.
I use regular Kielbasa, but I am sure turkey kielbasa would work great and cut back on calories.
Also when I do skillet pasta dinners I tend to favor spaghetti noodles. They cook nice and evenly, however, feel free to experiment with different types of pasta, just make sure to adjust cooking time accordingly.
Winner Skillet Dinners
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 (12 or 16 ounce) Kielbasa, thinly sliced *note I am using smoked kielbasa sausage, not raw Kielbasa, raw would need to be could according to directions before using in this recipe.
- 1 small red onion, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 2 carrots, diced
- 1 (8 ounce) package of mushrooms sliced
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 2½ cups water
- 3 tsp chicken bullion
- 8 ounces spaghetti noodles, broken into thirds
- 3 ounces of cream cheese, softened (whipped kind works great)
- 2-3 tbsp dried parsley
- In a large, deep frying pan that has a tight fitting lid, brown kielbasa in 1 tbsp olive oil.
- Add onion, green pepper, carrots, mushrooms and garlic. Sprinkle with 1 tsp cajun seasoning and saute for an additional 5-7 minutes or until mostly tender
- Add water, chicken bullion and dry spaghetti noodles (don't forget break them in thirds)
- Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and simmer for 14 minutes or until pasta is tender.
- Remove from heat add parsley and cream cheese and stir until sauce becomes smooth and creamy.
Serve with a salad and garlic Bread.
I’ve been wanting to make this for a long time and finally did last night. It was a hit!
Yay! That makes me so happy!
I just wanted to tell you that my husband and I have been making this about once a week for the last three months, and it’s definitely one of my favorite dinners, hands down! We use a variety of raw sausages (kielbasa, Italian, even breakfast!) and just cook them about halfway through, and then proceed pet the recipe. It ALWAYS turns out great! Thank you so much for this family favorite!!
Yay! This makes me so happy Sara, and also reminds me that it has been way to long since I have made this yummy dish! So glad you love it!
Making this tonight, didn’t have carrots so I used tomatoes. Looks yummy so far. thanks
Awesome! Hope it turned out great!