Name: Christmas Cajun Alfredo
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 1/2 lb andouille sausage (sliced); 1 lb trecce pasta (or other curly pasta); 2 bell peppers (red and green, sliced); 1/2 medium onion (sliced); 1 1/2 cups heavy cream; 2 cups milk; 1-2 tsp cajun seasoning; 1/2 cup grated parmesan (plus more for garnish)

This movie inspired pasta is 9 simple ingredients, takes less 20 minutes to make and is SO good!

Movies and food are two things that can bring instant warm and fuzzies. Recently, I was watching one of my favorites, “The Holiday.” In the movie, on Christmas Eve night, Kate Winslet wants to lift Jack Black’s spirits with some Christmas Fettuccine. I mean, what doesn’t lift the spirits more than a rich and decadent pasta dish? This made me think of one of our family favorites, Cajun Alfredo, and I immediately knew what was for dinner and how to give it some holiday flare!

What You’ll Need

Olive Oil
Andouille Sausage
Trecce Pasta
Bell Peppers
Yellow Onion
Heavy Cream
Milk
Cajun Seasoning
Parmesan Cheese

Tools You’ll Need

How to Make This Recipe

First, you’ll want to bring a pot of salted water to a boil. The water needs to taste salty like the ocean. While it’s heating, it’ll give you time to slice your sausage and veggies.
Next, you’ll heat oil in large skillet on medium-high. You’ll want to get a nice sear on the sausage as this will add a great depth of flavor to your dish. Those browned bits on the bottom of the pan are really delicious.

Add bell peppers and onion to the sausage and stir occasionally. You can certainly use whatever color of peppers you’d like, but red and green give it that holiday touch I was looking for. While the peppers are cooking, this is a great time to get your pasta cooking.
Once the pasta is al dente, scoop out about a half cup of the pasta water and set aside. Sometimes the end result of a pasta dish can be a little thicker than desired. Having the pasta water on hand is great to thin it out but still develop a great textured sauce. It also adds flavor and helps glue the pasta and sauce together. Drain the remaining water and pasta in a colander.
After about 8 minutes of cooking the veggies and sausage, lower the heat to medium and add the heavy cream, milk and cajun seasoning. The flavors of this sauce are savory with a hint of spice.
Once bubbles start to appear at the edge of the pan, it’s ready for the pasta and parmesan cheese. Stir occasionally for 2 minutes and add some of the pasta water if you’d like. I add about ⅓ of a cup.

Plate your festive holiday Alfredo with additional parmesan cheese on top!

Recipe Tips and Substitutions

If you’re wondering “How much salt should I put in my pasta water,” use the rule of thumb 1:1:4
- 1 pound of pasta : 1 tablespoon salt : 4 quarts (16 cups) water
Andouille sausage is sharper and smokier than other varieties. It lends many of the popular cajun flavors. Smoked sausage, turkey sausage and other sausage varieties can work great in this dish as well.
If you have a dairy intolerance, you can substitute the milk and cream with a dairy-free milk and thicken with the pasta water or a cornstarch slurry made with water and cornstarch.
Any curly or corkscrew pasta can work in this dish.

More Recipes Like This

This is a picture of a cajun alfredo sauce pasta dish with andouille sausage, peppers and onions.

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