Shrimp And Rice Cajun Style

If you love shrimp and rice combinations, this is one that will knock your socks off.

The funny thing about this recipe is that it is not so much the shrimp that is spectacular, it’s actually the rice that steals the show here.

In fact, this rice concoction is so good, you might want to skip the shrimp and just serve it by itself. It’s satisfying and loaded with veggies. And loaded with all this good stuff, it’ll leave you full and satisfied.

Easy Substitutions

Don’t fret if you don’t have any shrimp on hand. This recipe is perfect for any meat or poultry substitution.

Leftover meat and poultry work well too. Just toss the leftover meat in the rice pot during the last 5 minutes of cooking.

For fresh meat, you can saute that in a skillet with a bit of oil or butter until it’s cooked through. Then just put it on top of the rice when you serve it.

And another good point here is, you really don’t need any meat at all. The star of this show is the rice and it’s plenty satisfying all by itself. You won’t miss the meat.

No Meat?

As I said above, the rice is good enough to satisfy without any added meat, poultry or seafood.

And this also works for a vegetarian or vegan meal.

For a vegetarian meal, simply replace the chicken stock with a good vegetable stock. For a vegan meal, do the same as for a vegetarian meal except use a very flavorful olive oil or vegan butter in place of regular butter.

For the very best flavor, I use jasmine rice. It adds so much more to this dish. Basmati works well too, but if all you have is regular long-grain white rice, use that. It will still have wonderful flavor.

The Recipe

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Cajun Shrimp and Rice

Surprise! It’s the rice that steals the show in this dish

Prep Time25 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Course: Dinner, Main, Main Course, Seafood, vegetarian dishes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cajun shrimp, louisiana shrimp, vegan rice recipe, vegetarian rice recipe

Servings: 6

Calories: 338kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 lb shrimp peeled and deveined
• 3 tbs unsalted butter divided
• 1 tbs Cajun seasoning see NOTES
• 1 tbs garlic minced
• 1 lemon zest and juice
• 1 tbs fresh parsley chopped, optional

Rice:

• 3 tbs unsalted butter
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1/2 cup celery chopped
• 1/2 cup bell pepper diced
• 1 tbs garlic mincned
• 1 cup rice jasmine preferred
• 1 1/2 cup chicken stock low-sodium preferred
• 1 tsp Cajun seasoning

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• For rice, melt butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the celery, onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Saute for about 5 minutes, or until soft. Don’t let it brown. Stir in the Cajun seasoning.
• Add the rice and stir until rice is slightly toasted. Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover. Cook for 10-15 minutes, until liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork, then cover, set aside and keep warm
• For the shrimp, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat in a large heavy skillet. Sprinkle the shrimp with the Cajun seasoning.
• Add the shrimp and cook until golden brown on each side; about 5 minutes for large shrimp. Add the garlic and cook only until garlic is aromatic; about 30 seconds.
• Remove the pan from the heat and add the lemon juice and zest, tossing to coat. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of the butter, tossing the shrimp in the melting butter.
• Serve immediately over the rice.
• Top with the chopped parsley if using.

Notes

To make your own Cajun seasoning, follow link in the first heading.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 338kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 223mg | Sodium: 686mg | Potassium: 293mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1582IU | Vitamin C: 32mg | Calcium: 143mg | Iron: 3mg

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This Cajun-flavored sausage alfredo is dinner in a dash! This skillet dinner is roughly 15 minutes from start to finish.

Here’s a quick and tasty dinner for those days you just have no time but want to eat something homemade and real!

This is ready in roughly 15 minutes, but if you happen to have any leftover pasta–this is a 5-minute dish!

The Cajun spice gives a new dimension to this quick alfredo sauce. Blends nicely with the flavor of the smoked sausage. Kielbasa can be substituted here too, and andouille sausage would be out of this world–however, it’d take longer to make since you have to cook that sausage; it’s not ready to eat.

Tasty and on the table quickly

I gave directions to use heavy cream, but I did cheat a bit and used about 1/4 cup of light cream just to use up the container in the fridge. I would not suggest using a majority of light cream nor half and half; the sauce will be too thin.  This isn’t a diet dish, so I wouldn’t attempt to make it into one–there may be some disappointment with the final product, mainly consistency of the sauce.  So use cream and go back on your diet tomorrow LOL!!!

Not only is this meal absolutely delicious for such a quick meal, the vibrant colors of everything that goes into it makes for great visual appeal.

This one’s a keeper!

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Cajun Smoked Sausage Alfredo

This Cajun-flavored sausage alfredo is dinner in a dash! This skillet dinner is roughly 15 minutes from start to finish.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time25 minutes mins

Course: Comfort Foods, Everyday Meals, Pork, skillet dinners

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Alfredo sauce, Cajun, smoked sausage

Servings: 4

Calories: 1157kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 lb smoked sausage or kielbasa
• 1 1/2 cups tubular pasta like penne or elbows
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 tsp cajun/creole seasoning
• 1/2 cup frozen peas defrosted
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 green onion sliced
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes

Instructions

• Slice sausage in 1/4-inch slices.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown sausage well. Remove from pan; set aside.
• Return pan to heat and deglaze pan with the 1 1/2 cups water. Add the pasta. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Cook until water is absorbed by pasta (about 8 minutes).
• Add the cream, peas, parmesan and cajun seasoning to the pan; stir well. Add the browned sausage back to the pan; heat through.
• Top with sliced green onion and grape tomatoes. Serve immediately.
• Serves 2-4, depending on appetite and accompanying dishes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1person | Calories: 1157kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 79g | Saturated Fat: 40g | Cholesterol: 255mg | Sodium: 1211mg | Potassium: 628mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 2674IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 250mg | Iron: 3mg

Cajun Smoked Sausage Alfredo

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