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Instant Pot Creamy Cajun Pasta with Sausage is an Instant Pot one-pot meal that is all about flavor! Made with penne pasta, Andouille sausage or a smoky kielbasa, a Cajun spice blend, and more. This pressure cooker creamy Cajun pasta is full of good stuff! It’s an easy, tasty meal to make in your electric pressure cooker.
Originally published 12/10/17
Instant Pot Creamy Cajun Pasta with Sausage
Today I am updating the blog. There is a lot of work that goes into being a blogger, and one of the most important tasks is keeping up to date on technology, security, and so on.
I knew this amazingly delicious Instant Pot one-pot meal was a delicious option for dinner tonight.
This is another of those “Once upon a time, I made this on the stove” kind of recipes. It still amazes me how often I turn to my Instant Pot® electric pressure cooker to make pasta!
I think my favorite thing about making pasta in the IP is that I don’t have to drain the water from the pasta (and that allows me to use broth instead of water, for even more flavor).
The other thing I love about making Instant Pot Creamy Cajun Pasta with Sausage, and many other recipes in my IP, is that it has a great sauté feature, which means I truly can make one-pot meals in it.
Instant Pot Creamy Cajun Pasta with Sausage isn’t too spicy, unless the Cajun spice blend you use happens to be a spicier mix. If that is the case, you might want to reduce the amount you use.
My Cajun Spice Blend is just a bit spicy as Paul doesn’t like too much heat. It does still have a lot of flavor, though!
This yummy pressure cooker Cajun pasta is one of my most popular recipes, and if you try it you will know why!
I have several Instant Pot pasta recipes to choose from, so if this Instant Pot Creamy Cajun Pasta isn’t what you are looking for, search the website for pasta and you will most likely find something you will really like!
Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Pasta
Instant Pot Creamy Garlic Tuscan Chicken Pasta
Instant Pot Cheesy Taco Pasta
Instant Pot Cheeseburger Pasta
Instant Pot Leftover Turkey Pasta
Instant Pot Creamy Cajun Pasta with Sausage
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp Butter
- 1 lb Andouille Sausage (or Smoked Kielbasa) sliced in 1/2" rounds
- 1 Chicken Breast, skinless/boneless, cubed
- 1 small Sweet Onion, chopped
- ½ cup Celery, diced
- 4 cloves Garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 ½ Tbsp Cajun Seasoning Blend* (try my recipe or a store bought blend like Tony Chachere's)
- 1 Tbsp Smoked Paprika
- 8 med Mushrooms, sliced (optional)
- 1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
- 4 cups Chicken Broth, low sodium
- 12 to 16 oz Penne Pasta
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- ¼ cup Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Gather all of the ingredients, and get all of your veggies and the sausage chopped before starting, and that will make for a smoother cooking experience!
- Turn on the pot to the Sauté function. When the display reads Hot, add the oil and butter.
- Add the sausage and chicken breast, if using, and cook for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the onion and celery. Cook until onion starts to turn translucent.
- Add the garlic, Cajun spice blend, smoked paprika, and mushrooms. Cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Add the red bell pepper and chicken broth. Stir. Let come to a simmer (the glass lid helps it come to a simmer faster).
- Add the pasta and make sure it is submerged. Then place the lid on the pot and lock into place. Set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
- Cancel the Sauté function. Press the Pressure Cook/Manual button (or dial) and use the + or - button (or dial) to choose 5 minutes.
- When the cooking cycle has ended, turn off the pot (or press Cancel) and do a Quick Release of the pressure/steam. Start slowly to be sure only steam comes out, and then fully release it.
- When the pin in the lid drops back down, open the lid and stir the pasta.
- Stir in the parmesan cheese, and let it melt.
- Stir in the heavy cream and parsley.
- Let sit uncovered for a couple of minutes to thicken up. This is a saucy dish, so it won't be thick like mac and cheese, but it will thicken some as it cools.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
RESOURCES TO MAKE Instant Pot Creamy Cajun Pasta recipe and more
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SO EXCELLENT. I used the stove-top method because we use GF pasta and well, it NEVER turns out in the IP. But, nonetheless, fabulous flavor. I cut the broth to 2 c. which yielded more than enough “juice” for us. =) I pretty much quadrupled the garlic (as I usually do) and it was perfect. I also added chopped, fresh spinach which I do to most everything…haha.
Will double this recipe next time for leftovers. Fantastic flavor, thank you!!! For some reason, it won’t let me add my star rating, but 5+++ for sure!
That’s great, Natalie! Looks like the stars showed up. Thank you! I also add lots of garlic! Your version sounds super!
This was delicious and so easy to make! Even my kids ate it, talk about a miracle! Thanks for the recipie!
That’s so great, Erica! It’s so nice when the kids enjoy their dinner. Then you can enjoy yours, too! 🙂
This recipe sounds delicious and I would love to try it but I don’t have an instant pot. Can this be modified for stovetop? Thanks
Yes it can. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water. Omit the broth. Sauté the first 11 ingredients, and cover and simmer on med-low until the chicken is done. Stir occasionally, and add some water if needed to keep from burning. Then take off the heat, combine with the pasta, add the remaining ingredients and let stand a few minute before serving.
Wow! So delicious! We were given about a hundred pounds of kielbasa and I’ve been trying to find creative ways to use it! What a pleasant surprise this recipe was! It was a hit with my kids and tasted so fancy…like a restaurant! Thanks so much! This was my first time on your site and I’m looking forward to trying more of your recipes!
So glad you liked it! You are lucky to have all of that kielbasa! I do have several recipes that use it. INSTANT POT KIELBASA CABBAGE POTATO SOUP, INSTANT POT KIELBASA AND SAUERKRAUT, INSTANT POT LOW COUNTRY SHRIMP BOIL, INSTANT POT COWBOY BEANS, INSTANT POT RED BEANS AND RICE WITH SAUSAGE, INSTANT POT SAUSAGE AND WHITE BEANS.
New to the Instant Pot…. great recipe and easy to follow directions! Made it without the chicken, increased the andouille to about 26oz, and added 1 tsp ground thyme to the cajun spice mix (kinda like thyme!) Otherwise, followed directly. Very, very good! Had friends over and everyone loved it. Thank you!
That sounds very tasty, Matt! You and I are both thyme people, but many are not, so I try to keep it to lower levels in my recipes. This is one of those recipes where more is better!
Oh my God this was delicious. We are currently eating this as a new years dinner and it is FANTASTIC!!!!!! So easy to make too!!!! And we have leftovers which is the best part!!!
Thanks Tori! Happy New Year!
Incredible recipe, so flavorful! I used turkey Polska kielbasa, frozen shrimp with tails removed and a store bought Cajun spice (Emeril’s). I increased the spice to 2tbsp, and omitted the heavy cream opting for fat free half and half. I still used 1 cup of the H&H. Even with my substitutions the recipe produced a rich, creamy sauce. Made more than enough, I used this recipe for a meal prep and was able to get 7 very nice sized servings (352 grams each). The nutrition info came to 521kcal overall (31g protein, 65g carbs, and 16g fat). This is a new favorite and will be part of my meal prep repeatedly. Now scouring your site for my next favorite to add to the rotation. 5-Star recipe all the way!
Awesome, Elissa! I love that you did meal prep with this recipe!
Awesome recipe! Made it tonight for our dinner and to quote Elaine Bennett from Seinfeld, “I am stunned”, not by soup, but by Cajun Pasta. I followed your recipe exactly and the only thing I would do different and maybe I missed it, is to season the chicken either with salt & pepper or sprinkle some Cajun seasoning on it and let it set for awhile. Personally I don’t think the dish even needs chicken and next time I will leave it out completely. You scored a homerun with this recipe and I am anxious to try another more from you. Thanks again.
Hi John! Thank you so much for your nice review! I agree about the chicken.
Hi, I’ll like some help please.
I added in the 4 cups of broth into the pot and it wasn’t enough liquid to cover all the noodles, so I added more water enough to submerge the noodles.
After a long quick release (it took 5 mins), my noodles were overcooked and I had A LOT of liquid in the pot. I ended up draining out nearly half the liquid out before I added my cheese and heavy cream.
I will definitely try pressure cooking for less (maybe 3 mins instead?), But how about the amount of liquid to add in? Please help!
Hi Anna, first, make sure you are using the correct amount of pasta (start with 12 oz, no more than 16 oz of penne). A food scale is so helpful for this! Don’t add extra liquid (if you need a little more, add half of the heavy cream, or all of it, but not extra broth). Press the pasta down gently to submerge it. You can try cooking for less time, it will depend on the type of pasta you are using.
I loved it but when I made it it was a littie over cooked for me the chicken and pasta were over cooked. When you put it on manual do you cook it on high or low setting for 5 min? Other then that it was good.
Hi Cindy, the secret it to cut the chicken into larger than bite sized chunks. You can try 1 minute less and see if that works for you.