If you’re looking for something to make for Mardi Gras, this aptly titled Mardi Gras Pasta recipe is perfect. It’s basically Cajun alfredo with shrimp and sausage.

To make this the best holiday, check out the rest of our Mardi Gras posts.

Today’s Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all head down to New Orleans to celebrate? We can’t, but what we can do is bring the flavors of NOLA into our kitchen via this Mardi Gras Pasta recipe.

It’s based on the famous Pappadeaux Mardi Gras pasta. Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen (and Pappas Restaurant), if you’re unaware, is a chain restaurant featuring the flavors of the Vieux Carré (French Quarter) of New Orleans. Despite its flavoring, though, there (ironically, at least to me) isn’t a Pappadeaux in New Orleans.

There are a few versions of Mardi Gras Pasta. Some include green bell pepper and some are topped with green onions. The Pappadeaux version doesn’t have either of those and has a marinara cream sauce (which is why we have diced tomatoes in our recipe).

Our only real slight change is that Pappadeaux’ Pasta Mardi Gras has crawfish and we don’t add that. Partially for budget and partially because crawfish are more of a pain to eat than they’re worth.

Mardi Gras Pasta Recipe

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This is called Mardi Gras Pasta, but you don’t have to wait until Mardi Gras to eat it. You can enjoy this pasta dish anytime of the year.

Mardi Gras Pasta Ingredients:

• 12 oz. linguine
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 12 oz. large or jumbo shrimp
• 2 tablespoons Creole or Cajun seasoning
• 1 small onion
• 8 oz. mushrooms
• 13 oz. Cajun style andouille smoked sausage
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cloves garlic
• 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

How To Make Mardi Gras Pasta:

Cook the linguine according to the package. Drain it and set it aside.

You want the pasta to be a little al dente because it will cook a little more when it combines with the sauce.

If you’re using frozen shrimp, you’ll want to open the package and put the shrimp in a colander under cold running water for about five minutes until they’re defrosted. Don’t defrost shrimp under hot water.

If you are using fresh shrimp, obviously you can skip that step.

Melt two tablespoons of butter in a large skillet.

Cook the shrimp, about five to seven minutes, in the melted butter. Flip often, until they’re cooked through.

Remove them from the heat and put them on a plate. Sprinkle them with half the Creole seasoning.

Leave any of the “crispy bits” left behind from cooking the shrimp in the pan.

Add the remaining butter to the pan. As the butter melts, use it to scrape up the crispy bits from cooking the shrimp.

You’ll end up with a browned butter as the butter cooks. This is going to add a lot of flavor to your dish, so don’t worry. Also, if this is your first time cooking with a brown butter, keep in mind that it will cause your other ingredients to brown quicker than usual, but you’ll want to keep your cook times the same.

Slice an onion and add it to the pan. Cook about five minutes until the onions begin to get translucent and darken.

Slice the mushrooms and add those slices, plus the salt, to the pan. Cook about five additional minutes.

Slice the sausage and add it to the pan. Cook until the sausage is warmed.

Side note: Depending on the brand you buy, the sausage should be fully cooked when you purchase it, so you just need to warm it. If it’s fresh sausage, you’ll want to cook it longer.

Add in the diced tomatoes (with the juice) and chopped garlic.

Pour in the heavy whipping cream. Add the rest of the Creole seasoning, plus the garlic and onion powders. Simmer over medium high heat, about five to 10 minutes, until the sauce starts to thicken and tiny bubbles form.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the Parmesan and Italian seasoning. Stir until the cheese is completely melted into the sauce.

Add the seasoned shrimp and pasta back into the pan and stir until combined.

Side note: It’s probably easier, because of the volume of liquid, to actually stir everything in the large pot that you boiled the pasta in rather than in the pan you cooked the sauce in. But, I like to stir in the sauce pan so you don’t risk losing any of the sauce pouring it into the pot.

An easy way to solve this is to make the sauce in a Dutch oven, although I actually never do that.

Serve with extra Parmesan and Italian seasoning on top for garnish.

Mardi Gras Pasta: Frequently Asked Questions

Have you tried this Mardi Gras Pasta recipe? Let us know what you thought in the comments.