This easy Cajun pasta is packed with spicy flavor! Made with vegan sausage, peppers, and fire roasted tomatoes in a creamy sauce, it's both comforting and easy to make.
I LOVE Cajun flavors and I've shared lots of recipes for classic Cajun dishes over the years, like my gumbo, jambalaya, and étouffée.
But I also like to incorporate those Cajun flavors into not-so-classic, less authentic recipes, like this vegan Cajun pasta.
What You'll Need
- Dried pasta
- Olive oil
- Vegan sausage
- Vegan butter
- Bell peppers (red and green!)
- Onion
- Garlic
- Paprika
- Thyme
- Oregano
- Black pepper
- Cayenne pepper
- Flour
- Coconut milk
- Fire roasted tomatoes
- Red wine vinegar
- Parsley, scallions and/or chives
How to Make Cajun Pasta
Start by cooking your pasta according to the package directions. Drain it when it's done, then toss it with some olive oil to prevent sticking.
While the pasta cooks, brown your vegan sausage in a skillet. Chop it into small pieces and cook it over medium heat, flipping it from time to time, until it begins to brown. Remove it from the skillet when it's done.
Now melt some vegan butter in the skillet and add your peppers and onion. Cook everything for about 10 minutes, to start softening it up, then add your garlic and spices. Continue cooking everything for a minute or so, until it becomes very fragrant.
Next, sprinkle in some flour. Stir the mixture to coat your veggies with flour. Continue cooking everything for about a minute.
Slowly start adding your coconut milk, stirring all the while to prevent the flour from forming any lumps. Once all of the coconut milk has been added, stir in your tomatoes, raise the heat, and bring your sauce to a simmer. Lower the heat and let it cook until it thickens up a bit and the peppers are soft.
Stir in the vinegar and season the sauce with salt to taste. Now stir in your pasta and sausage, then take the skillet off of the burner.
If you'd like a little extra heat you can season your pasta with some extra Cayenne pepper or some hot sauce. Sprinkle it with parsley, scallions, and/or chives before serving. Dig in!
Vegan Cajun Pasta Tips & FAQ
- Can this recipe be made gluten-free? I'm pretty sure it can, but I haven't tried. My best suggestions would be to substitute an all-purpose gluten-free blend for wheat flour, and use your favorite gluten-free pasta and vegan sausage.
- Does the sauce taste like coconut milk? Not to me, but if you absolutely hate the taste of coconut milk, try subbing cashew milk.
- What brand of vegan sausage works best with this recipe? I used Field Roast Mexican Chipotle Sausage, which I recognize is not a Cajun flavor, but it's smoky and spicy and it works!
- Not into vegan sausage? Try subbing vegan meatballs (the ones from my gumbo recipe would work well), seitan, or even chickpeas. You could also just leave it out.
- Is this recipe spicy? If you use ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper and no hot sauce it will have a little kick. Also, if you use the Field Roast chipotle sausages like I did, they'll add quite a bit of heat. For a milder version, leave out the cayenne pepper. For an extra spicy version, use extra cayenne and/or hot sauce.
- Leftovers and storage: Leftovers will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for about 3 days.
- Need more pasta inspiration? Check out my collection of vegan pasta recipes.
Like this recipe? If so, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter. And please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you make it!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Cajun Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dried penne pasta (or pasta shape of choice)
- Dash olive oil
- 2 vegan sausage links, cut into ½-inch slices
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, roughly chopped
- 1 medium green bell pepper, roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons sweet paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 2 (14 ounce or 400 gram) cans fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- Salt, to taste (I used ¾ teaspoon)
- Hot sauce, to taste (optional)
- Chopped fresh parsley, scallions, and/or chives, for serving
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook it according to the package directions. Drain the pasta into a colander, return it to the pot, and toss it with a dash of olive oil.
- While the pasta cooks, place a large skillet over medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, add the sausage.
- Cook the sausage for about 5 minutes, flipping occasionally, until browned. Remove the sausage from the skillet and transfer it to a plate.
- Melt the butter in the skillet, then add the onions, red bell peppers, and green bell peppers. Sweat the veggies for about 10 minutes, until they begin to soften.
- Add the garlic, paprika, thyme, oregano, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to the skillet. Sauté everything for about a minute, until very fragrant.
- Sprinkle in the flour and stir to form a paste that coats the veggies. Continue cooking and stirring for about a minute.
- Slowly add the coconut milk, a bit at a time, stirring between additions to work out any lumps formed by the flour.
- Once all of the coconut milk has been added, stir in the tomatoes.
- Bring the sauce to a boil, lower the heat, and allow it to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until it thickens up a bit and the peppers become tender.
- Stir in the vinegar. Season the sauce with salt to taste, and optionally some more cayenne pepper and/or hot sauce.
- Stir in the pasta and sausage, then remove the skillet from heat.
- Sprinkle the pasta with parsley, scallions, and/or chives. Serve.
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I made this last night, and my family thought it was so delicious. It hit the spot for a chilly winter night.
Just made this and it was awesome!!! I used Country Crock vegan cream, as we don’t like always to use coconut milk for savory dishes. This is a keeper, for sure!
WOW! FINALLY a vegan cajun pasta recipe that's exactly what I was looking for! I made a few changes. I skipped the sausage and just added sliced zucchini instead. I also subbed the coconut milk for homemade cashew milk to make it a bit healthier. I also sautéed the veggies in broth instead of butter. I only had one can fire roasted tomatoes, so I just used a can of diced tomatoes. I used chickpea pasta instead of regular pasta. Lastly, instead of measuring out all the spices I just used a few tablespoons of cajun seasoning. Incredible. Will definitely go into my rotation.
Made this tonight as my FIL was visiting and he’s vegan. I’ve never cooked anything vegan before so I was nervous and unsure. I was really happy with how it turned out and my father in law even had seconds! I’ll be making this again for my family- just with regular sausage next time haha!
Made a double batch which allowed me to use an entire package of sausage, a whole can of coconut milk, and use up a bunch of bell peppers I wasn’t sure what to do with (I used all green because it’s what I had). Worked great! Thanks!
Thank you for this recipe! Delicious and very forgiving. I didn't have some ingredients, but was able to substitute with no problems. I will be making this often. Thanks again!
I can’t believe how good this came out! Great flavors and super easy. Fantastic recipe!
Made this tonight with beyond sausage. Definitely a keeper.
I just made this for lunch meal prep and it is really good, I love the vegan sausage, first time trying it. Thank you!
This was fantastic! Thank you for a great recipe.
Another delicious and versatile recipe. Thank you Alissa!
Guests added their sausage preference and cayenne at the table. Everyone enjoys!!!
Fellow cooks, this recipe lends itself to the addition of extras. I found some mushrooms, garden zucchini and fresh corn in the crisper. Amazing flavor! I’ll be making this recipe again and again. Thank you!
made this recipe, I really like your recipes and the fact that we can change the amount of servings is a huge help, thanks so much
Made this for dinner tonight. It was delicious! It will certainly make an appearance again. Thanks for another winner, Alissa!
It looks so yum! I just realize that I haven't cooked pasta for a while, gotta try this recipe very soon! Thank you!
I made this tonight, it was AMAZING. I didn't use fire roasted tomatoes but I will for sure next time. This recipe is a keeper!