Cajun Shrimp Skillet with Peppers and Tomato Pan Sauce
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My Cajun shrimp skillet gets its sauce from the same pan: tomato paste caramelized right beside the shrimp, then loosened with stock to lift every spiced bit off the bottom. Sweet shallots and crisp green peppers cook in alongside, so dinner is one pan and 15 minutes.
My Cajun shrimp skillet makes its own sauce, right in the pan. After the peppers and shallots soften and the shrimp sears, I push everything to one side and let two tablespoons of tomato paste cook on the bare pan until it darkens and smells sweet. A splash of stock then lifts all the Cajun spice stuck to the bottom and pulls it into a sauce that coats every piece.
In my kitchen testing, shallots beat onion here. They soften in the few minutes they get, and their sweetness rounds out the spice. Sheri, a reader who admitted in the comments that she isn’t a seafood fan, singled out the shallots and said it’s a seafood dinner she and her husband both like.
The heat depends on your blend. My homemade Cajun seasoning has cayenne you can dial up or down, and if you’re using a salty store-bought blend, hold back the extra salt until you’ve tasted the sauce. I spoon it all over rice so none of it goes to waste.
Another Cajun-influenced recipe I think you might enjoy is my blackened salmon in creamy Cajun sauce.
Make your own Cajun seasoning
You can use a store-bought Cajun spice blend if you have one on hand. Otherwise, making your own is super simple, and you likely already have the spices you need. This is what you need:
- 3 tablespoons of paprika
- 2 tablespoons EACH: of onion powder and garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon EACH: of thyme, oregano, salt, pepper, and cayenne
If you’d like it less spicy, you can reduce the amount of cayenne. Check out my post on making your own Cajun seasoning for more info.
What to serve with Cajun shrimp
The pan sauce is the reason to serve this over something that soaks it up. I usually go with basmati rice, and if I start the pot before the shrimp, everything is ready at the same time. Mashed potatoes work well too, which is how a reader named Sheri told me in the comments that she usually serves it. For a pasta night, spoon the shrimp and sauce over spaghetti or linguine.
For a vegetable, roasted broccoli or garlicky sautéed green beans round out the plate.
Cajun Shrimp Skillet with Peppers and Tomato Pan Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb shrimp (peeled and deveined)
- 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- A pinch of chili flakes
- 2 medium green bell peppers (diced small)
- 2 small shallots (minced)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ cup chicken or vegetable stock
- Sea salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Place the shrimp in a bowl and toss with the Cajun seasoning, olive oil, salt, and chili flakes. Set aside to marinate while you prep the veggies.1 ½ lb shrimp, 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning, 1 tablespoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon sea salt, A pinch of chili flakes
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and sear for 3-4 minutes, flipping them over once, until opaque and curled into a loose C-shape. Remove them from the pan.2 medium green bell peppers, 2 small shallots
- If the pan is dry, add a splash of oil. Add the peppers and shallots to the pan then cook for 2-3 minutes (they will still be crisp).
- Lower the heat to medium and push the veggies to the side of the pan. Add the tomato paste and let it caramelize for 2-3 minutes, or until it darkens and smells sweet.2 tablespoons tomato paste
- Return the shrimp to the pan, add the stock, and stir to combine,scraping the bottom to lift any flavorful, stuck-on bits. Season to taste with salt and pepper.½ cup chicken or vegetable stock, Sea salt and pepper
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
I’ve commented on this recipe before, but it’s seriously so great, it deserves a second 5-star review from me. I made it again tonight for the first time in a while. Normally I serve it with mashed potatoes, but tonight I made cauliflower rice with it and it was just as good. A great alternative when trying to cut carbs! Thanks, again, for this easy and delicious recipe. I love it!
Such a lovely, tasty simple sauce. Absolutely great for a day you just don’t have it in you to cook, but you still have to eat. Thank you so much.
Really good. I’d use a little less than the recommended amount salt, but otherwise it’s spot on. I added a bit of canned corn at the end and thought it came out nicely.
Corn sounds like a great addition!
How do I email this recipe to myself. I am already getting emails from you but did not get this one
If you click the print button in the recipe you’ll be able to save a pdf copy to your computer and email it that way. 🙂
I stumbled on this because, frankly, I was searching for a shrimp recipe I could tolerate. It didn’t even have to be great. Just decent. See, I’m not a big fan of seafood, but my husband loves it. On the nights we have cod and shrimp, he cooks, and I choke it down. He loves his one single recipe for cooking cod and shrimp, and it just doesn’t pass the test for me. Anyway, since it’s just the two of us, we only cook about 6 ounces of shrimp instead of a pound and a half. The first time I made this recipe, I adjusted it to account for such a small amount of shrimp. When I made it again this week, I used the full amount of seasoning and brushed some of it on two pieces of cod which I cooked separately. And all I can say is BRAVO! This is so much better than the decent and tolerable recipe I was looking for. I CRAVE it! Never have I ever had such good seafood at home! The first time I made it, I was sure I did something wrong because it really is so fast and easy, but I clearly hadn’t missed any steps because it was an explosion of incredible flavors. Everything about this recipe is so perfect. Even the shallots were a great choice. When I couldn’t find shallots in the past, I subbed regular onions. I considered it this time even though my local store had shallots available, but I decided to follow the recipe exactly and use them. The sweetness of them combined with the spicy Cajun seasoning is just incredible. I’m so thrilled to have found a seafood recipe my husband and I both like. Thank you so much for this!
This is such a great comment! Thank you so much for coming back to let us know. It makes me so happy to hear that you’ve found a shrimp recipe you love!
Made this tonight , quick, easy and loads of flavor. My daughter doesn’t care for spicy foods , but couldn’t quit eating it…lol..love it !!!
That’s so great to hear! Hooray!