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Published: Dec 22, 2020 · Modified: Oct 16, 2021 by Pam

Cajun Cream Sauce Recipe

Name: Cajun Cream Sauce Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 8 min
Ingredients: 1-2 teaspoons pan drippings from cooking fish, shrimp or chicken; ⅓ cup dry white wine; 2/3 cup half and half; 1 Tablespoon all purpose flour; 1 teaspoon Cajun or Creole Seasoning; ½ teaspoon dried oregano; ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika; 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice (1/2 lemon, juiced)

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Creamy Cajun Sauce is full of flavor and easy to make. It’s the perfect topping for fish, shrimp or chicken that has been pan fried, blackened, baked or broiled. Starting with the pan drippings left behind gives it a zesty foundation.

Cajun Cream Sauce adds a little decadence and a lot of flavor. Put it over blackened or Cajun seasoned and pan fried fish, shrimp or chicken and you double the punch of flavor. Add it to a more subtly seasoned protein and it soars to new heights of excellence.

This easy to make sauce recipe was originally developed for serving over fish, but has since been discovered to be equally perfect for shrimp or chicken too.

What kind of protein is best to serve with this sauce?

Any type of firm, white-fleshed fish will be awesome topped with this tasty sauce. Our personal favorites are snapper, grouper and flounder – not just for flavor, but because they’re easy to handle when cooking.

Catfish would be so good too, and it’s an often misunderstood fish, thought of in many areas only when it’s fried. We wrote a whole post that includes a recipe for Catfish with Lemon Thyme Sauce – a mild, sort of sophisticated twist on sauce for fish.

If you love seafood with savory sauces you’ll also want to try Grilled Fish Tacos with Baja Sauce. They’re family favorites around here!

The foundation for creamy Cajun sauce

cajun cream sauce being poured over fish

This sauce is very similar to the one we made for our Pork Chops. In that case we called it a Cajun Pan Sauce. It really just means that you’ve made your sauce in the same pan the protein was cooked in.

The little bits of flavor left behind are what flavors the sauce. If baking or broiling the fish, shrimp or chicken you’ll want to keep it warm and use the drippings from your baking pan.

Another, more down-home name is gravy. Here in the south gravy is the name you’ll hear most often for sauces with their roots in pan drippings. If you ever wanted to know how to make a Basic Gravy we’ve got you covered on that too.

If you don’t have time to make protein, or you just want a good cajun sauce to go with pasta, our Creole Cream Sauce is the way to go.

2 fish filets topped with cajun cream sauce

The basic steps for making Cajun cream sauce:

Start with firm, white fish, shrimp or chicken breast seasoned however you like. Our preferred method for cooking is with a light sprinkle of Cajun seasoning and then pan fried in skillet that is not non-stick. We use a little oil with a high smoke point like pecan or canola oil. (more on that here)
When the protein is done remove it and keep warm.
If you’ve baked or broiled you’ll scrape the baking pan and add it to a skillet with some white wine. If you pan fried, deglaze the pan with the white wine scraping up the bits from the bottom.
Slowly stir in the cream which has had seasoned flour whisked into it. Whisk or stir constantly until the sauce is thickened.
Finish the Cajun sauce up with a squeeze of fresh lemon.

Love all things Cajun like we do? This Best Jambalaya Recipe is so good because the guesswork for getting the rice done just right is gone! Perfect Jambalaya every time.

And Cajun Baked Chicken uses bone-in chicken and will be on your table with minimal effort!