This Penne alla Vodka is done in 20 minutes and so flavor packed with a deliciously creamy tomato sauce. Made with common ingredients such as fresh tomatoes, heavy cream, and parsley this is the best vodka pasta recipe you will find.
Spicy and Delicious, With or Without Vodka
I've loved a good vodka pasta since the first time I had it, and since it's so easy to make - I ended up making it A LOT. This spicy vodka pasta recipe is true to its roots, with a good dose of spice and truly delicious flavors.
The secret to vodka pasta is that the vodka helps the acidic tomato sauce combine with the silky cream, to create a sauce that's acidic, silky, and full of complex flavors.
However, I quit drinking a while back, and therefore never have vodka on hand. So instead of vodka, I now make this with cooking wine. And yes, it's still very tasty! Not 100% the same, but close enough.
Either way - it's super quick (under 20 minutes!), super easy (4 steps!) and so tasty you'll be very happy to have leftovers.
Only Common Ingredients Needed
Why Add Vodka?
Vodka enhances the tomato flavor and helps the sauce come together. Using it makes the sauce both creamier and more tomatoey! I also think it brings out more of the color from the tomatoes, but I don't know if there is science to back that up.
How to Make It Without Vodka
To make this without vodka, you can either swap it for another neutral strong alcohol (for example, cachaca or light rum) or use regular white wine or white cooking wine. In a pinch, you can also just use water instead!
Use Ripe Tomatoes
You want the tomatoes to be really ripe for this recipe. It's better if they're a bit over-ripe than under. Really ripe tomatoes will give the sauce better color, and more tomato taste.
Adjust the Spice Level
I like my vodka pasta quite spicy, but if that's not your thing - that's perfectly fine. You can adjust the amount of chili flakes you use, to make it more or less spicy.
Chili flakes also vary in how spicy they are, so it's good to know how spicy the version you use is. When in doubt, always start with less, and add more as needed.
The chili flakes I use are pretty spicy, and the amount stated for this recipe gives it just a small kick. So using this amount should be fine with most types, as long as you can handle little bit of spice.
Make It *Extra*
I love topping this dish with cheese. Either a whole or half ball of mozzarella or burrata, or a whole lot of shredded pecorino or Parmesan cheese.
How to Make It in 4 Simple Steps
This dish is so easy to make, you'll probably end up making it all. the. time.
1. Sauté
First, sauté garlic and shallots, then add tomato paste and chili flakes. Cooking the tomato paste changes and deepens the flavor, and brings out so much umami.
2. Tomatoes + Vodka
Add chopped tomatoes and vodka, then simmer for 1 minute to allow the vodka to extract all that flavor and color from the tomatoes.
3. Make It Creamy
Add cream, mix, and simmer 5 minutes. Or longer!
4. Finishing Touches
Mix in chopped parsley, followed by cooked pasta and a bit of pasta water. Mix, taste test, and add salt and pepper if needed.
Finally, simmer 1 minute to let it all come together, then you're ready to serve!
Tips for the Tastiest Pasta
- Cook the pasta very al dente. It will finish cooking in the sauce, and you can always allow it to simmer longer in the sauce if needed.
- Add salt last. Your pasta and pasta water should be a bit salty, so don't add extra salt until you've taste tested with these components.
What to Do with Leftovers
Storing: Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Freezing: Store leftovers in the freezer in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Reheating stove top: Heat in a saucepan over medium-low heat, until heated through.
Reheating in a microwave: Reheat leftovers in the microwave in 1-minute increments, mixing between each segment.
Recipe
Spicy Vodka Pasta
Print RateIngredients
- 3 cups dry penne pasta cooked 1 minute less than package instruction
- 2 tablespoon butter or olive oil
- ½ cup shallots chopped small; or red onion or yellow onion
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon chili flakes or more or less according to taste and type of chili flakes
- 3 cups tomatoes as ripe as possible; seeds removed, then chopped
- ¼ cup vodka see note below for substitutes
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup chopped parsley
- ½ cup pasta cooking water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat, then add shallots and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes, until shallots have softened. Meanwhile, salt the pasta water heavily and start cooking the pasta.3 cups dry penne pasta, ½ cup shallots, 1 garlic clove, 2 tablespoon butter
- Add tomato paste and chili flakes. Fry the tomato paste and chili flakes for 1 while mixing with the shallots & garlic.2 tablespoon tomato paste, ½ teaspoon chili flakes
- Add tomatoes and vodka. Cook for 1 minute to allow some of the alcohol to cook off.3 cups tomatoes, ¼ cup vodka
- Add cream, bring to a simmer, then lower the heat to keep that simmer and cook for 5 minutes.1 cup heavy cream
- Mix in chopped parsley.½ cup chopped parsley
- Drain the pasta and reserve some of the pasta cooking water.
- Mix in pasta and pasta cooking water with the sauce. Taste test and season with salt and pepper as needed.3 cups dry penne pasta, ½ cup pasta cooking water, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon salt
- Simmer for 1 minute, then serve.
Equipment (may contain affiliate links)
- Measuring cups (metric or US)*
Video
Notes
Instead of vodka, you can use:
- Another kind of neutral strong alcohol (for example, cachaca or light rum)
- White wine
- White cooking wine
- Water
What to Do with Leftovers
- Storing: Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freezing: Store leftovers in the freezer in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
- Reheating stove top: Heat in a saucepan over medium-low heat, until heated through.
- Reheating in a microwave: Reheat leftovers in the microwave in 1-minute increments, mixing between each segment.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate and automatically calculated, and should only be viewed as an indication.
Madelyn
Soooo yummy, one of the best recipes out there!
Emmeline Kemperyd
Hi Madelyn! So happy you liked it, and thanks for coming back to leave a comment! /Emmeline