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Easy Penne alla Vodka Recipe

Penne alla Vodka is one of the best tomato-based pasta dishes, this creamy homemade vodka sauce is made in just 15 minutes! Perfect for busy families or weekly meal prep this recipe is totally weeknight friendly with little effort needed!

Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Total Time
20 mins
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 235 kcal
Cuisine: Italian-American Fussion

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp regular olive oil not extra virgin
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 medium yellow onion grated
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 or 2 shots of vodka
  • 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 16 oz dried penne pasta
  • 1/2 cup 120 mL heavy cream (at least 36% butterfat)
  • 3/4 cup 75 g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Add olive oil and butter to a large saute pan over medium heat. Once hot, add onion and cook for several minutes until translucent, then add tomato paste and saute for three minutes. Add garlic and crushed red pepper and cook for 1 minute.
  2. Add in the can of crushed tomatoes, vodka, and dried oregano and basil. Let simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
  3. While vodka sauce is simmering, cook penne pasta according to package instructions.
  4. Stir in the heavy cream and parmesan cheese and simmer for another 5 minutes or until thickened. Season the sauce with salt and black pepper to taste.
  5. To serve, pour the sauce over the pasta and toss to coat. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and extra black pepper.
  6. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to one week.

Notes

  • To make penne alla vodka in advance, just make the vodka cream sauce ahead of time. In fact, this is a great meal prep situation! Make the vodka sauce at the beginning of the week and keep in an airtight container in the fridge until you're ready to use it! Then boil the pasta, warm the sauce up in a saucepan on medium-low heat, toss together, and eat!
  • The cream and cheese will not freeze well with the rest of the sauce. So when you want to freeze a batch, make the sauce right until you have to add cream and cheese, then let it cool completely before putting into freezer-safe zip-top bags (flattening them out helps them thaw faster!) and freezing flat. The vodka sauce will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months
  • Thaw in the fridge overnight, or in a sous vide bath for about ten minutes. Then reheat in a saucepan till simmering, and continue the recipe by adding the cream and cheese.
  • Vegan friendly: There's something called cashew cream and cashew cheese and they're delish! There is also vegan parmesan cheese at Whole Foods, but you can just omit the cheese aspect if you want.
  • Paleo-friendly: Use that cashew cream, omit the butter and parm, and only use olive oil. Toss it with zoodles (zucchini noodles) instead of pasta!
  • Keto-friendly: Keep the heavy cream and butter (aka the good stuff) and add zoodles instead of the pasta.
  • Gluten-free: There's gluten-free pasta now! Sub that in, the vodka sauce is already gluten-free!

Nutrition Information

Serving 1g Calories 235kcal (12%) Carbohydrates 28g (9%) Protein 5g (10%) Fat 8g (12%) Saturated Fat 4g (20%) Polyunsaturated Fat 4g Cholesterol 14mg (5%) Sodium 149mg (6%) Fiber 2g (8%) Sugar 2g (4%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 6servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 235

% Daily Value*

Serving 1g
Calories 235kcal 12%
Carbohydrates 28g 9%
Protein 5g 10%
Fat 8g 12%
Saturated Fat 4g 20%
Polyunsaturated Fat 4g 24%
Cholesterol 14mg 5%
Sodium 149mg 6%
Fiber 2g 8%
Sugar 2g 4%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.