An easy Penne Alla Vodka Pasta recipe made with a few simple ingredients for an exquisitely divine weeknight meal!

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Can I start by saying I’m so sorry about the slow posts. I’ve been going through a lot of stressful things in my life lately which caused me to lose a lot of motivation in my work. 

Even as I type this things still aren’t going well, but I’ve decided not to let it affect my passion anymore. So for the past two weeks I’ve been constantly testing, writing and photographing new recipes to share in the near future. 

I’ve also created a brand new NEWSLETTER!!! This is huge for me because I’ve been putting it off for 2 years now because a lot of work and money goes into it. 

I’m happy to say I’ve finally completed it! So if you are interested in getting new recipes delivered straight to your inbox along with monthly newsletters featuring previews of upcoming recipes, baking tips, reader creations and more — scroll to the bottom of this post to subscribe!!

Alright that’s enough about me, let’s talk pasta! 

What is Penne Alla Vodka?

It’s freaking delicious is what it is. Ok seriously though, when I was younger I thought penne alla vodka was some fancy super expensive dish only the 1% could afford to eat. Oh how wrong was I. 

Don’t get me wrong, it is pretty fancy, but it’s not as pricey as I thought. After falling in love with the $12 penne alla vodka meal I bought from my local Italian restaurant, I knew I had to make it myself. But first I had to do research to learn what the heck it was! 

What I learned was that Penne Alla Vodka was simply penne pasta tossed in a sauce made with vodka, tomato sauce, herbs, heavy cream and a bit of parmesan cheese. 

Of course my recipe requires a few more ingredients than that, but even with the extra ingredients this is still a very easy dish to make. I’d even say that if you need a quick weeknight dinner recipe that you could whip up in 30 minutes or less, this would be a great choice! 

Penne Alla Vodka Pasta Recipe

To make the penne alla vodka, we start by making the rich vodka sauce. First you’ll need to sauté the onion and minced garlic along with some dried oregano. I also threw in some red pepper flakes to add a bit of heat. It doesn’t make it too spicy, but you could go ahead and leave it out if you want to. 

What Type of Tomatoes Should I Use?

When making vodka sauce, you’ll want to use canned whole tomatoes. Some canned whole tomatoes have the skin still on while others are peeled. I tried this recipe with both the peeled tomatoes and the unpeeled and didn’t really notice a difference. 

To Roast or Not to Roast Tomatoes 

This depends on how much time you’re willing to spend making this dish. Roasting the tomatoes will definitely enhance the flavour of the vodka sauce, but it will add on an extra hour of cooking time. 

If that’s alright with you, I’ve included instructions on how to roast the tomatoes in the notes below the recipe. As you’ll see, it’s a bit more difficult than the normal recipe since certain ingredients have to be added in a different order and the tomatoes need to be chopped and seeded etc. 

Don’t have time for all of that? Neither did I, which is why my main recipe simply requires you to purée the canned tomatoes and cooking it on the stove. 

So once you’ve figured out what to do with your tomatoes, add them to the pan along with the vodka. This is the one ingredient that made me hesitant to make this recipe in the first place because vodka is not cheap, at all. Thankfully my neighbour had some, and she loves me enough to give me a cup which is worth like $20. 

And don’t worry about tasting the vodka in the finished dish, you won’t! Most of the vodka evaporates when cooked, but it helps wake up the other flavours in the sauce. 

Next we’ll add the tomato paste and the chopped fresh basil (I FORGOT TO!!) and allow the tomato sauce to simmer for a few minutes until it’s reduced a bit. Then stir in the heavy cream and a bit of parmesan if you’d like. The cream is what gives the sauce it’s classic orange colour! 

Now throw in the penne pasta and you’ve got Penne Alla Vodka! 

You could add chicken, sausage, beef or any other kind of meat you want. This is a meatless recipe because it was one half of another recipe I made to go with it, which I’ll be sharing next! 

Enjoy!

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Penne Alla Vodka Pasta

Yield: 6-8 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

An easy Penne Alla Vodka Pasta recipe made with a few simple ingredients for an exquisitely divine weeknight meal!

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Ingredients

Vodka Sauce:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 and 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• 2 (28 oz.) cans whole tomatoes
• 1/2 cup vodka
• 3 Tbsp Tomato Paste
• 2 fresh basil leaves, chopped (optional)
• Kosher Salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3/4 cup heavy cream, room temperature
• 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

Pasta:

• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Ib. Penne pasta

Garnish:

• Shredded parmesan
• Chopped fresh parsley or basil

Instructions

For the Vodka Sauce:

1. If you want to roast the tomatoes, read the notes below before continuing.
2. Pour the canned whole tomatoes with the liquid into a food processor and purée until smooth.
3. Push the puréed tomatoes through a fine mesh sieve into a separate bowl. Discard any seeds. Set tomatoes aside.
4. Add the oil and butter to a large sauté pan over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the diced onion, minced garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes for a little heat (optional). Toss around with a wooden spoon and cook until onions are softened and slightly browned, about 3-5 minutes. Be careful as the garlic can easily burn.
5. Once the onions are cooked, add the puréed tomatoes and vodka and stir to combine. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes, or until mixture has reduced slightly.
6. Stir in the tomato paste and chopped basil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
7. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes to reduce the mixture and enhance the flavour. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings to your preference.
8. Meanwhile, cook the pasta: Fill a large pot with water and add ½ teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Bring to a boil.
9. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package directions. Drain the pasta water and set the noodles aside.
10. Back to the sauce: Once sauce has reduced, stir in the heavy cream and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes.
11. Stir in parmesan cheese and cooked pasta. Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan and chopped parsley or basil. Enjoy!

Notes

- Instructions for roasting the tomatoes:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Drain the liquids from the canned tomatoes, then chop up the whole tomatoes and scrape out the seeds. Set them aside.
2. Continue with step 4 as normal. Then stir in the vodka and cook for about 5-7 minutes until the liquid has reduced to half the amount.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Now cover your pan with the lid and place in the preheated oven to roast for 1 hour. Cook the pasta in the meantime.
5. Once tomatoes are roasted, scrape about 1/4 of the pans ingredients into the food processor and purée until smooth.
6. Pour the puréed tomatoes into a separate bowl and repeat the puréeing with the remaining roasted tomato mixture in portions.
7. Pour the puréed tomatoes back into the pan and stir in the tomato paste, basil, salt and pepper (to taste) and heavy cream. Continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes.
8. Stir in parmesan cheese and cooked pasta.

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BON APPÉTIT!

Love, Dedra 

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