Penne Alla Vodka – perfectly hearty in addition to tender penne pasta is tossed with a creamy too vibrant, San Marzano tomato plant based as well as vodka infused sauce that’s seasoned alongside fresh herbs together with parmesan. Talk virtually delicious dinner recipe!
Other classic Italian-American favorites to add to the dinner rotation include Pasta Primavera, Alfredo Sauce, slow Spaghetti Sauce, too the best Meatball recipe!
So what flavour does vodka add to the vodka sauce? Well, since all lot of the alcohol is cooked off y'all aren’t left with a alcoholic vodka taste, rather it but boosts as well as intensifies the flavors of the tomatoes.
This slowly vodka sauce tastes vibrantly tomatoey, deliciously herby, lightly peppery too faintly smokey if you opt to use pancetta. And with the reddish pepper flakes it as well has an exciting spicy fiddling kicking to it on the tip of your tongue.
Then when you complete it with a terminal enhancement of richly flavored, aged Parmigiano Reggiano too this dish becomes worthy of a fine dining restaurant!
It’s a classic Italian-American recipe that you tin can perfect at habitation amongst simply a few slow steps! And this isn’t similar a bolognese sauce, no simmering for hours hither. You tin can accept this dish ready inwards virtually xxx minutes!
Ingredients Needed for Penne amongst Vodka Sauce
- Canned San Marzano tomatoes – these are an Italian grown variety of tomato that accept less acidity as well as better sugariness, I don’t recommend substitutions unless y'all don’t take access to them. Then go with canned plum/Roma tomatoes as well as add together a pinch or 2 of sugar.
- Extra virgin olive crude – don’t function standard refined olive crude oil here. We want that stronger extra virgin season in this dish. It really compliments the Lycopersicon esculentum flavor.
- Yellow onion – mince these upwardly fine then they’ll become tender with a brief saute as well as simmer catamenia.
- Prosciutto or pancetta – this cured Italian ham is optional but it does add a delicious flavour.
- Garlic – solely role freshly minced for best flavor.
- Salt in addition to pepper – add to gustatory modality merely call back the sauce volition cut around and so don’t overdue it.
- Vodka – a must in this recipe. With leftover vodka I similar to brand homemade vanilla.
- Red pepper flakes – if yous don’t like spicy food you can omit this. If you honey spicy double or fifty-fifty triple the amount.
- Heavy cream – I don’t recommend lower fat substitutions here.
- Fresh basil together with fresh oregano – if y'all don’t desire to buy both y'all tin role i or the other just I honey the blend hither. If you lot accept leftover role it to brand pizza sauce or marinara.
- Shredded parmesan cheese – want to add extra flavour to the sauce? Simmer a parmesan rind alongside the sauce.
- Penne pasta – prepare to al dente too be sure to reserve or so of the starchy pasta H2O earlier draining, which is used to loosen the sauce as needed.
How to Make Penne alla Vodka
- Boil H2O: Bring a pot of H2O to a boil to prepare pasta. Season water with common salt.
- Saute aromatics too prosciutto: Heat petroleum in a classify big pot over medium heat. Add onion as well as prosciutto, saute iv – 5 minutes, add garlic together with blood-red pepper flakes too saute one minute longer.
- Add tomatoes too vodka, simmer: Remove pan from heat in addition to add together tomatoes, vodka, flavor with table salt as well as pepper to taste. Return to medium-high oestrus, convey to a simmer and then reduce rut to medium-low in addition to allow simmer until stiff alcohol scent has cooked off, most 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Cook pasta: Meanwhile fix pasta according to packet directions. Reserve one/two loving cup pasta water in addition to drain pasta.
- Mix cream, herbs and parmesan into sauce: Stir cream into sauce and permit merely oestrus through, virtually ane minute. Stir inwards parmesan, basil as well as oregano.
- Toss vodka sauce in addition to penne: Add drained pasta to pot with sauce, toss to coat, piece thinning sauce with a trivial pasta H2O as needed. Serve warm with more parmesan too garnish alongside more than basil if desired.
Tips for the Best Vodka Sauce
- Use expert character ingredients. It will only taste as skilful as what you lot position into it.
- Be sure to permit it simmer long enough to cook off virtually of the alcohol or you’ll gustation alcohol as well as it volition actually overpower the dish.
- Crush tomatoes fine for a smoother, less chunky sauce. If preferred y'all could even blitz them in a food processor.
- Don’t use dried herbs or bottled garlic. These fresh ingredients really assist brand this vodka sauce perfect.
Can I Freeze Vodka Sauce?
Yes. This tin be frozen inwards an airtight container for up to 3 months. Or it volition keep in the refrigerator for nearly 3 – 4 days.
Possible Variations
- Add grilled chicken or rotisserie chicken.
- Sub bacon for the pancetta, it has a unlike season only who doesn’t love bacon?
- Skip the pancetta, add browned ground veal, beef, pork or Italian sausage.
- Add shrimp, some other delicious pairing pick.
- Try substituting it inward home of marinara sauce inwards a dish like lasagna or chicken parmesan.
- Use some other pasta inward place of penne such every bit rigatoni, ziti, mostaccioli, elicoidali, fusilli, or even but become amongst spaghetti. Really merely virtually whatsoever pasta would work.
What Sides to Serve alongside Creamy Penne alla Vodka?
Penne alla Vodka (Best Vodka Sauce!)
Perfectly hearty together with tender penne pasta is tossed alongside a creamy as well as vibrant, San Marzano tomato based in addition to vodka infused sauce that'sec seasoned amongst fresh herbs together with parmesan. Talk well-nigh delicious dinner recipe!
Servings: half dozen
Ingredients
- one (28 oz) tin San Marzano tomatoes, crushed finely alongside hands*
- two Tbsp extra virgin olive crude
- i/2 cup minced yellowish onion
- iii oz. proscuitto or pancetta, diced (optional)
- one Tbsp minced garlic (three cloves)
- Salt as well as freshly earth black pepper
- i/2 loving cup vodka
- one/four tsp scarlet pepper flakes, some to gustation
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- ane/four cup finely shredded parmesan cheese, addition more for serving
- ane Tbsp chopped fresh oregano
- one/iv loving cup chopped fresh basil
- fourteen oz. penne pasta, plus reserved pasta H2O for thinning sauce every bit needed
Instructions
- Bring a pot of H2O to a boil to cook pasta. Season water amongst common salt.
- Heat petroleum in a big pot over medium estrus. Add onion and prosciutto saute iv - five minutes, add garlic together with scarlet pepper flakes as well as saute i minute longer.
- Remove pan from rut too add tomatoes, vodka, flavour amongst salt as well as pepper to sense of taste. Return to medium-high oestrus, take to a simmer and so trim back rut to medium-depression together with allow simmer until potent alcohol scent has cooked off, well-nigh fifteen minutes**, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile ready pasta according to bundle directions. Reserve one/2 loving cup pasta water as well as drain pasta.
- Stir cream into sauce as well as permit merely estrus through, most one infinitesimal. Stir in parmesan, basil too oregano.
- Add drained pasta to pot with sauce, toss to coat, while thinning sauce with a trivial pasta water as needed. Serve warm with more parmesan and garnish amongst more basil if desired.
Notes
- *For a smoother sauce yous tin blitz the tomatoes inward a nutrient processor or buy crushed San Marzano tomatoes if you tin observe them.
- **Be certain to permit plenty fourth dimension for sauce simmer or it volition sense of taste strongly of alcohol too that will overpower the flavors of the dish.
- Sauce can live frozen up to 3 months.
Nutrition Facts
Penne alla Vodka (Best Vodka Sauce!)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 527
Calories from Fat 198
% Daily Value*
Fat 22g34%
Saturated Fat 10g63%
Cholesterol 48mg16%
Sodium 366mg16%
Potassium 455mg13%
Carbohydrates 57gxix%
Fiber 4g17%
Sugar 5gsix%
Protein 12g24%
Vitamin A 668IUthirteen%
Vitamin C 13mgsixteen%
Calcium 139mgxiv%
Iron 3mg17%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates exclusively. See total disclaimer hither.