Easy Penne alla Vodka Recipe

Penne alla vodka is what I make when I want dinner to feel a little special, but it still has to land on the table on a weeknight. The creamy tomato sauce tastes like the vodka pasta you’d order at an Italian place, and it comes together in about 40 minutes from start to finish.

Years of cooking pasta the way I learned to in Sorrento taught me the sauce should coat the penne rather than sit on top of it, and a splash of the reserved pasta water stirred in at the end is what gets it there. Done right, every piece comes out glossy and coated instead of swimming in sauce.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It’s one pan of sauce and a pot of pasta, start to finish in about 40 minutes, which makes it doable on a weeknight when you’d still like something worth sitting down to.
• The sauce turns silky because you stir a little starchy pasta water back in at the end, so it clings to every piece of penne instead of pooling at the bottom of the bowl.
• You can make the sauce ahead and freeze a batch, so a good dinner is one pot of boiling water away on a night you don’t want to cook from scratch.
• The red pepper flakes are optional, so you can keep it mild enough for the kids or add more heat for the adults at the table.

Ingredients You’ll Need

A complete printable recipe and the measurements in both US customary and metric are available in the recipe card below.

• Reserved pasta water. Keep about half a cup of it back from the pot. It’s the starchy splash that pulls the sauce together at the end, so don’t tip it all down the drain.
• Tomato paste. Three tablespoons is doing more than it looks like. Cook it out in the oil for a couple of minutes until it darkens a shade, which takes the raw tin edge off and gives the sauce its sweet, concentrated backbone.
• Canned crushed tomatoes. One 12-ounce can is the body of the sauce. Crushed already carries a little puree, so it thickens faster than whole tomatoes would.
• Vodka. A quarter cup is all that goes in, and it’s there to round the sauce out, though cooks disagree about how much it changes things. If you’d rather leave it out, see the FAQ below, and my spicy vodka Gigi Hadid pasta runs on the same idea if you want to compare.
• Heavy cream. Three-quarters of a cup makes it rich without turning heavy. Stir it in once the tomatoes have simmered, and keep the heat gentle from there, since cream can split if you let it boil hard.
• Parmesan. Buy one labeled suitable for vegetarians. Traditional Parmesan is made with animal rennet, so it isn’t vegetarian, and this is the one ingredient on the list where that catches people out. Grate it fresh, and it melts in smoother than the pre-shredded kind.
• Penne. A pound of penne feeds four, and the ridged tubes catch the sauce better than a smooth shape would.

How to Make Penne alla Vodka

A complete printable recipe and the measurements in both US customary and metric are available in the recipe card below.

Cook the Pasta

Get a big pot of well-salted water boiling and cook the penne until it’s just shy of al dente, since it’ll finish in the sauce. Before you drain, dip out about half a cup of the pasta water and set it aside.

Sauté the Onions and Garlic

While the pasta cooks, soften the chopped onion in olive oil over medium heat for five or six minutes, then add the garlic for the last thirty seconds so it doesn’t catch and turn bitter.

Add the Tomato Paste and Vodka

Stir in the tomato paste, then pour in the vodka and let it bubble for about two minutes until the sharp smell softens, which is how you know the alcohol has cooked down.

Simmer the Sauce

Add the crushed tomatoes, salt, and the red pepper flakes if you’re using them, and let it simmer partly covered on low for about fifteen minutes.

Add the Cream and Parmesan

Pour in the cream and stir through the Parmesan, keeping it at a gentle simmer rather than a boil so the sauce stays smooth.

Toss Everything Together

Add the drained penne straight into the sauce and toss, loosening it with a splash of the reserved pasta water until it coats every piece.

That last splash of starchy water is exactly how I get the sauce to cling in my baked Boursin cheese pasta too. Taste, adjust the salt, and finish with torn basil or parsley just before serving.

Recipe Notes and Expert Tips

• Salt the pasta water properly. It’s the only chance you get to season the pasta itself, so the water should taste seasoned rather than timid.
• Let the vodka cook off. Give it those two minutes of bubbling. Rush it, and the sauce keeps a boozy, sharp edge that the cream won’t quite cover.
• Keep the cream at a simmer, never a hard boil. Once it goes in, high heat can make it separate and turn grainy. Low and slow keeps it glossy.
• Grate the Parmesan yourself. The pre-shredded kind is coated to stop it clumping, and that coating keeps it from melting cleanly into the sauce.
• Don’t rinse the drained pasta. The starch clinging to it is part of what helps the sauce grab on. I use the same penne-and-tomato base in my pasta alla Norma, and rinsing would lose you the same thing there.

Recipe Variations

• Rigatoni or another sturdy short shape stands in for the penne without changing the sauce, and that’s why the dish turns up just as often as rigatoni alla vodka. The swap is well supported, so use whatever short pasta you have on hand.
• Push the red pepper flakes up for more heat, or leave them out for a mild version the kids will still eat. I make it both ways depending on the table, and the mild one is my tested default for younger eaters.
• For a vegetable boost, wilt a couple of handfuls of baby spinach into the sauce just before the pasta goes in. I haven’t tested exact timings for that here, but a minute or two in the hot sauce is all it should need.

How to Store Leftovers

You can make the sauce a day ahead and keep it in the fridge, then reheat it gently and toss with freshly boiled pasta when you’re ready. If you’d rather assemble the whole thing ahead and bake it, my creamy vegetable pasta bake is built for that kind of make-ahead dinner.

Cooked leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Get them into the fridge within two hours of cooking, and reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave with a splash of cream or water, since the sauce thickens as it sits.

The sauce freezes better than the finished dish, so freeze it on its own in sealed portions for up to 3 months and cook fresh pasta when you thaw it. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight and warm it through slowly.

What to Serve With Penne alla Vodka

This one is rich, so I like something sharp and green beside it. A crisp chopped green goddess salad cuts straight through the cream, and its herby dressing holds its own against the sauce. For soaking up what’s left in the bowl, a few slices of warm homemade French bread are all you need, and a glass of something dry on the side rounds the plate out.

FAQs

More Pasta Recipes to Try

If this one goes into your rotation, here’s where I’d point you next for another easy pasta night.

• Lemon pasta. The one I make when the fridge is nearly bare, and I want dinner bright instead of rich.
• Mushroom pasta. My pick when I’m after something earthy and savory with the same weeknight ease.
• Aglio e olio. This is the back-pocket dinner for nights I don’t want to shop, just garlic, oil, and whatever pasta’s in the pantry.
• Cacio e pepe. Where I go when I want to show how far four ingredients and a little pasta water can take you.