Penne Alla Vodka Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What to do if you add too much vodka to vodka sauce? ›

If you can taste the vodka in the sauce, you've likely added too much, or perhaps you added it too late. The good news is that this is a simple fix. Just keep simmering the sauce to reduce the alcohol content.

Penne alla vodka (Italian: [ˈpenne alla ˈvɔdka]) is a pasta dish made primarily with vodka and penne (or similar shapes such as rigatoni), usually accompanied with heavy cream, crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce, onions, and sometimes small meats and vegetables like sausage, pancetta or peas.

Add freshly grated parmesan cheese once the cream has been added to the skillet. I would say 1/4 - 1/2 cup. Melting cheese into the sauce can also help thicken it up if you accidentally add too much cream or pasta water.

Either Roasted Brussels Sprouts or Roasted Frozen Broccoli would be delicious as a side dish. Bread. Don't let any of the scrumptious vodka sauce go to waste! Sop it up with a crusty loaf of your favorite bread (we love this Rosemary Olive Oil Bread and No Knead Focaccia).

Lemonade

Lemonade is a sweet and slightly sour mixer that can mask the taste of vodka with ease. If you're craving something even sweeter or fruitier, pink lemonade is a great option that also makes beautiful co*cktails thanks to its pretty color.

In cooking, especially in penne alla vodka, deglazing a pan with liquor has many powers. Wine works, too, but a clean-tasting vodka has mostly water and ethanol (a solvent), which is excellent at carrying aromatic compounds — like those in tomatoes.

The Importance of Vodka in Penne alla Vodka

And yes, the vodka really does matter here. We know, because we've done the tests before. Several years ago, Kenji delved into the matter of whether vodka sauce really needed the vodka, and the answer was an unequivocal yes (though the sauce is delicious without it, too).

Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Pour in the tomato paste, along with the red pepper flakes, and cook it until the tomato paste turns a really dark red color, about 3 minutes. Add the vodka and let it sizzle and allow the vodka to cook off a bit, about 1 minute. Pour in the heavy cream and mix it until smooth.

Normally it includes real cream for richness but I'm using reduced-fat milk. Great news though, it still retains the decadent flavor of a regular recipe but with a fraction of the fat and calories. In addition, I've placed it over fiber rich whole wheat penne instead of white pasta.

If you're looking to make a creamy vodka spaghetti sauce, we highly recommend adding some Italian sausage or ground beef to the equation. The resulting dish is a deliciously meaty sauce perfect on its own or added to pasta of your choosing.

Is vodka sauce just alfredo and marinara? ›

Is vodka sauce a mix of marinara sauce and alfredo? No. Alfredo sauce mixed with marinara sauce is known as pink sauce. While pink sauce and vodka sauce are both types of tomato sauce, they are not the same thing.

Half & half adds the creaminess, but it's not so rich as heavy cream. If you can't find half & half, make your own by combining half whole milk and half heavy cream.

Popular Dishes Using Vodka Sauce:

Penne with Chicken: You will almost always find a variation of this dish on any Italian restaurant menu. This dish combines tender penne pasta, chicken bites, and a rich vodka sauce. Vegetables can also be paired with the dish.

I use the tang of lemon juice to replace the alcohol completely! I was able to still get amazing aromatics and still have that creamy texture, creating an amazing dish. Now personally, I love a lemony and tangy dish, but I also can be more liberal with the amount.

If you've got an overwhelming taste of vodka you just haven't burnt off enough of the alcohol. In such case just continue simmering the sauce to reduce down the alcohol. The longer you simmer the less powerful the vodka will be. Use your starchy pasta water if you need to thin out the sauce in order to do this.

It's believed that grapefruit juice masks the taste of vodka pretty well, but cherry, grape or orange juice also work just fine. Also, if you drink plain vodka, don't sip it like wine. Just down the whole shot at once, this way you are not going to feel its taste so much.

The vodka's alcohol content evaporates as it cooks, so it doesn't leave behind any vodka or alcohol flavor in the final dish. The vodka absolutely matters to the flavors of the final dish, so if you feel the urge to skip it, don't!