Penne Alla Vodka is the king of all pasta sauces. Well, at least in my book. There’s just something about the creamy tomato sauce and the punch of the vodka.
I have tried a thousand different penne alla vodka recipes, and this is the one. It’s a slight variation of Mario Batali’s Recipe. The key to the perfectly, smooth, and creamy sauce it using only tomato paste. No canned tomatoes, no tomato puree, just tomato pasta, who would have thought? It takes very few ingredients to make this deliciousness. Just some BACON, tomato paste, garlic, vodka, and heavy cream! YAY!
Man, I love this stuff!
Penne Alla Vodka
2016-04-17 20:23:58
Serves 4
The best pasta sauce!
Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
12 min
Ingredients
- 6 slices of bacon
- 1 8 oz. can of tomato paste
- 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 lb. of penne pasta
- 1/4 cup vodka
- 1/2 cup of heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cut the bacon into lardons, or just dice it.
- Place the bacon in a thin layer in a large dutch oven and heat to medium high. Cook until brown and crispy.
- Boil the water and cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve some of the pasta water.
- Add the thinly sliced garlic (can also replace with garlic powder) and red pepper flakes to the bacon in the pan. Fry until fragrant.
- Add the vodka to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes, until some of the alcohol has cooked off.
- Add the tomato paste and stir until combined. Let simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Gently stir in the heavy cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the pasta to the sauce and stir until combined. Add pasta water if the sauce is too thick.
- Top with parmesan cheese and enjoy!
Adapted from Mario Batali
Adapted from Mario Batali
Mini Pie Kitchen https://minipiekitchen.com/
I'm a country girl at heart. I tried living in the city and it just didn't work. Welcome to my ramblings as a teacher and wife. 
This looks so good! Can you believe I’ve never had any vodka sauce?! I love creamy tomato sauce though, so I’m sure I would love it. Pinning for later! 🙂
I cannot believe that!!! Well, I guess I can. It was invented in the U.S. and not Italy if I’m not mistaken!! I’m sure you would love it too! What’s not to love about a creamy tomato sauce right? Plus it has bacon 🙂