Penne Pasta with Tomato Cream Vodka Sauce
This pasta with vodka sauce is delicious any night of the week.
As if pasta sauce wasn’t good enough all by itself, when it’s spiked with a bit of vodka, it’s even better.
But that’s not all.
When adding browned butter and cream to the mix the sauce just gets better and better.
This meatless pasta dish is rich and tastes heavenly.
And the good news is that it’s really easy to make.
My favorite part about this sauce besides everything, is the onion that’s sautéed in butter.
The onion adds such a nice texture to the sauce.
In this recipe, mini penne pasta is used but feel free to change the type of pasta if preferred.
Let’s check out the ingredients.
Pasta – Mini Penne pasta (or other tube-type pasta such as ziti, regular size penne, mostaccioli would be good too), salt
Pasta Sauce – Butter, onion, garlic, tomato puree (or tomato sauce), cream (or half and half), Vodka, pepper, red pepper flakes, salt, dried basil and grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
A printable recipe with the measurements and instructions is located at the bottom of this post.
For the Pasta:
In a medium-size saucepan, add water and bring it to a boil.
Add salt to the boiling water.
Add the pasta and give it a stir.
Let cook until the pasta is al-dente (still firm) according to package instruction.
Drain the pasta (but don’t rinse so that the pasta will keep its starch and hold and absorb the sauce) and set aside.
For the Pasta Sauce:
For Sautéing the Onion and Garlic – heat a medium-size sauce pan on medium heat and add butter.
Next, add the onions…
…then the…
…garlic and stir.
Let cook until the onions start to turn translucent.
Remove the onions and garlic from the pan on to a plate or small bowl. Set aside.
Next,
For the Browned Butter – heat the same pan on low to medium heat…
…and add the remaining butter.
Continuously stir as the butter melts.
Keep stirring…
…until the butter starts to turn a golden color.
Then add the onions back to the pan.
Add the tomato puree…
…and stir.
Add the red pepper flakes…
…pepper,
salt, dried basil…
…vodka,
and cream (or half and half).
Stir and let simmer for 10 minutes.
Serve warm over pasta and…
…top with grated or shredded Parmesan cheese.
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Penne Pasta with Tomato Cream Vodka Sauce
Ingredients
For the Pasta:
- 1 cup dry mini penne pasta or your favorite pasta
- 4 dashes salt for the boiling water
For the Pasta Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon butter (salted) for sautéing the onion and garlic
- 3/4 cup chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 tablespoons butter (salted) for brown butter
- 2 cups tomato puree or tomato sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt or salt to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 3/4 cup vodka
- 1 cup half and half or cream
- 2 tablespoons fresh shredded parmesan cheese or grated
Instructions
For the Pasta:
- In a medium size saucepan, add water and bring to a boil. Add salt to the boiling water. Add the pasta and stir. Let cook until the pasta is al-dente (still firm) according to package instructions.
- Drain the pasta (but don't rinse; you want the pasta to keep its starch so it will hold and absorb the sauce). Set aside.
For the Pasta Sauce:
- For Sautéing the Onion and Garlic - Heat a medium-size sauce pan on medium heat and add butter. As the butter is melting add the onions and garlic and stir. Let cook until the onions start to turn translucent. Remove the onions and garlic from the pan on to a plate or small bowl. Set aside.
- For the Browned Butter - Heat the same pan on low to medium heat and add the butter. Continuously stir as the butter melts. Keep stirring until the butter starts to turn a golden color.
- Then add the onions back to the pan. Add the tomato puree, red pepper flakes, pepper, salt, dried basil, vodka, and cream (or half and half).
- Stir and let simmer for 10 minutes. Serve warm over pasta and top with grated Parmesan cheese.
Notes
TIP:
Don’t rinse the pasta after cooking it. When pasta is rinsed, the starch is removed. The starch on pasta helps to hold and absorb the sauce so it’s important to keep the starch on the pasta.Serving Suggestions
Serve this pasta with a side of “Garlic Bread“, a salad or just by its delicious self.
Comfort Food Recipes
Comfort Food Recipes you may like:
Candied Yams (Sweet Potatoes) with Pecans and Marshmallows
Candied Sweet Potatoes (Canned Yams), with Walnuts and Marshmallows
Baked Herb and Parmesan Potato Slices
Biscoff Cookie Butter Blondie Brownies
Slow Cooker Pot Roast with Potatoes and Carrots
Easy Skillet Smoked Sausage with Caramelized Barbecue Sauce
Meatless Recipes
Here are more meatless recipes…”Roasted Asparagus and Tomato Garlic Bread Grilled Cheese“, “Jalapeno and Cheese Taquitos” and “Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce and Mushrooms“.
Pasta Recipes
More Pasta Recipes:
Italian Sausage and Radiatore Pasta One Skillet Meal
Linguine with Tomato Cream Sauce
