Penne alla Vodka (Glossy Blush-Pink Sauce in 30 Minutes)

This penne alla vodka is the recipe I make when I want the glossy, blush-pink, restaurant-quality pasta that costs $24 a plate and takes exactly 30 minutes at home. Shallot and garlic soften in butter and olive oil, tomato paste cooks until it turns brick red and sweet, a splash of vodka simmers down to sharpen everything, and heavy cream turns it the color of a sunset. Toss in penne, parmesan and torn basil and it is done. At 16g protein a serving it is a true pasta night rather than a protein plate, but it is one everybody asks for again, right alongside marry me chicken pasta and baked ziti on the list of pastas that make my family come to the table without being called twice.

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Why this penne alla vodka tastes like the restaurant version.

• The tomato paste gets cooked until it is brick red. This is the step that most quick vodka sauce recipes rush. Stirring a whole small can of tomato paste into the shallots and letting it caramelize for 3 to 4 minutes takes away the raw, metallic edge and gives the sauce a deep, almost roasted sweetness. It is the same thing I do for my creamy tomato basil soup.
• The vodka actually does something. Vodka pulls out flavor compounds in tomatoes that water and fat cannot reach, and it adds a clean sharpness that keeps all that cream from tasting flat. Nearly all of the alcohol cooks off, so the penne alla vodka tastes brighter, not boozy.
• Pasta water finishes the sauce. The sauce is thick on its own. A ladle of starchy pasta water loosens it into something glossy that clings to every ridge of the penne — no gluey pile, no sauce pooling at the bottom of the bowl.

Here's what you'll need.

Thirteen ingredients, almost all pantry: penne, tomato paste, vodka, heavy cream, a shallot, garlic, red pepper flakes, butter, olive oil, parmesan, fresh basil, salt and pepper.

Here's how it all comes together.

STEP 1 — Soften the shallot and garlic.

Warm the butter and olive oil together in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the minced shallot with a pinch of salt and cook 3 minutes until soft and translucent, then add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook 1 minute more, until fragrant but not browned.

STEP 2 — Cook the tomato paste until brick red.

Add the tomato paste and stir it into the shallots, spreading it over the bottom of the pan. Cook, stirring often, for 3 to 4 minutes, until it darkens from bright red to a deep brick color and smells sweet. This is where the flavor comes from, so do not rush it.

STEP 3 — Add the vodka and simmer it down.

Pour in the vodka — it will hiss — and scrape up anything stuck to the pan. Let it bubble for 2 to 3 minutes, until it has reduced by about half and no longer smells sharp. Meanwhile, get the pasta water boiling.

STEP 4 — Stir in the cream.

Lower the heat to medium-low and pour in the heavy cream, stirring until the sauce turns a smooth, even blush pink. Let it simmer gently for 3 to 4 minutes to thicken slightly. Season with salt and pepper.

STEP 5 — Boil the penne and save the water.

Cook the penne in well-salted water until 1 minute shy of al dente. Just before draining, ladle out a full cup of the cloudy pasta water — you will use most of it. Drain the pasta.

STEP 6 — Toss with parmesan and basil.

Add the penne to the sauce with half a cup of pasta water and toss over medium heat for a minute, until the sauce coats the pasta and turns glossy. Pull it off the heat, stir in the parmesan and torn basil, and loosen with more pasta water if needed. Serve with extra parmesan.

If simple, from-scratch pasta like this is how you like to eat, the whole philosophy behind it — good olive oil, tomatoes, a few ingredients done right — is laid out in the Ultimate Slow Cooker Mediterranean Diet Cookbook.

Things I learned while testing this recipe.

• Use a whole small can of tomato paste. Six ounces sounds like a lot but it is the backbone of the sauce. Diced or crushed tomatoes make a thinner, more watery vodka sauce that never gets that deep color.
• Cheap vodka is fine; skip flavored. You are not tasting the vodka, you are using it as a solvent. Any plain vodka works. Flavored vodkas taste strange in tomato sauce.
• Keep the cream below a boil. A hard boil after the cream goes in can make the sauce grainy. A gentle simmer is all it needs.
• Grate the parmesan fresh and add it off the heat. Pre-grated parmesan clumps. A microplane and a wedge, stirred in after the pan comes off the burner, melts into the sauce without a trace.

Why penne alla vodka is my favorite 30-minute pasta.

• One skillet, one pot, 30 minutes. The sauce comes together in the time it takes the pasta water to boil and the penne to cook. On a weeknight that is the difference between making it and ordering it.
• Easy to turn into a high protein dinner. On its own this lands at 16g protein a serving. Add a pound of browned Italian sausage, shredded rotisserie chicken or a batch of air fryer chicken breast sliced over the top and you are past 35g. Check your own target with the protein calculator.
• It is the pasta people ask you to bring. Vodka sauce reheats far better than alfredo and holds up in a baking dish for a crowd. Double it, pour it into a 9x13, top with mozzarella and bake at 375°F for 20 minutes and you have a baked penne alla vodka that disappears.

Here's what I'd serve with this.

• Garlic butter chicken bites — spoon them over the top for an easy protein boost
• Chicken parmesan — the Italian-American feast plate
• Roasted cauliflower — a little char and lemon against all that cream
• Air fryer brussels sprouts — crispy, 15 minutes, no oven needed
• Green spaghetti — also new today — a creamy roasted poblano pasta for the next pasta night

Just in case you have leftovers.

Storing: Cool completely and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The vodka sauce alone (before the pasta goes in) freezes well for up to 3 months in a freezer bag laid flat; I do not freeze the finished pasta because the penne goes soft.

Reheating: Warm in a skillet over medium-low with a splash of water, milk or cream, stirring until the sauce is glossy again, about 5 minutes. Microwave individual portions at 70% power in 60-second bursts with a spoonful of water stirred in. Finish with fresh parmesan and basil.

More easy dinner recipes...

Marry me chicken pasta Baked ziti Creamy tomato basil soup One pot chicken alfredo pasta

Also new today: creamy butternut squash pasta — roasted squash and garlic blended into a velvety fall sauce with crispy sage, and salmon sushi bake for a night that is nothing like pasta.

Simple, from-scratch dinners that mostly cook themselves

If a pasta like this one is your idea of a good night, the Ultimate Slow Cooker Mediterranean Diet Cookbook is full of tomato-and-olive-oil dinners built on a few ingredients done well, most of them hands-off.

Get the cookbook on Amazon

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