Our Rigatoni Alla Vodka Will Be The Best Pasta Dish You Make All Week

For many people, pasta with vodka sauce fits the bill for a warm, comforting meal. A decadently creamy and flavorful tomato sauce, enriched with vodka, silkily envelops each toothsome bite of pasta. The origins of this dish are unclear, with different theories pointing to Italian or Italian-American origins, or even a ploy by vodka manufacturers to increase sales. In any case, vodka is an important ingredient. While it doesn't have much flavor on it's own, the alcohol enhances the flavor and aroma of the tomatoes and adds a punch that takes the sauce to the next level.

Recipe developer Michelle Bottalico has created a recipe for rigatoni alla vodka. Since vodka sauce is often served with penne pasta, this version uses larger rigatoni pasta for a dish with the same great taste but a fun change in the pasta bite. The rich and creamy sauce is made by simmering pureed tomatoes with vodka and heavy cream. Onion and garlic enhance the aroma and flavor, and dried red chile pepper adds a touch of heat. Fresh basil leaves added at the end add the right amount of herby flavor and add visual appeal as a garnish. This dish is surprisingly easy to make and can be ready in a little over half an hour. Although we understand the convenience of stocking up on jarred vodka sauce from the supermarket, we think you'll love the fresher flavor and luxurious texture of this homemade version.

For this recipe, you will need olive oil, a large onion, and garlic. To make the dish even richer, you could opt to add up to 4 tablespoons of butter instead of using olive oil. This recipe also calls for a small dried red chile pepper, but you can substitute ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes if necessary. You'll need vodka (any type works for vodka sauce), as well as tomato puree, salt, rigatoni pasta, heavy cream, and basil leaves. Finally, grab some optional grated Parmesan for topping if desired.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a wide, heavy skillet on medium.

Add the onion, garlic, and chile pepper to the skillet and saute until the onion is translucent, about 5 to 6 minutes.

Add the vodka and cook for 1 to 2 minutes while the alcohol evaporates.

Add the tomato puree and salt and bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then immediately lower the heat to a low simmer and let cook for about 10 minutes until reduced.

Add the rigatoni to the boiling water 2 minutes after you add the tomatoes to the skillet and cook until al dente. The pasta should take about 12 minutes to cook, but follow the package directions and adjust when to add the pasta so the sauce and pasta finish at the same time.

Stir the cream into the tomato sauce and cook for about 5 more minutes. Taste and adjust for salt if desired.

When the pasta is almost finished cooking, scoop out about ¼ cup of the cooking water and set aside.

Drain the pasta, add it to the skillet, and stir to evenly coat it in the sauce. Add some of the cooking water to make it creamier if needed. Remove from the heat.

Tear the basil and add it to the sauce, stirring lightly to mix.

Serve immediately with grated Parmesan and additional basil leaves for garnish, if desired.

Yes, you can make pasta alla vodka without heavy cream. Perhaps you are following a dairy-free diet, or you want to lighten up the dish. Or maybe you don't have a problem with heavy cream but you don't have any in the fridge and you want to make vodka sauce right now. There are a few good heavy cream substitutes, but the creaminess and texture will vary depending on which one you're using.

If you're out of heavy cream, you can use a combination of milk and butter for a rich result. Sub ¾ cup whole milk and ¼ cup butter for one cup of heavy cream. To lighten up the dish, replace half the cream with milk, or use only milk. Just know you won't get the thick and creamy result the original is known for with milk alone. You can amp up the creaminess of milk by whisking in a tablespoon of flour when you add the milk to the sauce.

If you don't eat dairy, replace cream with soy milk or other non-dairy milk, with optional flour for thickening. For a thick and creamy vegan option, however, you can use blended cannellini beans or butter beans. These two varieties of beans are especially creamy. Add a few splashes of water to the beans until you reach a stirrable consistency. It won't taste like cream and the texture will be different, but you'll add plenty of fiber and nutrients to the dish.

If you're wondering why pasta alla vodka, an Italian recipe, calls for vodka, you're not alone. After all, vodka doesn't have much flavor, like wine does, and wine is much more common in Italy. The alcohol also evaporates while it cooks, so what's the point? Some people even wonder if the dish was invented by vodka manufacturers! But no, it's not a scam. To understand the role vodka plays in vodka sauce, science comes into play.

Vodka is responsible for releasing alcohol-soluble compounds in tomatoes, thereby releasing more flavor, and also enhancing the aroma at the same time. Just be careful not to add too much, because this process is possible with low concentrations of alcohol. Add too much and your sauce will taste and smell like alcohol and mask the sweeter flavor of the tomatoes, which is far from ideal. If you make vodka sauce without the vodka, the dish will look the same and will still be rich and creamy, but it will lack a certain something — a crisp flavor that plays well with tomatoes — and the acidity of the tomatoes will lack the flavor balance that vodka brings. 

Don't worry about the vodka sauce being too boozy, as the alcohol does cook off, leaving only the flavor. If you don't cook with alcohol, substitutes for vodka in vodka sauce include white wine, which produces a similar effect, or broth for added flavor without the chemical reactions of alcohol.