Vodka sauce is my forever favorite pasta sauce. While I also list a peppery cacio e pepe, nutty brown butter sage, herbaceous pesto and pumpkin carbonara in my top five, there’s just no beating the GOAT: vodka sauce.
And my chef-husband Luke’s semi-homemade version is even better than my restaurant go-to’s, which would be Carbone and Anthony & Sons, in case you were wondering. There’s something about digging into a steamy plate of pasta, smothered in vodka sauce, in your PJs, that can’t be topped.
Maybe it’s the fact that I can help myself to seconds (and thirds) with generous scoops that might elicit a stare or two inside a restaurant. Or maybe it’s just that Luke always knows how to cheer me up after a bad day…with a bowl of penne alla vodka. His riff on the classic wins my heart (and my tastebuds) every single time.
Here’s how he makes it at home.
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Ingredients Needed for Shortcut Penne alla Vodka
Although Luke makes an excellent homemade vodka sauce at his New Canaan, CT restaurant, Elm, his shortcut version is just as good, if I’m being honest. And faster, when I’m starving.
To save time, he uses a jar of store-bought vodka sauce like Chef Mario Carbone’s namesake or Rao’s. Then he doctors it up.
You can use whatever jarred vodka sauce you prefer (or can find) but you’ll also need Calabrian chili paste (which you can find on Amazon or in most grocery stores), a hunk of high-quality Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, butter, some basil, heavy cream and pasta.
In our house, we switch up the noodles with spicy vodka rigatoni and ravioli, but penne is a classic short-cut tubular shape that clings to the sauce so well, thanks to its ridges. I also love how I can thread a few pennes at a time around the tines of my fork, like I’ve been doing since I was a kid.
But honestly, go with whatever pasta you have. This sauce is so good it can be paired with everything from a basic box of spaghetti to frozen tortellini.
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How to Make Penne alla Vodka Using Jarred Pasta Sauce
Luke starts by pouring some heavy cream into a heavy pot and reducing it by two-thirds to intensify its richness. Once condensed, he stirs in the jarred sauce and lets it simmer gently, allowing the flavors to meld. For an extra kick, he adds a touch of Calabrian chili paste to really get things going.
You can skip this step if you prefer a milder sauce, but if you like it hot(ter), I highly recommend using the chili paste, adjusting the amount to your preferred spice level.
While the sauce simmers, Luke cooks a bag of penne to al dente. Once ready, he tosses the pasta into the sauce, adding a few pats of butter to give it a silky glaze.
A few shakes of the pan, a generous snowfall of freshly grated Parmesan, and a handful of fragrant basil later—his penne alla vodka is ready to serve.
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Kelli Acciardo Venner
My Honest Thoughts on My Chef-Husband’s Shortcut Penne alla Vodka
Why drop $34 on one plate of vodka pasta at Carbone when you can buy the sauce for $8-9 AND have tons of leftovers?? It’s a no-brainer for me. Honestly, Luke’s version was even better than the last time I had the restaurant one. (No shade Mario, I will always have love for the OG.)
It was a hint spicier (given his addition of more chili flakes), a bit creamier (given the cream, obviously) and deliciously cheesy from the Parm. Fresh basil leaves added the ultimate aromatic finish.
I could literally eat this pasta for breakfast, lunch and dinner and have been known to do so, on occasion.
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Courtesy of Kelli Acciardo Venner
Chef-Husband Luke’s Best Penne alla Vodka Tips
1. Spice it up. Jarred vodka sauce is already a tinge spicy as is. That said, Luke likes to spice things up even more with a bit of Calabrian chili paste for extra flavor and umami. If you like your vodka sauce on the mild side, feel free to skip this step.
2. Don’t forget the butter. Per Luke, pasta is never ready until it’s glazed and finished with a couple of pats of butter in the pan before you add the sauce. And I have to say, adding this crucial step has made our at-home pasta better.
3. Add the perfect pairing. Luke is big on pasta as a side, not as the entire meal, although that would be totally fine with me when it comes to penne alla vodka. Sometimes he starts with the pasta idea and dreams up the the best protein to pair with it, sometimes the other way around. In this case, it was clear from the moment he woke up that morning and greeted me with, “What should we make for dinner?” Penne alla vodka and beef Milanese was the answer.
Courtesy of Kelli Acciardo Venner
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