🍝 Penne alla vodka
Penne alla vodka is penne in a creamy tomato sauce made with onion, chili, a splash of vodka and cream. The vodka is cooked into the tomatoes and helps sharpen their flavour, while the cream turns the sauce a smooth, rosy orange. It is tangy, mildly spicy and rich, and is served hot.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 360 g penne
- 400 g crushed tomatoes
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 60 ml vodka
- 150 ml cooking cream
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes
- 1 tbsp olive oil, salt
Method
- Cook the penne in salted water until al dente.
- Soften the onion in the oil for 5 minutes with the chili flakes.
- Pour in the vodka and let it bubble for 2 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and simmer for 12–15 minutes.
- Stir in the cream, season, and toss with the drained penne.
How to make it lighter
- Use light cooking cream and halve the amount — the tomato base keeps it flavourful.
- Measure the oil: 1 tbsp ≈ 120 kcal.
- Stick to 80 g dry pasta per person and add a green salad.
History
Penne alla vodka became fashionable in Italy and the United States in the 1970s and 1980s. Several restaurants and cooks have been credited with inventing it, and its exact origin is disputed. It is now a standard on Italian and Italian-American menus.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →