Pasta alla Vodka
Rigatoni in a creamy tomato sauce with garlic, butter, and a splash of vodka. The recipe that went viral on TikTok in 2020 and never really left.
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 500 mL pasta water before draining.
Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add onion. Cook 6–7 minutes until soft and translucent.
Add garlic and chili flakes. Cook 1 minute.
Add tomato paste. Stir and cook 2 minutes until darkened.
Add vodka if using. Stir and let it bubble for 1 minute to cook off the alcohol.
Add crushed tomatoes. Stir and simmer 10 minutes.
Reduce heat to low. Stir in the heavy cream. Simmer gently 3–4 minutes — do not boil.
Add the drained pasta to the skillet. Toss to coat, adding pasta water a splash at a time until the sauce is silky and loose.
Remove from heat. Stir in parmesan.
Serve immediately.
The vodka is optional. It adds a subtle sharpness and helps the sauce emulsify, but the dish works fine without it. If you have a cheap bottle around, use two tablespoons.
- Heavy cream is the expensive ingredient here. A 473 mL carton is about $4.99 — you use about a quarter of it. Use it for other recipes that week or it goes to waste.
- This reheats decently with a splash of water or milk to loosen the sauce.
- If you skip the parmesan, the recipe drops to about $6.71 total.
Estimated values per serving.
This recipe can be made gluten-free with substitutions.
- Replace rigatoni or penne with certified GF pasta (adds approximately $1.50–$2.00 to the total)
All other ingredients are naturally gluten-free.