The Easiest Vodka Sauce with Rigatoni

Discover the story

Creamy, cozy, and ready in 30.

When you want dinner to feel a little fancy without doing the most, this easy vodka sauce is the move. It comes together in under 30 minutes, but tastes like something you’d order at your favorite Italian spot, velvety, glossy, and full of cozy tomato flavor.

A quick simmer brings out the sweetness of the tomatoes, a splash of vodka adds that signature depth, and a little cream turns it into the silky sauce that clings to every noodle.

This is the kind of recipe you keep on repeat for busy weeknights, last-minute guests, or those nights when you just want a guaranteed comfort meal. Toss it with your favorite pasta, add a big handful of basil, and call it done. And if you make it, tell us what pasta shape you paired it with.

The Easiest Vodka Sauce with Rigatoni

Servings

Ingredients

16 oz rigatoni or your favorite dried pasta
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 oz can of tomato paste
1/4 cup vodka
1¼ cup reserved pasta water
3/4 cup light cream
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

For serving

Flatleaf parsley, chopped
Grated Parmesan cheese
Red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add pasta, and stir. Cook pasta until it is al dente, about 7 minutes.
Carefully, remove 1 ¼ cups of the hot pasta water and set aside.
Drain the al dente pasta, return it to the empty pot, drizzle with a little olive oil, stir, and set aside. *This step will prevent the pasta from sticking while preparing the vodka sauce.
Place a large skillet over medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, add the olive oil and sauté the shallots and garlic for 3 to 4 minutes, until the shallots are soft and translucent.
Add tomato paste and stir together with the shallots and garlic. Continue to stir until the paste turns bright red, 2 to 3 minutes.
Deglaze the skillet with vodka, stirring until the vodka evaporates. Lower the heat if needed.
Add the reserved pasta water to the skillet and stir it in with the tomato paste until smooth, about 1 minute.
Add the butter to the skillet and stir until melted into the sauce.
Stir the cream into the sauce until smooth. Reduce the heat to low and simmer together, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the Parmesan cheese, stir, and simmer until the sauce is smooth, glossy, and has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Add cooked pasta a little at a time to the sauce and mix until fully coated.
Serve with additional grated Parmesan, chopped parsley and red pepper flakes.