Vodka Rigatoni

This vodka rigatoni recipe is made with a quick and simple homemade vodka sauce and is a great way to switch up your normal pasta night recipe. 

Vodka rigatoni is going down today, as in rigatoni with VODKA in it! Don’t freak out—I promise you can’t taste it. I’m sure most of us have had store-bought vodka sauce before, right? It wasn’t until recently that I checked the ingredients and noticed there’s actual vodka in it. I know, it says it right in the name, but I never thought you could pair vodka with tomatoes. I blame my narrow-minded view of vodka on college, but that’s a whole other topic. 

Growing up, we ate pasta at least once a week. It was a quick and easy dinner, and I still view pasta that way today. However, sometimes Miguel and I get tired of eating pasta with regular red sauce, and when that happens I know it’s time to switch it up. 

This vodka rigatoni recipe is so simple and so good thanks to the homemade sauce. I hope you love it as much as we did!

VODKA RIGATONI INGREDIENTS

• olive oil
• garlic
• crushed tomatoes
• milk
• vodka
• parsley
• salt
• red pepper flakes
• parmesan cheese 

HOW TO MAKE RIGATONI WITH VODKA SAUCE

Like I mentioned, you’re going to make the sauce and while the sauce is simmering, you’ll cook the pasta. 

Step 1: add olive oil and garlic to a dutch oven or large pot and stir for 2 minutes over medium heat or until the garlic is fragrant. 

Step 2: pour in the crushed tomatoes, milk and vodka and stir to combine. Make sure to get crushed tomatoes vs. diced tomatoes if you can, and I prefer the fire roasted tomatoes because I think they add a little more flavor. Last, stir in the parsley, salt and red pepper flakes and then place a lid on the pot and simmer the sauce for 15 minutes or so. 

Step 3: While the sauce is simmering, bring a separate pot of water to a boil and then cook the pasta. 

Step 4: By now the sauce should be good, so you can add the cheese in slowly and stir. You can either leave the sauce as-is, or, if you want the sauce to be super smooth like I did, use an immersion blender to blend the sauce until it’s smooth. Alternatively, you can pour the sauce into your blender and blend until smooth. 

The final step is to pour the sauce over the pasta, top it with extra cheese and red pepper flakes and EAT UP! Remember, if you make this recipe within the month of April 2019 and tag me on Instagram, you’ll be entered into a drawing to win an Amazon gift card. 

OTHER ALMOND EATER PASTA RECIPES:

• bacon parmesan pasta
• tomato spaghetti squash pasta
• garlic zucchini noodle pasta 

Vodka Rigatoni

This vodka rigatoni is made with a simple vodka sauce and is a great way to switch up your regular pasta night.

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 2 -4

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 2 cans crushed tomatoes fire roasted*
• 2 cups milk of choice
• 1 oz. vodka
• 1/2 tsp parsley
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 cup parmesan cheese
• 2 cups rigatoni pasta

Instructions

• Add oil and garlic to a dutch oven or large pot and stir for 2 minutes or until garlic is fragrant.
• Then, strain the liquid from the cans of tomatoes and add just the tomatoes, milk and vodka to the pot and stir to combine; last, stir in the parsley, salt and red pepper flakes, place a lid on top and simmer sauce for 15 minutes.
• While sauce is simmering, cook the pasta in a separate saucepan.
• Once the sauce is done, slowly add in the cheese and stir until it's melted. Then, use an immersion blender to blend the sauce until it's smooth. Alternatively, you can pour the sauce into a blender and blend it up that way.
• Pour sauce over top of cooked pasta, then add extra parmesan cheese and/or red pepper flakes to taste.
• Serve pasta with broccoli steaks as a side (optional but so, so good).
• Enjoy!

Notes

*If you can't find fire roasted crushed tomatoes, use fire roasted diced tomatoes. Fire roasted adds more flavor! Also, make sure to drain the excess liquid from the cans; otherwise, the sauce may be too water-y. 

Course: dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: pasta

Author: Erin