Back in my single days, there were a few dishes that my then roommate and I used to make regularly because we loved them so much. One of them was penne with vodka sauce. We tried multiple recipes, and finally found…the one. The most magical one. Easy, creamy, a little sweet, with a good spicy twist.
When Josh and I started dating, I sort of filed that dish away mentally as “something I’ll make one day when he’s not around.” Then I forgot about it. I mean, it had a cup of heavy cream in it. Not something he could eat.
Over the last few months, I started craving it again. Then one day I realized, duh, coconut milk would work perfectly for the cream. So I started trying to hunt down the elusive recipe and couldn’t find any that looked right. Luckily, my old roommate has typed it into a Google doc and saved it at one point, so there was no need for tears (it was close).
We have no idea where we got this recipe, but it is, in my opinion, the best vodka sauce of all time. No biggie.
Josh’s response to this dish? “Why have you been holding out on me?!”
Note: To make it vegan, I switch out coconut milk for the heavy cream. Since the coconut milk is naturally sweeter, I omit the sugar from the recipe. Also, I always double the amount of red pepper flakes for a good kick.
Penna With Vodka Cream Sauce
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 2 medium cloves garlic
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (double for extra kick)
- 1/2 c vodka
- 1 c heavy cream
- ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil (about 8 leaves)
- 1/4 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 lb pasta
Cook pasta according to directions, making sure to reserve some of the pasta water.
Process garlic through garlic press into small bowl and stir in 1 tsp water. Heat olive oil and garlic and red pepper flakes in saute pan over medium heat until fragrant but not brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes. Add vodka and simmer 5 minutes longer. Stir in cream, ground black pepper to taste, basil, sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt. At this point you can transfer the sauce to food processor and pulse to a course puree. I actually prefer to leave it a little chunky so I don’t bother to do this. Return sauce to pan and simmer over medium heat to thicken for about 2 to 3 minutes. Add a small amount of pasta water to add flavor.
Serve over pasta and enjoy!
(We would usually drink our beloved lemon drops with this)
lollingabout 
This looks great! My little guy (not quite 2) has been diagnosed with a dairy and egg allergy – but I could totally do this with coconut milk. Brilliant. Do you used canned coconut milk? Or do you use like the coconut milk beverage that is not so coconutty tasting? Thanks for this!! I wll try it soon.
I use the canned coconut milk for anything calling for cream/half and half. I really like Thai Kitchen or Trader Joe’s. I’m not a huge fan of the coconut milk beverage. Sometimes I’ll use it in baking for recipes that call for milk, but more often I just chill a can of coconut milk and use the water part instead. Hope it helps! Good luck!
Mmm, I think I’ll have to try this! I’m not vegan but the coconut milk version also sounds good. Perfect for just before Easter as well (I live in Greece and many people fast). Thanks for sharing!
I was looking at your carbonara sauce and for the Parmesan cheese, you might be able to use pecorino as that is sheeps milk, and not cows milk. People who are dairy intolerant, might be able to use the pecorino.