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Pasta Alla Vodka with Spicy Sausage is my newest addiction. The luscious, creamy sauce paired with the spiciness from the sausage, makes for an irresistible dish. When I served it in my house, all I heard “Ummm…this is so good.” I’m serious, this pasta has earned its way into heavy rotation in our house from the first bite!
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Featured below is the simple version of vodka sauce (that comes together in 20 minutes), but if you’re up for a challenge then you can make this Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola (best vodka sauce recipe ever) and incorporate the spicy sausage at the end. While it does take some more time cooking in the oven, I’m sure you’d appreciate the added effort when it comes time to eat it…but obviously, we don’t always have the added time to invest in the kitchen.
Pasta Alla Vodka with Spicy Sausage – An Easy Weeknight Dinner Idea.
In our house, we have a tradition of having takeout dinner once a week. Other then that, I cook everything my family eats. Now, that’s not to say that it’s always a fancy dinner or something that requires a lot of time. Like everyone, sometimes I use shortcuts or make something that can be ready on the fly and just needs to go into the oven.
This was one of those nights when I really didn’t feel like cooking but we already had done our takeout dinner that week and we didn’t want to spend too much money. I had a jar of store-bought vodka sauce in my pantry so I figured I can whip up a quick pasta dish.
But, for those of you who’ve come to know my husband through this blog, obviously, he needs to have meat with his dinner. So I sent him to our local Italian market and asked him to pick up some spicy Italian sausage. All I did was remove the sausage casings, cooked it, added vodka sauce, and then cooked some pasta. I served it and he LOVED it – as did my sons.
He said I have to put it on the blog. He was right, but if I was going to share this dish, I need to make vodka sauce from scratch. So, if this dish finds its way to your family’s rotation then you can thank my husband here; this inclusion was at his urging.
However, by engineering my own sauce the result was 10,000 better than the store-bought sauce (go figure). The effort was so worth it, and it just took about 20 minutes. A super quick and super delicious dinner idea for those nights that you want to have dinner on the table quickly and don’t feel like standing in the kitchen for too long.
How to Make Pasta In Vodka Sauce with Spicy Sausage
This is not intended to replace the recipe itself. I just want to show you what you’ll need to gather in order to make this recipe. Scroll down to the recipe card for exact measurements, instructions, and nutritional information.
First, gather all the ingredients that you will need to make this pasta alla vodka sauce recipe:
- Pasta of your choice: it can be penne for a classic penne alla vodka or any short pasta. I used fancy bow ties here but the choice is yours. I do prefer a shorter pasta over a long one like spaghetti, as I really appreciate when the sauce gets into the nooks of the pasta, but again the choice is yours;
- Onions;
- Garlic;
- Dry Oregano;
- Vodka;
- Chopped Tomatoes;
- Heavy Cream;
- Parmesan Cheese;
- Salt and pepper;
- Spicy Italian Sausage;
- Fresh parsley, for garnish.
Here are the simple steps to follow in order to make this recipe:
Step 1: Heat up a deep skillet and add olive oil. Then add chopped onions and cook until translucent, for 2-3 minutes. Then add garlic and dry oregano and cook for another minute;
Step 2: Add vodka and let it cook for about 5 minutes until almost all vodka has evaporated;
Step 3: Add tomatoes, a pinch of salt and pepper, cover and cook for 10 minutes;
Step 4: In a separate skillet, heat up a tablespoon of olive oil. Remove sausage from casing and add to the frying pan. Break the sausage with a wooden spoon and cook until fully cooked and some pieces are crispy on the edges;
Step 5: In the meantime, bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta according to instructions;
Step 6: Once your tomatoes are cooked, transfer them to a blender and blend until smooth. You may need to do this in a few batches. Caution: don’t fill your blender with the sauce more than a third of the way up your blender because you don’t want to burn yourself;
Step 7: Once your sauce is blended, return it to the pan, add cream, mix well and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Then turn off the heat and add shredded Parmesan cheese, check for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper;
Step 8: Put everything together: add sausage and pasta to the sauce and mix well (you may want to leave a little bit off sausage to place on top for garnish). Either serve from a pan directly or transfer the whole dish into a serving plate, garnish with some more sausage and parsley. Enjoy!
How to Alter This Recipe for Pasta Alla Vodka
Here are a couple of options if you want to alter this recipe:
- If you prefer not to use alcohol, simply skip it and you will have creamy, tomato pasta with spicy sausage;
- If you’re not a fan of spicy sausage, use sweet one or even just ground turkey and season it yourself;
- Or skip the sausage all together for a vegetarian classic pasta alla vodka.
What to Serve This Pasta with
This pasta is a meal on its own, but you can have a nice appetizer before like:
Or you can serve it with a nice salad on a side like:
- Best Greek Salad
- Panzanella Salad
- Or any of the salads from this post: 35 Amazing Detox Salads
Equipment Needed to Make this Pasta Alla Vodka Recipe
- Deep Saute Pan
- Frying Pan
- Blender
- Cheese Grater
- Set of Knives
- Cutting Board
Other Pasta Recipes You May Like
- Easy Shrimp Scampi Spaghetti
- Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola
- Parmesan Spinach Orzo
- Burrata Pasta with Lemon Basil Pesto
- Cauliflower Pasta Bake with Brie and Fontina
Pasta Alla Vodka with Spicy Sausage
Ingredients
- 3/4 lb Dry Pasta preferably short
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 Onion medium, chopped
- 2 tbsp Butter unsalted
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 cup Vodka
- 1 can Chopped Tomatoes (28 oz.)
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese shredded
- 0.5 lb Spicy Italian Sausage (about 3-4 links)
- 1/4 teaspoon Dry Oregano
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat up a deep skillet and add butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Then add chopped onions and cook until translucent, for 2-3 minutes. Then add garlic and dry oregano and cook for another minute;
- Add vodka and let it cook for about 5 minutes until almost all vodka has evaporated;
- Add tomatoes, a pinch of salt and pepper, cover and cook for 10 minutes;
- In a separate skillet, heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Remove sausage from casing and add to the frying pan. Break the sausage with a wooden spoon and cook until fully cooked and some pieces are crispy on the edges;
- In the meantime, bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta according to instructions;
- Once your tomatoes are cooked, transfer them to a blender and blend until smooth. You may need to do this in a few batches. (Caution: don't fill your blender with the sauce more than a third of the way up your blender because you don't want to burn yourself);
- Once your sauce is blended, return it to the pan, add cream, mix well and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Then turn off the heat and add shredded Parmesan cheese, check for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper;
- Put everything together: add sausage and pasta to the sauce and mix well (you may want to leave a little bit off sausage to place on top for garnish). Either serve from a pan directly or transfer the whole dish into a serving plate, garnish with some more sausage and parsley. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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This looks so tasty! The perfect comfort food for a cold winter night!
Thanks Danielle.
Love pasta alla vodka! And the addition of sausage here is yummy!
Thanks Suzy
I have never tried pasta with vodka in it, but this looks so comforting.
It’s super delicious. You should try 🙂
Vodka and Cream with pasta is a combo made in heaven. Love the look of your pasta. Slurrp.
I couldn’t agree more 🙂
For some reason, I don’t ever make pasta alla vodka but I know it’s tasty and can imagine the addition of sausage makes it extra comforting.
It is very comforting ;0
Everything about this recipe says “dinner” to me – it’s easy, delicious, and beautiful!
Thanks Debi!