Vegan Penne alla Vodka

Vegan Penne alla Vodka aka pasta with creamy tomato and vodka sauce.

This extra creamy vodka sauce is quick and easy to make, using only a few simple ingredients. It’s delicious, luscious, and full of amazing flavors. The combination of vodka, tomatoes and cashews creates the perfect hearty and rich sauce. Penne alla Vodka makes for an awesome, effortless weeknight dinner.

Penne alla Vodka is one of the most popular pasta dishes in the US. If you are from the US or Italy you probably grew up eating it a lot. It’s just one of those classic comfort foods that everybody loves.

However if you are not from the US or Italy, it’s probably your first time hearing of this dish. In that case, let me introduce you to the creamiest pasta recipe ever: Penne alla Vodka.

Basically if you like lush and flavorful pasta dishes, that are also easy to prepare, you will 1000% love this recipe.

Vegan Penne alla Vodka is….

• Quick and easy to make
• Full of flavor
• Creamy and rich
• Comforting and satisfying
• Healthy
• Vegan and vegetarian
• Dairy-free and soy-free
• Optionally gluten-free and nut-free
• Freezer-friendly
• Perfect as a weeknight meal

Sounds good? Then let’s make Vegan Penne alla Vodka!

How to make Vegan Penne alla Vodka?

Making this simple recipe is totally easy and fool-proof!

You start with cooking pasta in salted water according to package instructions. Then drain and set aside.

While pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce. Sauté some diced onions in a skillet with olive oil. Once translucent, add garlic, red pepper flakes, and tomato paste, and cook together for another minute, until everything smells amazing, and the tomato paste starts to get caramelized.

At this point you add canned tomatoes. Then comes a quick stir, a little salt and pepper, and another 5 minutes of cooking.

Then you pour vodka to the sauce, and let it cook on for about 2 minutes.

Now simply transfer the sauce with soaked cashews and nutritional yeast to a blender, and blend until silky smooth. Or skip this step if you prefer a chunky sauce.

All that’s left is mixing the sauce together with the cooked pasta, and serving it immediately.

Easy, isn’t it?

---

Why vodka?

Cooking with vodka works similarly to cooking with wine. It enhances aroma and flavor without giving a lot of extra taste. Vodka in this recipe makes the tomatoes taste more intense, sweet, and even savory.

You don’t have to worry about the vodka here, most of the alcohol will evaporate while cooking. However if you want to completely avoid alcohol, feel free to omit it entirely in this recipe. The tomato sauce will still taste amazing, it’s just not gonna be a vodka sauce.

If you don’t want to use cashews…

If you have a nut allergy, or just trying to avoid cashews for ethical reasons you can totally omit them here.

Simply use soaked almonds or macadamia instead of cashews. Using sunflower seed is another great, budget-friendly option.

Or you can also add silken tofu to your blender instead of the soaked cashews.

Store-bought vegan heavy cream works here really well too.

And my personal favorite is canned coconut milk. It might sound weird at first, but canned coconut milk, tomatoes and vodka make an incredible sauce together. Try it!

Storing leftovers

If you have any leftover, you can simply store it in an air-tight container in the fridge for a couple of days. Then just eat it cold, or quickly reheat it in the microwave or on the stove top.

This vodka sauce freezes really well, so you can totally store some in your freezer for extra quick meals. I like to keep mine in little containers or silicon bags, then simply mix with freshly cooked pasta.

CUSTOMIZE IT THE WAY YOU LIKE IT!

This Vegan Penne alla Vodka tastes really good! It’s rich, savory, slightly sweet, and incredibly satiating, with the creamiest texture ever. However it’s also a super flexible and customizable recipe, so you can totally play around with it!

• Choose your favorite pasta! As the name suggests, penne is the most popular option. But farfalle, cavatelli, fussili, or orecchiette work really well too. Use gluten-free, whole wheat, or legume based pasta, if you like.

• Making it oil-free? Simply omit the olive oil, and sauté onion in a non-stick skillet with a little water or vegetable broth.

• Don’t have diced tomatoes at home? Canned whole or crushed tomatoes work perfectly as well. You can also use fresh tomatoes, if you prefer. Cherry tomatoes are especially delicious here.

• Add extra vegan cheese to the sauce! Or on top of the pasta.

• Play around with the ingredient ratios! Use more garlic and chili for extra flavor, add more cashews for creaminess, or double the tomato paste for more sweetness and intensity.

• Keep some texture! You can totally keep your sauce chunky, if you prefer.

• Add extra crunch or protein to your pasta! For crunch I like toasted and chopped nuts, such as almonds, walnuts, or pine nuts. For extra protein some tofu or vegan chicken works really well.

MORE AMAZING PASTA RECIPES

• Sauerkraut Pasta with Smoked Tofu
• Quick Hummus Pasta
• Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Roasted Zucchini
• Vegan Baked Feta Pasta
• Spring Pasta Salad with Asparagus
• Vegan Lemon Miso Pasta
• Spinach and Caramelized Onion Pasta

Print