Penne alla Vodka Recipe with Pancetta

The origins of Penne alla Vodka are shrouded in mystery. However, it’s generally agreed that this dish took off in Italy during the 70’s where it was a popular dish at discothèques—especially in la Riviera Romagnola beachside towns. It’s become an extremely popular dish worldwide, especially in the United States. There is no ‘traditional’ way to make this pasta dish. Here, we show our Penne alla Vodka recipe with pancetta which takes inspiration from the Roman Spaghetti Amatriciana pasta recipe. There, guanciale and onions are used to flavor the tomato sauce.

Why the vodka? Some sources erroneously claim that the alcohol in vodka acts as an emulsifier to help the watery tomato and fatty cream blend into a creamy sauce. However, vodka is not an emulsifier. What the alcohol in the vodka does do is help to release aromas and flavors in the tomato and other ingredients that are not otherwise perceptible to the palate. And mamma mia… does it deliver! Seriously, this sauce is amazing.

Penne alla Vodka—an amazing recipe!

Watch the Video Recipe!

Penne alla Vodka: 2 WAYS!


Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

More video recipes? Subscribe to our YouTube Channel (it’s FREE) and click the bell to get notifications when we release a new video recipe!


How to Make Penne alla Vodka

Our Penne alla Vodka recipe with pancetta (AKA “Italian Bacon”) is a very easy dish to make. Here are the ingredients:

  • pancetta (Italian bacon)
  • onion: we use red, but yellow will work as well as shallots
  • tomato purée (‘passata’): this is a smooth and very sweet product if you choose the right brand
  • heavy cream
  • vodka
  • penne: smooth or ‘rigate’ (with ridges)
  • dry or fresh chili pepper to taste (optional)
  • fine salt to taste

Here are a few additional tips for choosing the best quality ingredients.

Flavia Diamante showing the basic ingredients for our Penne alla Vodka recipe.

What is Pancetta vs Bacon?

Pancetta is pork belly cured with salt, pepper and spices. Unlike bacon (also pork belly) it is never smoked. We prefer to buy our pancetta in slices like thick-cut bacon for this recipe. Then, we slice them into strips. These thinner pieces of pancetta still impart wonderful flavor to the sauce, but aren’t as opinionated as thicker pancetta and guanciale are. You won’t finding yourself chewing chunks of pancetta.

You can use bacon if you prefer it.

Choose Sweet Tomato Products

We never want to use acidic tomatoes to make Italian recipes. However, here it is extra important that the tomato be sweet. Super acidic tomato could cause the heavy cream to curdle a bit, compromising our efforts to make a creamy sauce.

Choose tomato purée (or Italian products that say passata) if you can find a brand that is sweet and made from San Marzano tomatoes.

We almost always reach for Mutti Passata for this kind of sauce. You can find it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/48JNXP8 (affiliate link)

If you don’t have a brand of tomato purée that you trust to be sweet, it is better to buy whole canned tomatoes (again, preferably San Marzano). Remove the seeds and water from the inside of the tomatoes and discard. Then blend the tomatoes into a smooth purée and use that. This is an Italian secret. Italians know that whole canned tomatoes tend to be sweeter than chopped or even some brands of purée.

Check out our article on Best Canned Tomatoes for Sauce!

Prep the Pancetta and Onions (and maybe the Tomatoes)

Mince the onion and slice the pancetta into strips. If you are blending whole canned tomatoes to make the tomato sauce, remove the seeds and water and blend the pulp to a smooth purée. That’s it! Pretty easy prep.

Slicing our pancetta with the Nakano Mito Santoku knife (affiliate link)

Here we are using our Nakano Mito Santoku knife to cut up the onions and pancetta. If you or someone you know are due for a knife upgrade, you can use our affiliate discount code for 🌟 10% off 🌟

🌟 DISCOUNT CODE: Go to https://nakano-knives.com/piattorecipes and use the discount code ‘piattorecipes’ at checkout to get this knife or another Nakano product for 10% off! 🌟 

Fry the Pancetta

Fry the pancetta over medium heat in a dry pan until golden.

Deglaze the fried pancetta!

Add half of the vodka to deglaze the pan and release the pancetta fat from the bottom of the pan so it can flavor our sauce.

Sauté the Onions

Add all of the onions and dry chili pepper to taste (optional). We add about a pinch. This isn’t an Angry Penne, so the goal isn’t to make it super spicy.

Adding chili pepper to taste.

Add the Tomato and Vodka

Once the onions are tender and translucent, it’s time to add the sweet tomato sauce…

Add the sweet tomatoes to the onions and pancetta.

Mix in the Cream

Lower the heat and stir in the heavy cream.. and the vodka! We left half of the vodka to mix with the tomato and cream in order to maximize the alcohol’s ability to extract those hidden tomato flavors. When we deglaze with the vodka, the alcohol is almost immediately burnt off.

Mix the sauce somewhat vigorously right before adding the cooked pasta. Why? We have no emulsifiers in this. Mixing vigorously is one way to blend the cream, bacon grease and tomato into a smooth sauce for the final dish.

Cream and vodka go into the sauce.

Add the drained pasta (cooked to al dente) and quickly combine everything together. Serve!

Add the cooked, drained pasta.
Mix the pasta with the vodka sauce.
Buon appetito!
Recipe from Flavia Diamante! Cheers, Flavia!

Products We Use in the Video (or Recommend)

Amazon Affiliate links:

Other Affiliate links:

  • Nakano Mito Santoku: 🌟 10% off! Use the promo code ‘piattorecipes’ at check-out to get this knife or another Nakano product for 10% off! 🌟

Learn more about why we think this knife is one of the best all-purpose kitchen knives in our guide!

We are affiliates of Nakano and receive a small commission if a purchase is made using our links or discount codes. That said, we only choose accept affiliate partnerships with products we use or believe in.

Nakano Mito Santoku all purpose knife.

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. This means at no extra cost to you, PIATTO may earn a small commission if you click the links and make a qualifying purchase.


More Authentic Italian Pasta Recipes!

Italian Spaghetti with Clam Sauce Recipe
Finally! Restaurant-quality Spaghetti with Clam Sauce that you can easily make at home. Our tested recipe will make it easy.
Italian Pasta with Mussels and Tomato Recipe
A classic Italian Spaghetti with Mussels and Tomato! An easy and economical seafood pasta recipe you can whip up in minutes.
Check out this recipe
Spaghetti Carbonara Recipe
The quintessential dish of Rome. Although Spaghetti Carbonara is one of the most imitated recipes in the world with a multitude of variations, the original recipe calls for just a few ingredients: Italian guanciale (pork jowl or cheek), Pecorino Romano, black pepper and fresh eggs. This recipe uses only traditional ingredients and and is made without the cream, onion or peas often seen in Italian restaurants abroad.

Print

Penne alla Vodka Recipe with Pancetta

Here, we show our Penne alla Vodka recipe with pancetta. Creamy and decadent, this is an unforgettable dish!
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword meat lover, pasta
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 4 people

Equipment

  • 1 pan or skillet large
  • 1 Large Pot for cooking the pasta

Ingredients

  • 18 oz tomato purée or 'passata'
  • .4 cups heavy cream
  • 7 oz pancetta cut into strips
  • 1 small onion yellow or red; minced
  • 2 shots vodka
  • 1 tbsp olive oil if needed
  • 1 pinch fine salt or to taste
  • ¼ tsp red chili pepper (optional) or to taste
  • 11 oz penne or rigatoni

Instructions

Prep the Ingredients

  • Mince the onion.
    1 small onion
  • Slice the pancetta into strips.
    7 oz pancetta
  • If using whole canned tomatoes for the tomato purée, open each one up and discard the water and seeds. Then blend the pulp to a smooth purée.

Fry the Pancetta

  • Fry the pancetta over medium heat in a dry pan until golden. If the pancetta you are using gives off too little fat, you can add a tbsp of olive oil before adding the onion.
    1 tbsp olive oil
  • Add half of the vodka to deglaze the pan and release the pancetta fat from the bottom of the pan so it can flavor our sauce.
    2 shots vodka

Sauté the Onions

  • Add the minced onions and dry chili pepper to taste (optional). We add about a pinch. Cook the onions over low heat under they are tender and translucent.
    ¼ tsp red chili pepper
  • While the onions cook, add the pasta to salted, boiling water. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions for 'al dente' pasta.
    11 oz penne

Add the Tomatoes, Cream and More Vodka

  • Once the onions are tender and translucent, it’s time to add the sweet tomato sauce.
    18 oz tomato purée
  • Lower the heat and stir in the heavy cream
    .4 cups heavy cream
  • .. and the vodka!
  • Cook for a few minutes to blend and heat the ingredients.
    Mix the sauce somewhat vigorously right before adding the cooked pasta. Why? We have no emulsifiers in this. Mixing vigorously is one way to blend the cream, bacon grease and tomato into a smooth sauce for the final dish. Salt to taste.
    1 pinch fine salt

Finish with Penne

  • Add the drained pasta (cooked to al dente) and quickly combine everything together. Serve!
  • Buon appetito!

Video

Notes

Pancetta or Bacon?
Pancetta and bacon are both cured pork belly. Pancetta is not smoked. Use bacon if you prefer, however in Italy pancetta is used.
Sauce not Smooth?
Vodka pasta sauce does not contain emulsifiers—egg or soy lecithin for example. That means that there is no agent to bind the watery tomato sauce with the fats from the cream and bacon. Despite myths to the contrary, vodka is not an emulsifier and does nothing here to help the cream and tomato better blend together.
This sauce is prone to separation over time. To maximize its creaminess, be sure to use sweet (not acidic) tomato sauce. Acid curdles cream. Also, mix the tomato, cream and vodka vigorously before adding the pasta. Like a dressing, this will help the sauce to appear ‘creamy’ when served. 
About the author

Classic recipes from Italy and beyond. Traditional Italian Cooking and Mediterranean Diet recipes!

PIATTO™ Recipes bring traditional Italian food recipes to your table with our tested, step-by-step recipes and videos. You'll find the best Italian recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. Always tested, always delicious.

1 thought on “Penne alla Vodka Recipe with Pancetta”

Leave a Comment

Recipe Rating




Exit mobile version