Take an Italian-American favorite up a few notches by making penne alla vodka with sausage. Loaded with flavorful sweet Italian sausage crumbles and burst cherry tomatoes, this extra-saucy pasta dish has simple steps but feels right at home on your next holiday or Sunday dinner menu.
Classic penne alla vodka was a staple at family parties when I was growing up. We're talking catering-sized trays for a crowd of big eaters, and that was just the side dish for chicken francese. Everyone wore their most comfortable clothing.
Now as an adult I take the liberty to shake things up on the pasta alla vodka front. Calabrian chili peppers bring the right amount of heat to spicy rigatoni vodka, lower-fat dairy products can indeed lighten up vodka sauce without issue, and don't tell anyone but I've been working on cream-less version that uses Greek yogurt and a splash of half-and-half for a shockingly tasty result.
This penne alla vodka with sausage keeps things traditional as far as the sauce goes...with a twist. For starters, the sweet Italian sausage crumbles are a real treat when coated in a silky, creamy vodka sauce. Then two pints of cherry tomatoes are sautéed until bursty and join two other tomato products - tomato paste and crushed tomatoes - for an extra-saucy, extra-hearty pasta dish with an extra-rich flavor.
Sauce lovers like me will be all over this one! Also check out my chicken marsala for another recipe that doesn't skimp on the sauce.
Recipe Ingredients
Italian sausage: I highly recommend using sweet Italian sausage. That basil note in sweet Italian sausage does so much flavor heavy lifting when you compare it to mild Italian sausage. A package of ground sausage meat is easiest, but you can also use link sausages, by removing the filling from the casings.
Penne: Classic for vodka sauce but other varieties that hold onto sauce well can be used, like rigatoni, ziti, cavatappi, lumaconi/lumache, etc.
Crushed tomatoes: I love using crushed tomatoes in my vodka sauces as they provide bulk for a super saucy result without having to rely on adding a bunch of pasta water at the end. If you're curious, I like to buy Tuttorosso, San Merican, or Dei Fratelli, depending upon what's on sale.
Tomato paste: This is added to the onion/garlic in the pan and, for lack of a better term, mushed in to cook for several minutes. This allows some of the natural sugars in the tomato paste to brown and caramelize, bringing a deeper flavor.
Tomatoes: Cherry or grape tomatoes work well for this recipe. I tend to like cherry tomatoes for pasta sauces as they're a bit juicier, but had to go with grape tomatoes when I took these photos and it was no biggie. All good.
Cream: Heavy cream (with minimum milkfat of 36%) is the gold standard, though I've made this penne alla vodka with sausage using regular whipping cream, which has a lower milkfat percentage of 30-36%, wondering if the fat from the sausage would offset a lower-fat cream. It was delicious, naturally, but not quite as luxe and special as the original, so I recommend sticking with heavy cream.
Pecorino Romano: Or Parmesan, whichever kind you like best. Grating from a wedge provides a punchier flavor than sprinkling in a pre-grated variety and melts more efficiently.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Step 1: Cook and crumble sausage in a large pan until fully cooked. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate and wipe out the pan.
- Step 2: Heat olive oil in the pan, then cook onion for 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute, then add the tomato paste for 3 minutes.
- Step 3: Add the cherry tomatoes and cook for 8-10 minutes until bursty.
- Step 4: Add the crushed tomatoes and vodka and bring to a boil, then add back the sausage and simmer for 25-35 minutes. Meanwhile, boil the penne to the al dente timing.
- Step 5: Stir in the cream and Pecorino Romano and cook for several minutes to thicken.
- Step 6: Stir in the basil and cooked pasta until evenly coated, then serve.
Does the alcohol burn off?
Not entirely. The alcohol content will reduce as the sauce simmers, but a 25-35 minute simmer is not long enough to completely remove the alcohol. Using a wide saucepan, leaving the lid open a big crack to allow steam to escape, periodic stirring, and simmering for longer all help encourage alcohol evaporation.
Quick Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Make it spicy. Add several shakes of crushed red pepper or a teaspoon-ish of chopped Calabrian chili peppers along with the tomato paste.
- No fresh basil? Supermarket basil leaves have a knack for turning slimy and gross in no time at all. If this has happened to you and you don't plan to make this sausage vodka pasta right away, consider keeping "lightly dried basil" on hand for garnish-only applications. These little refrigerated tubs from the produce department have a surprisingly good fresh basil flavor, and can stay in the fridge for around four weeks. Use half the amount of fresh (per the packaging).
- Reserve some pasta water...or don't. This sauce has plenty of volume without adding starchy pasta water in case you don't feel like it or forget.
More Pasta Recipes for a Crowd
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Penne alla Vodka with Sausage
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage sweet recommended
- ¼ cup olive oil
- Half of a medium onion diced
- 5 cloves garlic finely minced
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes some halved, some whole
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper more to taste
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup vodka
- 1 pound penne or similar tube shape
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¾ cup finely-shredded Pecorino Romano or Parmesan
- Fresh basil chiffonade to serve (and to taste)
Instructions
- Heat a large sauté pan on the stove over medium heat, then add the ground sausage. Cook, breaking the sausage into smaller crumbles, until the sausage is completely cooked. Transfer sausage to a paper towel-lined plate to set aside, then carefully clean out the pan to be used again.
- Add olive oil to the now-empty pan, still set over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 4 minutes, then add the garlic for 1 minute more. Add the tomato paste to the pan and cook for 3 minutes, mushing it around to work it into the onion and garlic.
- Add the cherry tomatoes to the pan then season with salt and pepper. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring them occasionally as they burst. Near the end of the cook time you can use your wooden spoon or stirring utensil to press them against the side of the pan to help them along.
- Pour in the crushed tomatoes and the vodka. Adjust the heat to bring everything to a boil, then add the sausage back to the pan and reduce the heat to maintain a good simmer for 25-35 minutes. Stir fairly often to prevent sauce and sausage crumbles from sticking and burning along the bottom of the pot. Partially cover the pan to help contain any splatter, but leave a big crack open so the steam can escape and the sauce can thicken.
- Meanwhile, set a large pot of generally salted water to boil, then add the penne. Cook according to the package directions al dente listed time (for my penne, this was 7 minutes). Reserve a ladle or two of the starchy pasta water at the end if you'd like to thin the sauce, but I find it has plenty of volume without.
- Once the sauce has simmered, reduce the heat to low and stir in the cream and Pecorino Romano. Continue to cook for a few minutes, to finish thickening up to your liking. Drain pasta and stir into the sauce along with fresh basil, to taste.
Notes
- Pasta shapes: Other varieties that hold onto sauce well can be used, like rigatoni, ziti, cavatappi, lumaconi/lumache, etc.
- Cream: I've used regular whipping cream and enjoyed it, though naturally it wasn't quite as luxurious. It can be used if that's your preference.
- Leftovers: Refrigerate leftover pasta in air-tight containers for 3-4 days. Portions can also be frozen in this manner for up to 3 months.
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Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as an estimate. As it can vary due to many factors (brands used, quantities, etc.), we cannot guarantee its accuracy.
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