Penne with sausage in vodka sauce is a creamy Italian-American pasta dish combining mild and hot Italian sausage with a silky vodka-marinara cream sauce finished with Parmesan. The vodka rounds out the acidity of the tomatoes while heavy cream creates a luxurious texture.
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Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the mild sausage links on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake for about 40 minutes, or until fully cooked.
Remove the sausage from the oven, let it cool slightly, then slice into rounds. Set aside.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the hot ground sausage and cook, breaking it apart, until browned.
Add the diced onions and cook until they soften, about 5-7 minutes.
Stir in the puréed garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant.
Add the sliced cooked sausage to the pot and stir to combine with the ground sausage and onions.
Carefully pour in the vodka. Use a long-handled lighter to flambé the alcohol, letting the flames burn out completely. This will cook off the raw alcohol taste.
Once the flames have subsided, season the mixture with red pepper flakes, dried oregano, dried basil, salt, and black pepper. Stir well.
Pour in the marinara sauce and stir to incorporate.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the heavy whipping cream until the sauce turns a uniform pink color.
Stir in the grated and shredded Parmesan cheese until fully melted and the sauce is smooth.
Add the cooked penne pasta to the sauce. If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of reserved pasta water to reach your desired consistency.
Stir everything together until the pasta is well-coated. Let it simmer for a final 1-2 minutes for the flavors to meld.
Store cooled sauce in an airtight container for up to 3 days; reheat gently over low heat with a splash of pasta water to restore consistency. Freeze sauce (without pasta) for up to 2 months.
Yes. Replace the vodka with an equal amount of dry white wine or chicken broth, though vodka's flavor contribution to the sauce will be lost.
The recipe uses sausage links (remove casing and crumble) and ground sausage (already loose). Brown both until fully cooked and no pink remains, about 8–10 minutes total.
Remove the pot from heat before stirring in heavy cream, or temper the cream by slowly whisking in 2–3 tbsp of hot sauce first to equalize temperature.
Yes. Prepare the sauce (sausage, onion, garlic, vodka, tomato, spices) up to 2 days ahead. Add cream and reheat gently on low just before serving with fresh pasta.
Penne is traditional, but rigatoni, fusilli, or fettuccine also work well; choose a shape with ridges or twists to catch the creamy sauce.
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