Healthy Penne Alla Vodka

Published by: Tyler Marino | 11/27/2024 |

Last updated: 11/27/2024

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Healthy Penne Alla Vodka is easy to make and high protein (20g per serving!) You’d never know this creamy sauce has blended cottage cheese.

Healthy Penne Alla Vodka in a white bowl topped with fresh herbs and a fork on the side.

Sunday pasta dinners are a staple in our family. We usually have homemade beef meatballs and sausage slowly simmered in a tomato sauce but we like to switch things up every now and again and this healthy penne alla vodka is a new addition we love.

This healthier penne vodka recipe is easily made in 30 minutes with less than 10 ingredients and is secretly high in protein.

It sounds odd, but we blended cottage cheese and tomatoes together for a silky smooth cheesy pasta sauce!

We love to add baked chicken cutlets, pan seared shrimp, or crumbled sausage to this recipe as well which provides even more protein and flavor.

Healthy Penne Alla Vodka in a white bowl on a grey background.

why you’ll love this recipe

Easy to make – We love simple recipes with just a few ingredients that are readily available in our pantry and supermarkets. This recipe comes together in 30 minutes and can be enjoyed as a pasta Sunday dinner or a quick weeknight meal for the family!
Versatile – This recipe is easily modified to increase the amount of protein and even vegetables. Top it with your favorite crumbled sausage, pan seared shrimp, or crispy baked chicken cutlets. Take a handful of spinach and blend it with the cottage cheese and tomato sauce to hide some nutrition in a silky smooth cottage cheese pasta sauce. Use your favorite gluten free or whole wheat pasta instead of organic semolina pasta.

Ingredients:

crushed tomatoes – our favorites are Bianco di Napoli and Tuttorosso
cottage cheese – we recommend 4% milk fat
penne pasta – you can also use rigatoni, ziti, cavatelli
extra virgin olive oil – make sure to use a high quality oil, we like Bono and Garcia de la cruz
onion
garlic
vodka OR ½ teaspoon white wine vinegar – helps give the dish some acidity without the vodka
sea salt, black pepper
dried basil OR fresh basil works great
parmesan cheese
pasta water – reserve some starchy pasta water when draining your pasta

Substitutions

Crushed Tomatoes: You can also use canned/jarred tomato sauce or whole tomatoes. Since we are blending this sauce, they will be smooth regardless. Make sure to use tomatoes, not pasta sauce.

Cottage Cheese: We like to use the 4% milk fat cottage cheese but feel free to use any cottage cheese that is available to you. Try to avoid ones with gums/stabilizers in the ingredients list.

Pasta: We used organic semolina pasta in this recipe but you can use whole wheat pasta or gluten free pasta. Please note that gluten free pasta may not create the same effect of starchy pasta water so the sauce could loosen a little. You can use this sauce on any type of pasta shape you like! We love these homemade Ricotta Cavatelli.

Olive Oil: Extra virgin olive oil is ideal for this recipe but you could substitute it for avocado oil, or grass fed butter.

Vodka: If you want to avoid the alcohol in this recipe, you can swap vodka with a 1/2 teaspoon of white wine vinegar to give the dish a nice balance of acidity and sweetness.

Herbs and Spices: Dried basil is good, but the flavor of fresh basil will absolutely bring this recipe some incredible aromatic flavor. You can sub the dired basil for 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves. Add some crushed red pepper or chili oil for a little kick!

How to Make Healthy Penne Alla Vodka

Tomato, cottage cheese mixture blended in a blender.

Blend tomatoes and cottage cheese on high until smooth.

Vodka pasta sauce in a white bowl on a grey background.

Set aside while you cook your pasta until al dente (follow the directions on the box). Important: Reserve ¼ cup of pasta water before draining

Penne Vodka Sauce in a sauce pan on a grey background.

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until softened. Add vodka and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in tomato mixture and spices and simmer.

Penne pasta on top of vodka sauce in a saucepan on a grey background.

Once cooked, add your pasta to the sauce.

Healthy Penne alla Vodka in a saucepan on a grey background.

Remove from the heat and stir in parmesan cheese and reserved pasta water until pasta is fully coated. Serve with cooked chicken, sausage, or shrimp for added protein.

Pro Tip:

Skip the alcohol Swap the vodka for 1/2 teaspoon of white wine vinegar, this gives your sauce the same balance of acidity and sweetness once the vinegar cooks off and combines with the other ingredients.

Always reserve a bit of your starchy pasta water when making sauces. The combination of starchy pasta water and fats like butter and olive oil allows you to create a smooth and creamy sauce as they meld together.

What to Serve with this Recipe:

A loaf of crusty bread, some baked chicken cutlets, or a delicious side salad would be amazing additions to serve with this recipe. Here are a few of our favorites: Spinach Salad, Baked Chicken Breasts, Arugula Salad.

Healthy Penne Alla Vodka in a white bowl topped with fresh herbs.

Storage

Storing: This healthy vodka sauce will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container.

Freezing: I don’t recommend freezing pasta, when it’s reheated after freezing it will get soggy and mushy. We haven’t tried freezing this sauce, but I wouldn’t recommend it. I think it will separate when you reheat it from frozen.

If you need more freezer friendly recipes check out our Fill Your Freezer Ebook with 22 easy freezer meals!

Reheating: You can reheat this recipe in the microwave or on the stove.

This healthy penne alla vodka is made with extra protein using creamy blended cottage cheese. The sauce is delicious and so easy to make!

Prep Time : 10 minutes

Cook Time : 20 minutes

Total Time : 30 minutes

Serves : 6 1.5 cup servings

(hover over # to adjust)

Ingredients

28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
1 cup cottage cheese we recommend 4% milkfat
1 pound dry penne pasta you can also use rigatoni, ziti, cavatelli, etc
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup diced onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic about 3 cloves
2 tablespoons vodka or ½ teaspoon white wine vinegar
⅛ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon dried basil leaves or ¼ cup of fresh chopped basil
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup pasta water

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for your penne pasta.
While the water is coming to a boil, blend tomatoes and cottage cheese on high for 30 seconds or until smooth. This should result in a smooth, creamy pink sauce. Set aside.
Add olive oil to a saute pan and preheat over medium heat for about 3 minutes.
While the pan is heating up, finely chop onions and garlic.
Add the onions and garlic to the pan and saute on medium low heat for 3-5 minutes or until softened and translucent.
Add 2 tablespoons of vodka to the onions and garlic and cook down until the smell of alcohol has dissipated, about 5 minutes.
Add your tomato/cheese mixture, salt, pepper, and basil to the pot. Stir together and simmer on medium heat.
While the sauce is simmering, add your penne pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente, review the instructions on the back of your box of pasta.
Important: While pasta cooks, reserve ¼ cup of pasta water before draining
Once cooked, drain your pasta and add to the sauce.
Remove the pan of sauce from the heat. Add parmesan cheese and reserved pasta water, stirring together until a smooth sauce forms and your pasta is coated.
You can serve with cooked chicken, sausage, or shrimp for added protein.

Notes

Make sure your pasta is cooked al dente, this allows the pasta to absorb some of the sauce and flavor while not getting mushy.
Reserving pasta water and adding to our sauce helps build a nice creamy texture from the use of the starchy pasta water.
Storage: You can store this recipe for 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Nutrition Facts