Penne alla Vodka

A lighter version of the Italian favorite. My recipe for Penne alla Vodka has all of the luscious, creamy texture of the original but is completely guilt free!

I’ll be honest, this was a hard one to lighten up. It has been so highly requested on Instagram, so I tried about 3 or 4 variations until I arrived at this magical combination.

Traditional Penne alla Vodka has tomatoes, heavy cream, and parmesan cheese as the base. For lighter cream sauces, I usually rely on a combination of: half and and half to add some richness, almond milk to bulk it up while keeping the points/calories down, and cornstarch to maintain the thickness of a heavy cream.

Well, that went all wrong. The acidity from the tomatoes curdled the milk/cornstarch mixture. So much so that it all separated and became watery and goopy. The worst combination.

I was ready to give up, but then I remembered the trick to my Skinny Alfredo Sauce that makes it creamy, cheesy, and completely emulsified–cream cheese!

Reduced-fat cream cheese adds the creaminess and tang you want in a vodka sauce without worrying about curdling. Add in that grated parmesan, and you have yourself a luxuriously creamy tomato sauce. It rivals any Italian joint’s artery-clogging version!

ingredient alterations

• I don’t know about you, but I like a REALLY creamy vodka sauce. If you prefer the tomatoes to be more prominent, then add less cream cheese.
• The vodka really does add a delightful mouth feel and a little extra something flavor wise, but if you don’t want to use it, veggie or chicken stock should be fine.
• The quality of tomatoes do make a difference. Plum tomatoes are always better, and San Marzano are the best.
• You could omit the sugar, but it cuts through the sometimes tinny flavor of canned tomatoes.

Once your sauce is ready, add in your pasta and simmer it in with the sauce for a few minutes. Add in your reserved pasta water or stock until you get the texture you want.

After the pasta and sauce meld together, you’re ready to serve! If you want the ultimate light Italian dinner, serve this pasta dish along with a side salad, perhaps topped with my Light Caesar Dressing. A match made in heaven!

If you want to bulk up the meal even more, top the pasta with some grilled shrimp or chicken breast. Are you drooling yet?

Many people think that food that looks this good, especially lightened-up versions, take hours and a lot of labor to make. That simply isn’t true.

This pasta dish takes 30 minutes at the most. If you saute or grill up your meat while the pasta is cooking and have that Caesar already waiting in the fridge (it takes like 5 minutes to make, btw), you’ll have a hugely impressive meal waiting for you!

I’d love to hear from you if you make this recipe! It makes my day when you share your pics on Instagram and tag me (@litecravings). Don’t forget to use #litecravingsrecipes to make sure I see it. If I don’t get a chance to scroll through my tags quickly enough, I won’t see your post. I always make a point to look through the hashtags, though, so I’ll see it there.