30 Minutes

Bring the iconic flavors of Carbone’s Spicy Rigatoni Vodka into your own kitchen with this 30-minute homemade version. With a velvety rich vodka cream sauce that packs a punch, tossed in rigatoni, this dish is a restaurant-worthy indulgence that you can make at home.

Fewer pasta recipes are as popular as the world-famous Carbone Spicy Rigatoni Vodka pasta. 

Carbone is an Italian restaurant chain with a star-studded location in Manhattan. Its clientele includes some of the world’s biggest celebrities and public figures, which means you basically need more than two months of advance notice to get a reservation. 

Carbone is arguably most well-known for its spicy rigatoni vodka. Mario Carbone is actually the inventor of the spicy rigatoni vodka, which is most likely a spin on penne alla vodka. It is an irresistible, spicy, and creamy pasta dish that uses Calabrian chili peppers to bring the heat. 

These red chilies are a staple in many authentic Italian dishes and come with an addicting kick. I would describe it as a mix of cayenne and paprika. Paired with the vodka sauce and seasonings, you’ll get a beautiful-colored, rich pasta sauce

If you love pasta and you love spicy and/or creamy sauces, then you are going to be forever hooked on this recipe. And if you’ve ever waited for an eternity to get into Carbone for this $32 pasta, then you’ll be happy to know that this copycat recipe is almost exactly the same as what you’ll find in New York – all from the comfort of your own home.

How to Make the Best Homemade Spicy Rigatoni Vodka

Trust me, I know this probably just sounds (and even looks!) like a really basic pasta recipe – and to be honest, it almost is. However, if you want to get world-renowned restaurant-quality Spicy Rigatoni Vodka in about 30 minutes, then you’ll understand that it’s worth the hype. 

The best part is it only requires a handful of ingredients and it’s so easy to make!

The process starts by cooking down all your ingredients on a nice and low heat with some good quality olive oil. I like to use fresh Calabrian chili peppers, but if you don’t have any, Trader Joe’s has a really good Italian Bomba Hot Pepper Sauce, which is basically just Calabrian chilies in oil. I’ve used it so many times for a lot of my soups, salads, and even sandwiches. Trust me, it’s spicy, so be careful! 

If you can’t find Calabrian chili peppers, you can use about a tablespoon or so of crushed red pepper. 

Once those ingredients are cooked down, you’re going to add your vodka and tomato paste. This is where all the flavor and texture magic of the dish really happens. Vodka is actually very essential in this sauce and it pretty much gets entirely cooked off, so you don’t have to worry about anyone (of any age) getting drunk off this pasta.

Vodka has a neutral flavor that helps to enhance the other flavors in this vodka sauce, particularly the tomato. It helps to balance the acidity of the tomatoes and adds a subtle sweetness to the sauce. The alcohol in the vodka also helps to break down the tomatoes, which creates a smoother texture and allows the cream to blend in more easily.

In other words, vodka is the reason this Spicy Rigatoni Vodka recipe is so creamy and delicious! 

However, if you have an aversion to vodka or do not want to incorporate it into your pasta, you can use some alternatives, such as:

• White wine
• Gin 
• Tequila
• Cognac
• Fresh water with lemon juice or vinegar
• Chicken or vegetable broth

Then, let your sauce simmer with some heavy cream to really get all those flavors brewing. After a few minutes, vodka will have done its job and cooked off completely. This is when you can add your pasta – and pasta water if you like!

I find that the Spicy Rigatoni Vodka works best with, obviously, rigatoni. However, it also works well with any pasta shape that holds sauce naturally, such as penne, farfalle, orecchiette, etc. (as opposed to spaghetti or linguine). 

Of course, if you want to get as close to the real thing as possible, I highly recommend serving this dish while it’s hot. However, you can definitely store it in an airtight container in your refrigerator for a few days. 

At Carbone, they typically don’t serve this with additional cheese on top, as the star of this dish really is the velvety red vodka sauce. However, you can add some freshly grated parmesan or pecorino-romano to top it off if you’d like.

Just remember that parmesan is a bit salty, so it will take away from the spice of the sauce. I’d recommend tasting your pasta before deciding whether or not you want to add some parmesan or simply reduce the salt you use when making the sauce from the get-go. 

I love to serve my Spicy Rigatoni Vodka pasta alongside my Roasted Hatch Chili Garlic Bread for an out-of-this-world meal. Trust me, you’ll start considering opening your own restaurant when you taste that combo.

Carbone Spicy Rigatoni Vodka

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• Author: Sweta Patel
• Total Time: 30
• Yield: 2 1x

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Ingredients

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• 1 lb Rigatoni boil and drained
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• ½ white onion diced
• 1 Calabrian chili pepper finely minced
• 4 garlic cloves
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• ¼ cup vodka
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup reserved pasta water
• ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese
• salt to taste

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Instructions

1. Season a large pot with olive oil and butter on medium heat. Add the onion. Season with a generous pinch of salt and cook for 5 minutes, cook until onions are softened and translucent.
2. Add the Calabrian chili peppers and garlic and cook for 2 minutes, until fragrant.
3. Add the tomato paste mix to combine with the other ingredients, cook the tomato paste for approximately 5-7 minutes, letting the tomato paste brown on the bottom of the pan. If the pan is drying up, add a little more olive oil.
4. Add the vodka into the pan, and scrape up all golden brown bits from the bottom. Mix all of the ingredients together. Adjust the heat to low and add the heavy cream. Stir until combined and let it simmer on low heat.
5. Add the cooked pasta, 1 cup pasta water and shredded Parmesan to the sauce and stir together. Taste to make sure the levels are salt are to your liking. If you want the sauce to be more “saucy,” add more pasta water. Enjoy immediately.

Notes

• If you can’t find Calabrian chili peppers you can use crushed red pepper, use 1 tbsp.
• If you want a smoother consistency for the sauce, blend the sauce in a blender or use immersion blender.
• This pasta dish works well with certain pastas like rigatoni, shells, not so much with spaghetti or linguine.
• You can use more Calabrian chili peppers for extra heat.
• I have used Trader Joes Bomba sauce which is pretty much fermented crushed Calabrian peppers. But if you can’t find the TJs Bomba sauce, you can use any brand of bottled Calabrian pepper sauce. This can be found in the sauce aisle of the grocery store! 
  

   

• Prep Time: 10
• Cook Time: 20
• Category: dinner, entree
• Cuisine: American

Keywords: carbone pasta, rigatoni pasta, vodka pasta