“What’s your favorite meals?” “Penne alla vodka.” It’s a reflexive response at this degree, and for good motive. The timeless pink sauce holds the right stability of acidity, richness, and tang. It’s comfort meals and elevated Italian delicacies on the same time.
This baked penne alla vodka takes our favorite dish and turns it proper right into a low-lift weeknight meal with simple prep and minimal cleanup. It is made exclusively in a single pan (no boiling pasta individually!) and requires decrease than 10 minutes of preparation—liberating you as a lot as do what you please whereas dinner bakes throughout the oven.
Given that pasta cooks instantly throughout the pan, it absorbs tons of style from the sauce and seasonings. We’ve found that the complete dish feels further cohesive after hanging out throughout the oven collectively versus cooking each factor individually on the vary. Helpful and tasty—it’s a win-win.
Merely Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
Concepts and Strategies for Baked Penne alla Vodka
- Use a high-quality tomato sauce. For many who’re not making your particular person (we didn’t), ensure you choose a latest and flavorful tomato sauce. We like Victoria or Rao’s, every current in bulk at Costco.
- Don’t skip the vodka. We’ve achieved this sooner than out of the misguided notion that the vodka was pointless when the reality is, it is key! It provides a lovely chew and helps emulsify the sauce proper right into a straightforward, cohesive texture. For many who favor to avoid alcohol, you presumably can substitute water and a squeeze of lemon juice.
- Preserve the pasta as submerged as doable all by way of the tactic. There are two events to keep up this suggestion in ideas—in the event you first put the pasta throughout the oven, and in the event you mix it and return it to cook dinner dinner uncovered. A variety of noodles may stick out nevertheless the pasta have to be as lined as doable with liquid to verify they cook dinner dinner accurately.
Substitutions and Variations
- Make it additional cheesy: Add additional mozzarella or dollops of ricotta for a creamier pasta.
- Add completely different greens: Inexperienced peas, roasted eggplant, sautéed mushrooms, or caramelized onions would all be delicious additions. To take care of the ratio of water to pasta applicable, we’d advocate mixing in cooked greens merely sooner than sprinkling on the shredded cheese for the last word 10 minutes of baking time.
- Add protein: We like in order so as to add cooked soy curls to the meal nevertheless you may moreover add grilled hen, hen cutlet, or Italian sausage. As soon as extra, you’ll must cook dinner dinner the protein individually and add them in sooner than sprinkling on the cheese, or serve them on the side with the pasta.
- Add spice: For an arrabbiata sauce, add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of crimson chili flakes with the rest of the seasonings.
Merely Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
Baked Pasta Dinners
For many who avoid alcohol, substitute 1/4 cup water and a tablespoon of lemon juice for the vodka.
To make it dairy-free, use coconut cream and vegan shredded mozzarella.
Add salt to fashion, as a result of the saltiness of varied marinara sauces can differ.
Cook dinner dinner Mode
(Preserve show display screen awake)
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3 cups marinara saucejarred or hand-crafted
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1/3 cup vodka
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2 cups water
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3/4 cup heavy cream or coconut cream
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1 teaspoon freshly flooring black pepper
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1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or dried oregano
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1 pound penne pasta
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2 cups baby spinach
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Saltto fashion
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1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
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1/4 cup chopped latest basil or parsleynon-obligatory
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Preheat the oven to 350°F.
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Combine the liquids and seasonings:
In a 9×13 baking pan, add the marinara, vodka, water, heavy cream, black pepper, and Italian seasoning. Whisk to combine.
Merely Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
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Add the pasta, then spinach:
Gently pour the penne throughout the pan (to avoid splatters) and mix until the pasta is coated in liquid. Use a spatula to straightforward out the very best so the pasta is mainly submerged. Place the spinach in a superb layer on prime.
Merely Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
Merely Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
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Cowl and bake:
Cowl the pan with tin foil and bake for 40 minutes.
Merely Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
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Prime with cheese:
Take away the pan from the oven and uncover. Gently stir the spinach into the pasta. Cool a little bit of pasta and magnificence, together with salt as needed. Stir and straightforward it out as soon as extra, preserving the pasta coated in sauce. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese on prime.
Merely Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
Merely Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
Merely Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
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Cook dinner dinner uncovered:
Cook dinner dinner for 10 further minutes, uncovered. The cheese will soften and the sauce will thicken. Prime with latest basil or parsley and serve.
Retailer any leftovers in an airtight container throughout the fridge for 5 to 6 days. Reheat lined with tinfoil in a 350°F oven, in a small saucepan, or throughout the microwave.
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Merely Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
Vitamin Information (per serving) | |
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256 | Vitality |
6g | Fat |
35g | Carbs |
8g | Protein |
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Vitamin Information | |
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Servings: 4 to 6 |
|
Amount per serving | |
Vitality | 256 |
% Every day Value* | |
6g | 8% |
Saturated Fat 2g | 12% |
13mg | 4% |
736mg | 32% |
35g | 13% |
Dietary Fiber 4g | 15% |
Full Sugars 7g | |
8g | |
Vitamin C 5mg | 27% |
Calcium 112mg | 9% |
Iron 2mg | 13% |
Potassium 533mg | 11% |
*The % Every day Value (DV) tells you methods lots a nutrient in a meals serving contributes to a every day meals plan. 2,000 power a day is used for primary food regimen suggestion. |
Vitamin information is calculated using an ingredient database and have to be thought-about an estimate. In circumstances the place plenty of ingredient choices are given, the first listed is calculated for food regimen. Garnishes and non-obligatory parts aren’t included.