Penne Alla Vodka

This vegan variation is as satisfying as the dairy based cream sauce.

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INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup of vodka
• 1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
• 1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil
• 1 10 oz. container of hummus
• 1 16 oz. box of penne pasta
• Salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Chop the yellow onion, garlic, and fresh basil. Set aside.
2. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pot until shimmering. Sauté onion until soft and translucent. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds.
3. Then, add vodka and allow it to cook for about 2 minutes. This will allow some of the strong alcohol taste to cook off without taking it away completely. Reduce heat to low-medium after the 2 minutes and add your diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, and basil.
4. Bring the sauce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove the sauce from the heat and let rest for 15 minutes.
5. While the sauce is simmering, fill another large pot with water (and a pinch of salt) and bring to a boil. Cook the penne until al dente. Drain the pasta.
6. Once pasta is drained, add the hummus to your sauce and stir in until it is fully combined. It should appear as a bright pink-red. Add salt and pepper and stir in cooked pasta until fully combined.
7. Serve pasta with your favorite vegan parmesan cheese and enjoy!

*The quality of the vodka isn’t super important here, but you definitely taste the difference without it.

*Feel free to rotate different flavors of hummus. I’ve used roasted garlic, classic, lemon, and sun-dried tomato and each one has come out delicious.

*Feel free to also add chopped sun-dried tomatoes (especially smoked sun-dried tomatoes) to this dish or top it with roasted broccoli (as pictured above).

*I originally got the idea to swap out cream and cheese with hummus from Sinful Nutrition. Feel free to check out her variation of penne alla vodka here.