Spicy Rigatoni Recipe (Carbone Copycat)

It’s not every day that you can experience Carbone’s Italian cuisine, but with this copycat spicy rigatoni recipe, you you enjoy the famous flavors right at home. Creamy, rich, and just the right amount of heat, this homemade spicy vodka sauce is shockingly easy to make right in your own kitchen.

We’ve made this spicy vodka sauce silky smooth, bold, and rich so that every bite of pasta is bursting with flavor. Whether you’re in charge of date night at home or just craving a cozy meal in to make a regular weeknight feel like a special occasion, this pasta dish has you covered.

How to Make Our Spicy Rigatoni Recipe

Ingredients

Process

1. Fill a large pot with water, place over high heat and bring to a boil. Add a small handful salt to water and add pasta. Cook pasta, stirring occasionally, until soft with a small ‘bounce’, 8-9 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1/3 cup pasta water, and set both aside.
2. Place a large skillet over medium heat. Once skillet is hot add oil.

3. Sauté onion and garlic for 2 to 3 minutes, or until aromatics begin to slightly caramelize. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add tomato paste and stir together. Continue to stir until paste turns bright red, 2 to 3 minutes.

5. Deglaze skillet with vodka and stir together until vodka evaporates. Stir in crushed chili peppers and cook for 1 minute. Add reserved pasta water to skillet and stir together until smooth, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Stir in crushed tomatoes. Simmer for 5 minutes.

7. Stir cream into sauce until mixture is smooth. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer together, about 3 to 4 minutes.
8. Stir in Parmesan and butter and continue to simmer until sauce is smooth, glossy and has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, 2-to 3 minutes.

9. Add cooked pasta to sauce and toss together until fully coated. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with more grated Parmesan, basil leaves and crushed red pepper flakes, if using. Serve.

Variations

While we recommend making this recipe as written for the most authentic flavor, it’s incredibly forgiving and easy to adjust to fit your tastes and what you have on hand. Try some of these substitutions or variations if you need:

• If you can’t find Calabrian chili’s, swap them out for:
  • Calabrian chili paste: The paste could be more concentrated, so start with one to two tablespoons and adjust as needed.
  • Harissa paste: has a smokier flavor, but still adds a kick of spice.
  • Crushed red pepper flakes: easier to find and adds a gentle spiciness to the dish. Since chili pepper flakes are more spicy by volume, start with just one to one and a half teaspoons and add more as needed.
• For a dairy-free spicy rigatoni:
  • Swap heavy cream with equal parts coconut cream, unsweetened plain oatmilk, or a homemade cashew cream (soaked and softened cashews blended with a tablespoon or two of water).
  • Swap the Pecorino Romano cheese with a plant-based parmesan cheese substitute or a quarter to half the amount of nutritional yeast.
• For a gluten-free spicy riagatoni, swap regular pasta with a gluten-free variety including an alternative like chickpea, brown rice, or edamame pasta.
• Swap rigatoni for another small noodle like penne, ziti, or elbow noodles.
• Make this sauce alcohol-free by substituting chicken or vegetable broth for the vodka.

Why We Love This Spicy Rigatoni Recipe

• Restaurant quality at home: We love making restaurant quality dishes at home (just try our Zuppa Toscana or Chicken Gnocchi Soup), and this Spicy Rigatoni is no different. You can enjoy the flavors of the famous Carbone recipe without leaving your home (or spending a pretty penny).
• An easy way to elevate any meal: This dish is quick and easy enough to make on a weeknight but special and impressive enough to whip up for a date night in.
• Simple but flavorful: Peppers, tomato, cream, and cheese do the heavy lifting in this sauce, while simple additions like onion, garlic, vodka, and butter add the extra layers of complexity.

What To Serve with Our Spicy Rigatoni

To round out the rich and spicy flavors of this pasta dish, consider serving it with one of these sides:

• A crusty french bread with garlic dip or garlic bread
• A simple green salad
• Simple roasted veggies like green beans or broccoli
• A meaty main such as grilled ribeye, crispy chicken thighs, or lamb chops

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers

Storing

You can store the sauce seperately from the pasta if you’re making this recipe ahead of time or combine the two and store together if you have leftovers.

To store, let the sauce (or pasta combined with sauce) cool completely, then store it in an airtight container for up to four days.

We don’t recommend freezing this sauce as the cream may seperate when thawed, altering the smooth and creamy consistency you want.

Reheating

To reheat the pasta sauce (with or without pasta), add it to a skillet over medium-heat with a splash of broth, water, or milk. Stir gently until it’s heated through and the sauce has slightly loosened back to its original consistency.

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