This Carbone copycat spicy rigatoni is rich, creamy, and loaded with bold heat from Calabrian chilis. Easy enough for a weeknight meal, but impressive enough for any special occasion.
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
- 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.
- Place a large skillet over medium heat. Once skillet is hot add oil.
- Sauté onion and garlic for 2 to 3 minutes, or until aromatics begin to slightly caramelize. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add tomato paste and stir together. Continue to stir until paste turns bright red, 2 to 3 minutes.
- 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.
- Stir in crushed tomatoes. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Stir cream into sauce until mixture is smooth. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer together, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- 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.
- 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 (so