This homemade copycat version of the Cheesecake Factory's Spicy Rigatoni Vodka is creamy and spicy, with pops of salty pancetta and juicy tomatoes. The sauce is incredibly easy to make at home, meaning you can have this pasta on your table in under 30 minutes!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Minimal ingredients: This Cheesecake Factory pasta recipe does not require a long list of ingredients. The sauce requires only three main ingredients, with a few other elements to bring the pasta together.
- Quick on time: This is a 30 minutes or less meal, and it is entirely weeknight dinner-friendly. You can make this in less time than it would take to get seated at your local Cheesecake Factory!
- Just like the restaurant: This recipe tastes as close to identical as possible - what's not to love?
Ingredient Notes
- Rigatoni pasta: Rigatoni is a great pasta shape for this recipe, because the large tubes hold lots of sauce inside. Rigatoni also has ridges on the outside, which is another opportunity for the sauce to stick to the pasta.
- Diced pancetta: Pancetta is cured but not smoked, unlike bacon, which is smoked. Pancetta has a meaty, salty taste but it is not overpowering like regular bacon.
- Grape tomatoes: Grape tomatoes work for this recipe because of their size, and they don't have many seeds like full-size tomatoes.
- Calabrian chilies: Calabrian chilies are one of the key elements of this sauce. You can buy premade chili paste, or you can buy jarred whole calabrian chilies in oil and finely chop them on your own.
- Heavy cream: Heavy cream is sometimes marketed as whipping cream, and it will have a 35% fat content.
A full list of ingredients with measurements is located on the recipe card, below.
Substitutions
- Rigatoni: You can use any tube pasta like penne rigate.
- Pancetta: You can substitute with guanciale or bacon. If you use bacon, you will have a smokier flavor in the sauce, like in this Gigi Hadid copycat pasta.
- Heavy cream: Half and half cream is a suitable substitution.
- Grape tomatoes: Use cherry tomatoes instead. Cherry tomatoes are what the Cheesecake Factory uses, but I find that grape tomatoes are easier to find.
- Vodka: You can omit the vodka altogether and use a splash or chicken broth.
- Calabrian chili paste: Substitute with red chili flakes if you can't find calabrian chilies. You can also chop some fresh fresno chilies.
Variations
- Cheesy: Top this pasta with fresh mozzarella or burrata for an extra rich, creamy twist.
- Extra protein: Serve this spicy rigatoni vodka with Cheesecake Factory's crusted chicken romano for some extra protein and for a restaurant-style crossover.
- Mild: Use less calabrian chilies or omit them altogether for a milder version of this pasta.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep Work Before Cooking
Collecting all ingredients: This will make cooking so much easier. Gather all the spices you will need, and keep them nearby.
Boil water: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, salt it liberally and boil the pasta until al dente.
Render the Pancetta
Add the diced pancetta to a large, cold skillet.
Turn the heat to medium, and let the pancetta fat render while the meat crisps.
Remove the crisp pancetta and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
Saute the Tomatoes
Add the whole grape tomatoes to the same skillet with the remaining pancetta fat.
Once the tomatoes have started to burst, add the minced garlic and saute for 1 minute.
Make the Base of the Sauce
Add the tomato paste and chilies to the skillet, and let them cook through for 1-3 minutes until you start to see the oils come out.
Turn the heat to medium-low, and carefully pour the vodka into the tomato paste mixture, and mix to combine.
Finish the Sauce
Finish the sauce with heavy cream, and salted butter.
Mix until the butter is melted and the sauce is silky.
Toss the Pasta with the Sauce
Transfer the boiled pasta to the skillet with the sauce.
Toss well until the pasta is fully covered in the sauce.
Add pasta water as needed.
Top with Pancetta
Top the pasta with the crisp pancetta before serving.
Expert Tips
Tossing the pasta: I recommend transferring the pasta directly from the pasta water using a spider strainer so that a good amount of pasta water transfers into the sauce with the pasta. This also helps to prevent the pasta from sticking together.
Salt at the end: You will likely not need to add extra salt to the sauce and final pasta dish. The pasta water, pancetta, and butter have more than enough salt to season the sauce. If you find it lacking, season with salt at the end.
Use extra care: Be extra careful when adding the vodka to the sauce, especially if you are using a gas stove. You do not want any accidental flames in the kitchen.
Make Ahead & Storage
- This pasta is very easy to make fresh, so I do recommend making it when you are going to serve/eat it.
- Store leftover pasta in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
- Reheat leftover pasta on the stove on low heat. Thin the sauce out with some water or half-and-half cream if you need to.
Serving Suggestions
- Salads: Pasta always goes well with a delicious side salad. Try this spicy rigatoni with a chopped salami salad, corn and avocado salad, or an avocado Panzanella salad, too!
- Bread: You will want to have bread on the table to mop up the delicious, vodka sauce from this pasta. Some of my favorites are Olive Garden garlic breadsticks, homemade garlic parmesan rolls, black pepper focaccia, or classic ciabatta garlic bread.
- Mains: Serve this pasta as a side to your favorite main dishes. This pasta will go great with chicken al limone, bruschetta chicken, crispy chicken romano cutlets, Olive Garden chicken parmigiana, or grilled caesar chicken.
More Pasta Recipes
Spicy Rigatoni Vodka (Cheesecake Factory Copycat)
Ingredients
- 1 lb Rigatoni pasta
- 4 oz Pancetta - diced
- 2 cloves Garlic - minced
- 1 pint Grape tomatoes - whole
- ¼ cup Tomato paste
- ⅓ cup Vodka
- 1 ½ tablespoon Calabrian chilies - chopped or paste
- ½ cup Heavy cream
- ¼ cup Pasta water - use as needed
- 1 tablespoon Salted butter
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, salt it liberally and boil pasta until al dente.1 lb Rigatoni pasta
- Add the diced pancetta to a large, cold skillet. Turn the heat to medium, and let the pancetta fat render while the meat crisps.4 oz Pancetta
- Remove the crisp pancetta and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Add the whole grape tomatoes to the same skillet with the remaining pancetta fat. Once the tomatoes have started to burst, add the minced garlic and saute for 1 minute.1 pint Grape tomatoes, 2 cloves Garlic
- Add the tomato paste and chilies to the skillet, and let them cook through for 1-3 minutes until you start to see the oils come out.¼ cup Tomato paste, 1 ½ tablespoon Calabrian chilies
- Turn the heat to medium-low, and carefully pour the vodka into the tomato paste mixture, and mix to combine.⅓ cup Vodka
- Finish the sauce with heavy cream, and salted butter. Mix until the butter is melted and the sauce is silky.½ cup Heavy cream, 1 tablespoon Salted butter
- Transfer the boiled pasta to the skillet with the sauce. Toss well until the pasta is fully covered in the sauce.
- Top the pasta with the crisp pancetta before serving.
Lori McKinney says
Very close to actual dish. Good recipe. I would increase amount of sauce. My family likes pasta coated well. I fried up 3 slices of cut up bacon instead of pancetta. Will make again.