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Rigatoni alla Vodka

Olive Garden Rigatoni alla Vodka

$14.99 880 cal Buy One Take One

Rigatoni tossed in our homemade creamy vodka sauce, made with tomatoes, cream, and parmesan. (V) Vegetarian Option With Buy One Take One, you can enjoy this delicious entrée today, and choose another Buy One Take One entrée for later. We freshly prepare and chill your second entrée so it's ready to take home. Second entrée does not include soup, salad or breadsticks. No substitutions please.
Olive Garden Menu View on OliveGarden.com

About This Dish

Rigatoni alla Vodka at Olive Garden is a Buy One Take One menu pasta priced at $14.99, featuring rigatoni tossed in a homemade creamy vodka sauce made with tomatoes, cream, and Parmesan. The dish delivers 880 calories with 46 grams of fat and just 950 milligrams of sodium — notably the lowest-sodium pasta sauce dish on the Buy One Take One menu. It is listed as a vegetarian option. The vodka sauce is a classic Italian-American preparation where vodka is used as a chemical solvent to release fat-soluble flavor compounds from tomatoes that cream alone cannot extract, creating a sauce that is simultaneously bright and rich.

The Buy One Take One format at Olive Garden means guests can enjoy the Rigatoni alla Vodka at the restaurant and receive a second entrée to take home chilled, ready to reheat. At $14.99 for two entrées, the value proposition is significant. The rigatoni shape is ideal for this sauce because the large tubes capture the cream-tomato sauce both inside and on the ridged surface, delivering consistent flavor with every forkful.

Nutrition Facts

Per serving

880 Calories
46g Total Fat
950mg Sodium

* Nutritional values are approximate and may vary. Last updated March 2026.

How to Copycat Olive Garden Rigatoni alla Vodka at Home?

Prep: 10 min Cook: 25 min Total: 35 min Easy

A genuinely good vodka sauce at home comes down to one principle: cook the tomatoes long enough in the olive oil and garlic base before adding any other liquid. This initial concentrated cooking drives off the raw tomato flavor and produces a sweet, deeply savory tomato base that gives the final sauce its restaurant-quality depth.

The vodka in this copycat recipe does something important: it dissolves both water-soluble and fat-soluble flavor compounds from the tomatoes simultaneously, which cream alone cannot do. This is why vodka sauce tastes more complex and complete than a regular tomato-cream sauce made without it. The vodka flavor itself cooks off within 2 minutes of simmering; what remains is solely the improved flavor integration.

Ingredients

4 servings

Vodka Sauce

Pasta

Instructions

0 / 5

  1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for 90 seconds until fragrant.

    2 min

  2. Add crushed tomatoes. Cook over medium-high heat for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes deepen in color and most of the liquid reduces.

    8 min

    This long tomato-cooking step is what separates a good vodka sauce from a mediocre one. Do not rush it.

  3. Pour in vodka. Let it cook vigorously for 2 minutes to reduce and release the volatile alcohol.

    2 min

  4. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add heavy cream and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened.

    5 min

  5. Remove from heat. Stir in Parmesan in batches until smooth. Season with salt. Toss with cooked rigatoni and serve topped with fresh basil.

    5 min

Pro Tips

  • Use good quality crushed tomatoes — San Marzano is recommended for their lower acidity and natural sweetness.
  • Do not skip the 2-minute vodka reduction step. Rushing this leaves a residual alcohol sharpness in the sauce.
  • The Parmesan addition off-heat is critical. Hot simmering sauce causes Parmesan to clump and turn grainy rather than melting smoothly.

Variations

With Italian Sausage

Brown 0.5 lb of crumbled Italian sausage before making the sauce. Remove and use the sausage fat as the cooking fat. Return sausage to the finished sauce.

Spicy Arrabiata Vodka

Increase red pepper flakes to 1 teaspoon for a heat-forward version. Pairs particularly well with penne rather than rigatoni.

Serving Ideas

  • Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water and add a splash if the sauce thickens before serving
  • Top with torn fresh basil and extra Parmesan
  • A glass of Chianti or Barbera d'Asti pairs well with the tomato and cream combination
  • Pairs equally well with penne, ziti, or gemelli if rigatoni is unavailable

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Manicotti pasta filled with a blend of Italian cheeses topped with homemade marinara and melted mozzarella. (V) Vegetarian option With Buy One Take One, you can enjoy this delicious entrée today, and choose another Buy One Take One entrée for later. We freshly prepare and chill your second entrée so it's ready to take home. Second entrée does not include soup, salad or breadsticks. No substitutions please.

$14.99 770 cal

Find Rigatoni alla Vodka Near You

Visit one of Olive Garden's 900+ locations to enjoy the Rigatoni alla Vodka at $14.99.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Rigatoni alla Vodka is $14.99 as part of the Buy One Take One offer. This price includes a second entrée to take home. It may also be available individually at standard menu pricing.
A single serving contains 880 calories with 46 grams of fat and 950 milligrams of sodium — the lowest-sodium pasta entrée among Olive Garden's signature pasta dishes.
The vodka sauce is a tomato-cream sauce made with crushed tomatoes, heavy cream, Parmesan, garlic, and a small amount of vodka. The vodka emulsifies the fat and water-soluble flavor compounds in the tomatoes, creating a sauce that is smoother and more complex than either a pure tomato or pure cream sauce alone.
Sauté garlic in olive oil, add crushed tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Add vodka and cook for 2 minutes to burn off the alcohol. Pour in heavy cream and simmer for 5 minutes until slightly thickened. Stir in Parmesan off heat. Toss with cooked rigatoni and top with extra Parmesan and fresh basil.
The vodka sauce uses a small amount of vodka that is cooked in the pan for several minutes, which burns off most but not all of the alcohol content. Guests with alcohol sensitivity should be aware that trace amounts may remain in the finished sauce, as is common with all wine and spirit-based pasta sauces.