The Dish 

If you’re a pasta fanatic like us, you’re going to love this healthier version of penne alla vodka. Our vodka sauce substitutes the traditional heavy cream with lighter dairy ingredients: low fat milk and plain Greek yogurt. Thanks to the Greek yogurt, we still achieve that ‘creamy’ mouthfeel and rich flavor. We also add a little sriracha to our vodka sauce, giving it a little piquant punch (feel free to remove the sriracha if you are not a fan). Also, if cooking with vodka is not favorable, feel free to use balsamic vinegar instead! The turkey sausage adds a protein boost while the fresh cherry tomatoes help us achieve our veggie goals. If you’re looking for even more veggies, add one of our many side salads to your dinner menu. 

Hacking this Recipe 

Feel free to make the sauce ahead of time, pureeing the simmered tomato sauce with the milk, yogurt, and sriracha, and refrigerating until ready to assemble the pasta dish. The trick with creamy tomato sauces is to not overheat or aggressively simmer, this will cause the sauce to break. Just barely heat the sauce enough so that it, as well as the other ingredients (pasta noodles, sausage, tomatoes, etc…) are just hot or warm enough to serve. When shopping for sausage, we love the precooked Italian turkey or chicken sausages. The fact that they’re already cooked (just needs to be reheated) is a big time saver. 

Ingredients

US CustomaryMetric

• -- -- pan release spray
• 2 tsp.6 ggarlicpeeled and minced
• 1 ½ oz.35 gturkey sausagediced
• ½ tsp.0.5 gItalian herb seasoning
• 1 Tbsp.15 mLvodka or balsamic vinegar
• ½ cup120 mLcanned tomato sauce
• ¼ cup60 mLlow fat milk
• 2 Tbsp.30 gplain low fat Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp.5 mLsriracha
• ½ cup65 gcherry tomatoeshalved
• 1 cup100 gwhole wheat penne pastacooked according to the instructions on the packaging
• 2 tsp.1.5 gparmesan or pecorinograted
• 1 Tbsp.3 gbasilchopped

Preparation Instructions

• radio_button_unchecked Generously grease a nonstick skillet with pan release spray and preheat over medium heat.
• radio_button_unchecked Once the skillet is hot, add garlic and turkey sausage, and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. If you are working with raw turkey sausage, cook the sausage completely, and add the garlic about a minute before the sausage is completely cooked through.
• radio_button_unchecked Season with Italian herb seasoning, stir to combine, and carefully add the vodka to the skillet, deglazing the pan.
• radio_button_unchecked Once the vodka has evaporated, about 30 seconds, remove the sausage from the pan, and set aside on a plate.
• radio_button_unchecked Return the skillet to the heat and add the tomato sauce, bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally until the sauce is hot.
• radio_button_unchecked Transfer the tomato sauce to a blender or food processor and add the milk, yogurt, and sriracha. Puree until smooth.
• radio_button_unchecked Return the skillet to the stove, this time preheating it over low heat. Add the pureed sauce to the skillet, along with the cherry tomatoes, sausage, and cooked pasta noodles. Stir to combine and cook just long enough for the pasta and ingredients to get hot.
• radio_button_unchecked Spoon pasta onto a plate and sprinkle with grated parmesan and chopped basil before serving.