Spicy Rigatoni Recipe (Carbone Copycat!)
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If you’ve ever dined at the iconic Italian-American restaurant Carbone in NYC, then you know their famous spicy rigatoni vodka is a must-order. It’s the dish that helped put Carbone on the map – and it lives up to the hype. Their version features perfectly al dente, house-made rigatoni coated in a creamy, spicy tomato sauce with a vivid orange hue that’s as bold as the Hermès logo, and just as luxurious. My homemade version captures that same rich, velvety heat with pantry-friendly ingredients and no reservations required. If you’re craving a restaurant-quality pasta dish you can make at home for a recipe that’s sure to impress.
Why I love this Recipe
- A creamy, spicy, tomato based sauce! Calabrian chilies give it the perfect kick.
- A restaurant favorite (with a difficult to get reservation) made at home!
What is spicy rigatoni sauce?
While some refer to it as a spicy vodka sauce, it’s more than that! (Plus the Carbone spicy rigatoni recipe doesn’t actually use vodka in their sauce). It’s different than other vodka sauces that I’ve had and is definitely spicier. I would describe it as a creamy arrabbiata sauce. After trying the dish at the restaurant I knew that I had to find a way to recreate a similar version of the recipe to satiate my carb cravings.
Restaurant’s like Los Angeles hot spot Jon + Vinny’s have a similar spicy fusili pasta where a similar sauce is served pureed until smooth before it’s tossed with the pasta.
pro tip
Try adding burrata for an extra luxurious version or serve with chicken cutlets for added protein.
What’s in spicy rigatoni sauce?
- Onion soubise (slow simmered onions)
- Garlic
- Whole peeled tomatoes
- Cream
- Calabrian chilies
- Crushed red pepper
What is onion soubise?
My personal mission was to create a comparable dupe sauce to the one I found myself craving. The base of the sauce is an onion soubise, an easy, three-ingredient French sauce. The onions are cooked over a long period of time at a low heat until they become tender and flavorful. It’s classically puréed with cream as an accompaniment to meat such as a seared steak or roast chicken.
I know an hour and a half seems like a long time but it’s not an error. It takes time for the onions to break down! Make the onion mixture a few days ahead of time and reheat when needed in order to minimize the day of prep.
Key Ingredients in This Recipe
- Onions – Yellow onions are a great all purpose cooking onion. I use them in this recipe for the mellow flavor.
- Calabrian chili paste – This spicy mixture is made from crushed and oil-packed Calabrian chili peppers; a smoky and sweet pepper that adds a lot a flavor and just the right amount of spice. Be careful, a little goes a long way.
- Whole peeled tomatoes – Canned whole peeled tomatoes are made with tomatoes that are picked when ripe then cooked and peeled before they are canned and packed in tomato juice or tomato puree.
- Tomato paste – Tomato paste adds a concentrated tomato flavor.
- Cream – While I like the texture and flavor the cream adds, you can simply omit the cream and butter for a dairy-free sauce.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How to make spicy rigatoni
Heat a large sauté pan over low heat. Add the butter, ½ cup of water and the onions to the pan. Continue to simmer the onions over low heat, stirring occasionally, until they are tender, about 1½ hours. Season with salt then set aside and let cool.
In a large pot over medium heat add the olive oil and heat through. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, just a few seconds.
Add the tomato paste, the tomatoes and sugar, stirring to combine. Let simmer for 15 minutes, breaking up any large pieces of tomato with the back of the spoon. Season to taste with salt.
Add the onion mixture to the pot and stir to combine then whisk in the cream, chili paste and chili flakes.
(Optional: blend the sauce or blend half the sauce, if desired for a creamier texture).
Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add the salt and bring back to the boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 8 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water then drain, and return the pasta to the pot.
Ladle the sauce over the top and toss to combine, cooking for an additional minute. If the sauce is too thick, add the pasta water 2 tablespoons at a time to thin the sauce. Serve the spicy rigatoni hot in warmed pasta bowls with grated Parmesan cheese (optional).
Swaps and substitutions
- If you can’t find Calabrian chili paste then I’d recommend finely chopping fire roasted red peppers and stirring them together with crushed red pepper flakes to form a paste. It won’t have the exact same flavor but it will do in a pinch.
- Substitute the rigatoni noodles for another favorite pasta shape. Lumache is another favorite pasta shape for holding the sauce.
- Serve with chicken cutlets like this crispy chicken Milanese.
Blending the sauce
If you like a creamier, silky sauce, then throw all or half the sauce into the blender. This will make the sauce be more similar to the famed pasta dish from Jon & Vinny’s in Los Angeles. I like to blend half the sauce or use an immersion blender to do a quick blend.
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
While they are becoming more widely available (Trader Joe’s Bomba sauce is a good substitute) if you can’t track down Calabrian chili paste then I’d recommend finely chopping fire roasted red peppers and stirring them together with crushed red pepper flakes to form a paste. It won’t have the exact same flavor but it will do in a pinch. If you can only find whole jarred Calabrian chilies, simply remove the stems and finely chop them.
Yes! Slowly cooking them coaxes out the subtle, sweet onion flavor and turns it into a buttery, jam-like consistency. It mellows the harsh flavor of onions. You don’t want caramelized onions for this.
No! You want this sauce to bind to the noodles – this is aided by the addition of the pasta water. Adding oil when cooking the noodles will make them slippery and the sauce won’t stick as well.
Vodka sauce don’t typically have whole tomatoes, the base of the sauce is just tomato paste and cream flavored by shallots, a touch of vodka and red pepper. This creamy arrabbiata sauce (spicy tomato sauce) gets it’s flavor from the slowly simmered onions while the spice comes from the Calabrian chilies and red pepper flakes.
Yes! If you like a creamier, silky sauce, then throw all or half the sauce into the blender. This will make the sauce be more similar to the famed pasta dish from Jon & Vinny’s in Los Angeles. I like to blend half the sauce or use an immersion blender to do a quick blend.
Try my Angry bee pizza with Calabrian chilies and honey, this porchetta, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich with calabrian chili ketchup, spicy Calabrian chili beef ragu or this Italian sloppy Joe.
Other Recipes to Try
If you enjoy this spicy rigatoni recipe, I recommend checking out some of these:
Made this dish? Be sure to rate the recipe and drop a comment below! Your feedback means everything (and helps others find it too)!
Spicy Rigatoni
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Ingredients:
- 2 medium yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Kosher salt, as needed
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons Calabrian chili paste
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 pound rigatoni (or penne, lumache or pipe rigate)
- Grated Parmesan, for serving, as desired
Instructions:
- Heat a large sauté pan over low heat. Add the butter, ½ cup of water and the onions to the pan. Continue to simmer the onions over low heat, stirring occasionally, until they are tender, about 1½ hours. Season with salt then set aside and let cool.
- In a large pot over medium heat add the olive oil and heat through. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, just a few seconds.
- Add the tomato paste, the tomatoes and sugar, stirring to combine. Let simmer for 15 minutes, breaking up any large pieces of tomato. Season to taste with salt.
- Add the onion mixture to the pot and stir to combine then whisk in the cream, chili paste and chili flakes. (Optional: blend the sauce or blend half the sauce, if desired for a creamier texture).
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add the salt and bring back to the boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 8 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water then drain, and return the pasta to the pot.
- Ladle the sauce over the top and toss to combine, cooking for an additional minute. If the sauce is too thick, add the pasta water 2 tablespoons at a time to thin the sauce.
- Serve the spicy rigatoni hot in warmed pasta bowls topped with grated Parmesan (optional).
Nutrition:
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Truly perfect! One of my favorite repeat recipes (& one of the few recipes I don’t tweak to some extent, which says something).
Who needs Carbone? 😉
Thank you SO much!! That makes me so happy to hear!