I Tried Gigi Hadid's Pasta Recipe—And I'll Be Making It Until the End of Time

Model, fashion-icon, new mom, and now Instagram chef?? Gigi Hadid just keeps giving us more reasons to be in awe of her. Back in early quarantine, Hadid (@gigihadid) shared a recipe on her Instagram stories for a homemade spicy vodka pasta sauce, and since it dropped, fans have been making it all. over. the internet—most commonly on TikTok.

But who can blame them? Not only did this pasta look delicious, it’s made with inexpensive, easy-to-find ingredients that you probably already have without needing to run to the store. Hadid even offered up ingredient substitutions (like red onion instead of shallots) in case you’re shorthanded. And here’s the real kicker: It only takes 20 minutes.

P.S. Find the amazing scooping spoon I use in the video here!

Typically, if I see a celeb’s dinner on their stories, I’ll get a brief glimmer of meal inspiration, then forget about it with the very next story I see. If it’s not a permanent post that I can refer back to, it’s gone forever. So I’d like to shout out to the fine followers of Instagram who captured this recipe step-by-step for the rest of the world to enjoy.

After seeing this recipe recreated on multiple, multiple accounts, I figured I had enough of a grasp to try it myself. I followed the steps in this order (also, props to Gigi for including exact measurements so you can follow her instructions to a T):

1. Heat ¼ cup of olive oil in a saucepan. Add a small clove of diced garlic and ¼ of a shallot, chopped. Cook until soft.
2. Add ¼ cup of tomato paste and cook until darker and slightly caramelized.
3. Add 1 tbsp of vodka and stir until evaporated (until you can no longer smell alcohol).
4. Stir in ½ cup heavy cream and 1 tsp chili flakes (more if you like it hotter).
5. Stir until combined. Add in salt and pepper, then remove from heat.
6. Cook about 2 cups of pasta in salted water in a separate pot using package instructions. Reserve ¼ cup of pasta water.
7. Drain pasta and transfer to sauce, stirring to coat. Add in ¼ cup of reserved pasta water and 1 tbsp butter.
8. Stir in ¼ cup parmesan cheese.
9. Top with even more cheese and chopped basil.

Okay, YUM.

This dish was creamy, creamy, comforting, and oh yeah, it packed some heat. I truly could not believe this restaurant-quality pasta came out of my very own kitchen. Plus it serves enough for two, so you get to impress a friend or partner with your newfound saucier skills.

A few notes if you’re giving this dish a try tonight:

• The sauce doesn’t look like it wants to combine at first, but give it time and and some generous stirring and it’ll reach saucy perfection.
• You can totally leave out the vodka.
• I used orecchiette pasta, but you can use whatever shape your heart desires.