Vodka Sauce
This homemade pink vodka sauce recipe is perfect any night of the week. Made from simple, comforting ingredients, this vodka sauce is guaranteed to be a family favorite. Simply toss your favorite cooked pasta in this creamy pink sauce and you’re in for a delicious homemade meal.
About this Pink Vodka Sauce Recipe
This creamy vodka sauce recipe is quintessential comfort food. This sauce tastes best with a pasta cut like penne, fusilli, rigatoni or gemelli. Small cut pasta with ridges on the outside hold onto the creamy sauce the best. With these cuts of pasta, you’ll get a saucy bite every single time.
Be sure to cook your pasta al dente. The pasta will continue to cook in the sauce, and you don’t want it to get soggy. For this recipe, I also used shallots instead of onions. However, sweet onion would work fine as a substituion. Just be sure to dice the shallot into small, evenly sized pieces. I also added red pepper flakes, but this step is optional. However, it adds a touch of spice which tastes so good.
For a slightly lighter sauce recipe, use half and half instead of heavy cream. However, this vodka sauce recipe is best enjoyed exactly as it’s listed below.
How to Use Vodka Sauce
I use this sauce in a variety of ways. Tossed with pasta or smothered over chicken, this sauce is perfect any way you serve it.
Storage
Store any leftover sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for three to four days. Reheat in a sauce pot or the microwave. This recipe makes five servings of sauce and pasta.
Vodka Sauce
Ingredients
- 8-10 ounces pasta, al dente
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ – ¾ cup shallots, diced small
- 4 cloves garlic, left whole
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ¼ cup vodka
- 1 cup pasta water
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes, canned with juice
- salt and pepper, to taste
- red pepper flakes, to taste, but optional
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons Italian parsley, as garnish
Equipment
- 1 pasta pot
- 1 saute pan
Instructions
- Boil a pot of water and cook the pasta al dente. Reserve one cup of water and drain off the remaining water. Drizzle the pasta with olive oil. Set aside.
- In a large sauté pan, add the olive oil, shallots and garlic cloves. Saute until the onions are translucent and fragrant, add the tomato paste. Stir well. Next, deglaze the pan with vodka. Be careful as it can create a flame.
- Once the vodka begins to reduce, add the canned crushed tomato, water, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Stir well and simmer for a bit then remove the garlic cloves.
- Next, add the heavy cream and grated parmesan cheese. Stir until the cheese is fully melted. Add the cooked pasta and toss everything together.
4 Comments on “Vodka Sauce”
I used this to make a little impromptu Galentine’s Day meal for my friends. Everyone raved about how good it was. They didn’t believe I made it myself and even looked for the jar in the trash!
Followed instructions to the letter. My new fav!!
My husband LOVES this recipe! So happy that we found it. Did you change the recipe recently from what was originally posted?
I did tweak it a touch.. I hope you still enjoy it!