Vodka Sauce Recipe
Now you can make this popular creamy pink vodka sauce right at home! Incredibly easy lightened-up recipe with olive oil, tomatoes, half and half, and fresh basil.
Love vodka sauce? Try our Vegan Vodka Sauce recipe.
Cooking dinner together with my hubs is one of my all-time favorite things. Sunday night is normally our go to night…and my hubby is the opposite of me.
He cooks on a whim. Throws things together as he owns it and it always turns out delicious.
This past weekend he made a classic Russian dish…borscht while I made homemade vodka sauce. It felt like a mini date in the comfort of our cozy kitchen.
And since it is Valentine’s Day…I hope you guys are staying in and cooking together. Because of crowds, cold, and overpriced pre-fixed menus…I mean we can do better than that?! Right?
This homemade creamy pink vodka sauce is the perfect recipe for date night in! It’s really simple to make and I promise you’ll never go back to jarred sauce ever again.
It tastes like restaurant quality but without the heavy price tag. Pair it with hot buttery penne pasta and an Avocado Caesar Salad and you’ve got yourself effortless Valentine’s dinner.
There’s so many different versions of vodka sauce recipes but the base is tomatoes, vodka, and heavy cream. Some include butter, parmesan cheese, and fresh herbs. If you’re concerned about the taste of vodka…don’t be!
You can’t taste the harshness of the vodka, it is simply here to enhance the flavors. It adds a touch of heat to help balance out the sweetness of the tomatoes and the cream.
Is it necessary??…well no….but then it wouldn’t be a vodka sauce.
To make this recipe a little lighter, I used olive oil in place of butter, half and half in place of heavy cream, a fraction of the cheese, and also plenty of fresh basil.
Basil adds just the right amount of fresh flavor and half and half along with parmesan cheese all the creaminess.
This sauce is a combo of the sweet-spicy mixture and when you pair it with hot buttery penne pasta…it’s a match made in heaven! All you need is a simple salad, such as Tomato Mozzarella Salad and you’re set!
Ways To Serve Vodka Sauce
One of my personal favorite ways to serve vodka sauce is simply swapping it in some of our favorite recipes where it calls for a pasta sauce. It’s a great way to add flavor without compromising the overall recipe.
- Orecchiette with Baked Mini Chicken Meatballs in Tomato Cream Sauce
- Italian Zucchini Spaghetti Bake
- Zucchini Lasagna Roll-Ups with Spinach and Artichokes
- Sheet Pan Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
But of course, you can always simply toss the vodka sauce with hot buttery noodles, pair it with a salad and call it a day. Here are some of our favorite salads to pair with pasta:
Video: How to Make Vodka Sauce Recipe
Love vodka sauce? Try our Penne Vodka Sauce recipe, which is an easy and quick version of this popular pasta sauce.
More Favorites from Little Broken
PrintVodka Sauce Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Total Time: 55 mins
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Blend
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Now you can make this popular creamy pink vodka sauce right at home! Incredibly easy lightened-up recipe with olive oil, tomatoes, half and half, and fresh basil.
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium sweet onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 28 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
- 1/3 cup vodka
- 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup half and half
- 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
- 16 oz. penne pasta
- Fresh black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium heat; add onions and garlic and cook until soft, about 3-4 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in tomatoes and vodka and continue cooking the mixture for 5-7 minutes until slightly reduced, stirring occasionally.
- Then stir in the tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, salt, and black pepper to taste. Reduce heat to low and simmer partially covered for 20 minutes until reduced by half, stirring occasionally.
- In the meantime, cook pasta in salted water according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Transfer tomato mixture to a food processor or blender, add basil, and purée until smooth. Return sauce to the pan and stir in half and half. You want creamy and slightly sweet consistency. Start with 1/2 cup of half and half, taste, and add more if needed. Cook until warmed through, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in parmesan cheese and then the cooked pasta. Toss to combine.
- Serve immediately with additional sprinkle of cheese and basil, if desired.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 cup sauce + 1 1/4 cup cooked pasta
- Calories: 316
- Sugar: 8.2 g
- Sodium: 609.7 mg
- Fat: 9.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 53 g
- Protein: 10.3 g
- Cholesterol: 6.2 mg
This was my first time making vodka sauce and it was INCREDIBLE. I’m lactose intolerant so I subbed the half & half for nutpods dairy free creamer and you couldn’t tell a difference, and I was thrilled this recipe didn’t use butter. THANK YOU!
That’s awesome! So glad you made it work with non-dairy cream.
I loved this recipe! I’ve never made a sauce from scratch like this before, and it was so delicious. I want to make it every week!
Thank you Marie for your review.
This is the first pasta I’ve ever made. It was easy but SO delicious! I made it for my whole family and they all said it was the best pasta they’ve ever had! Thanks for the great recipe!
Thank you Cealy for your review. So happy you enjoyed the vodka sauce.
First time making homemade pasta so we gave this sauce a shot to pair with some (attempted) fettuccini noodles. It totally exceeded our expectations!! Our pasta needs some work, but we would make this sauce again in a heartbeat! Thanks for a great recipe:)
Thank you Anna! So happy to hear you enjoyed the sauce.
First Vodka sauce I ever attempted and I never plan on trying a different one. It was so amazing and turned out so perfect it really made me seem like SUCH a good cook. Served it with spinach tortellini and it was *chefs kiss*. Thank you for this!
Thank you! I’m so happy you enjoyed it. Appreciate your feedback.
This was a wonderful sauce!! So flavorful and easy to make with items we had on the shelf and in the refrigerator . sub in dried basil but it was still so delicious!!! I will keep this recipe forever it was that good!!!
Thank you Mimi! I so appreciate your feedback.
Good to know dried basil works because that’s all I have at home right now! Trying this recipe tonight! So excited…🤗
Yes! Thank you for telling us about the dried! My basil is still too small to get this much from the garden…
Trying this tonight,
Can you use 2% milk instead of half and half cream?
Great recipe!
The sauce will not be as creamy. I would stick to half and half or you can even use heavy cream.
Best homemade vodka sauce. Also easy to follow.
Will even use as a red sauce without cream and parm!!
Thank you so much Mary! So happy to hear you loved the sauce.
Would it be possible to make and then place in a crock pot to keep warm or will it separate? I’m looking to use this recipe for a pasta bar for a birthday party. Thank you!
I think it would depend on the temperature of the crockpot and for how long it would sit in the crockpot. I think it might work but honestly it’s so hard to say without trying it out first.
If you leave it in a crock pot it’ll reduce slowly and the sauce will eventually take on a dark dark red color. The flavor will turn very rich so it may not be what you’re looking for. I do this when I want to turn my marinara into pizza sauce.
Thank you for your input!
I didn’t think I could make something so delicious… thank God for google your site came up first and after making it I understand why! My family thanks you!
Thank you Cathy! So appreciate your feedback.
Can this be made without the tomato paste. Or is there something I can sub for the tomato paste. I don’t have any on hand.
Tomato paste enriches the flavor here and to be honest, I haven’t tried substituting it with anything else in this specific recipe. I know in some recipes tomato sauce and ketchup works in place of tomato paste. If you do try something else, let me know how it works out for you.
Looks simple and amazing. I can’t wait to give it a try. Do the nutritional facts include the sauce AND the pasta, or is that just for the sauce alone? I was not clear on that. Thank you.
Hi Ron: nutrition info is for the sauce only. Thanks!
Really love this recipe! I’ve made is several times now – it’s actually super easy even for a weeknight and tastes pretty high end for not too much effort. Thanks!!
I just finished making this sauce (with a couple minor tweaks) and it’s SO freaking good I want to lick every speck from the pan. Thank you SO much for the delightful recipe!
Thank you Ann! So happy to hear you enjoyed it.
What tweaks did you make ?
I added a few tablespoons of sugar!
Love this recipe, easy and delicious! I cook up some pancetta and add it and it always turns out amazing!
Yum! That sounds amazing.
My favorite vodka sauce recipe! I’ve made it with meatballs, chicken cutlet, and using it to make my first vodka sauce lasagna tonight!
Worked out well for me! First vodka sauce in my kitchen 🙂
That’s awesome! Thank you Elyse for feedback.
I really wanted to like this recipe, but I followed it to the tee and at the very end, the half and half did not mix into the red sauce well… the half n half was just purchased and good. I think it maybe have because of the method of mixing into hot pan? I’m not sure. Ugh frustrating.
Hi Sarah: I’m sorry the recipe didn’t work out for you. Did you use regular half and half or fat free? That could be the only thing I can think of that would cause the half and half to possibly curdle, if in fact, it did curdle.
It needs to be “tempered”. I wondered about this while reading the directions. This is accomplished by adding just a little bit of the hot sauce to the cream in a separate bowl and stirring it well. Add a little more and repeat the stirring. This gradually heats the cream so that it doesn’t curdle on you.
P.S. It does look like a great recipe and I do intend to try it soon.
Me too can’t wait
I made this sauce yesterday exactly as posted and it was completely amazing. My family loved it. Flavourful and creamy and delicious. Thank you for yet another amazing recipe!!
Thank you Tanya! So glad you loved it.
Simple and delicious recipe
Thank you!
This is by far the best vodka sauce I’ve ever eaten!! I did modify it slightly… I added in slightly more red pepper flakes and also cooked up two slices (diced) of pancetta which I added back in at the end once the sauce had been through the food processor. Can’t wait to make this again!
Thank you Carolyn. So glad you enjoyed this vodka recipe.