Vodka Sauce Recipe
Since 2017, this popular creamy pink vodka sauce has gained over 5 million page views, making it the top recipe on my website. Our lightened-up version uses olive oil, tomatoes, half and half, and fresh basil, ensuring the absolute best vodka sauce you’ve ever tasted. After trying it, you’ll never go back to jarred sauce again!
Love vodka sauce? Try our Vegan Vodka Sauce recipe.
Vodka Pasta Sauce
My husband and I often cook at home on Sundays for date nights in, and it’s one of my favorite traditions. We experiment with different dishes like Fig and Caramelized Onion Flatbreads and Balsamic Salmon. However, this vodka sauce is one recipe we come back to again and again.
We’ve made this vodka sauce more times than I can remember and perfected it to an absolute best sauce ever!
It uses simple ingredients, most of which you probably have on hand, it requires a prep time of just 15 minutes and is ready to eat in under an hour. Not only is it easy to make, but it’s far better than any jarred variety and tastes like it came from the kitchen of a fancy restaurant.
We love serving it with buttery penne pasta and an Avocado Caesar Salad for an effortless yet impressive meal!
What is Vodka Sauce?
Vodka sauce is an Italian-American sauce. There are many versions, but all feature a tomato base with vodka and cream. Vibrant in color, vodka sauce is rich, creamy, and full of herbaceous flavor.
And if you’re worried about the vodka, don’t be! You can’t taste it. It simply enhances the flavors, adding a touch of heat to help balance the sweetness of the tomatoes and cream.
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!
Vodka Pasta Sauce Ingredients
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
- Olive oil: I like to use extra-virgin olive oil in place of butter to make this recipe a little lighter.
- Aromatics: Sweet onion and garlic cloves.
- Herbs and spices: Red pepper flakes, kosher salt, fresh basil, and black pepper.
- Whole peeled tomatoes: If possible, use San Marzano tomatoes. They have the best flavor for making sauces and are great for long-simmering recipes.
- Vodka: Use your favorite brand of vodka.
- Tomato paste: This thickens the sauce and adds a more intense tomato flavor. Keep in mind that it burns quickly. So, stir constantly after adding it.
- Balsamic vinegar: Use high-quality balsamic vinegar to balance the richness of the sauce.
- Half and half: We use this in place of heavy cream to lighten the sauce without sacrificing the rich flavor or creamy consistency.
- Parmesan cheese: For the best taste and texture, buy a block of parmesan, and grate it yourself.
- Pasta: I prefer to use penne pasta, but any shape you like best will work for this recipe.
How to Make Vodka Sauce
Here are brief steps to make this vodka sauce recipe. For the full description, see the recipe card below.
Step 1: Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, and cook until soft. Then, add the red pepper flakes, and cook for an additional minute.
Step 2: Stir in the tomatoes and vodka, and continue cooking until the mixture reduces slightly, stirring occasionally.
Step 3: Stir in the tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, salt, and black pepper. Then, reduce the heat to low, and simmer partially covered until the sauce is reduced by half, stirring occasionally.
Step 4: While the sauce simmer, cook the pasta in salted water according to the package instructions. Drain the water, and set the cooked pasta aside.
Step 5: Transfer the tomato mixture to a food processor or blender. Add the basil, and purée until smooth. Return the sauce to the pan, and stir in part of the half and half, adding more as needed. Continue to cook until warmed through.
Step 6: Stir in the parmesan cheese and cooked pasta, tossing to combine and coat.
Step 7: Serve your pasta and vodka sauce immediately with extra parmesan and basil, if desired.
Ways To Serve Homemade 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
Vodka 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
- ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
- 28 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
- ⅓ cup vodka
- 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- ¼ cup fresh chopped basil
- ½ – ¾ 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 ½ 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: ½ cup sauce + 1 ¼ 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
Hi! I'm Katya -- a former corporate paralegal turned full-time recipe developer and blogger behind Little Broken. Here you'll find family-friendly and seasonal recipes made from real ingredients.
Great recipe! At times I don’t purée the sauce, still delicious.
Absolutely amazing recipe. I’ve made this multiple times and both my boyfriend and I absolutely love it!
Can I make this with 5% cream?
You’ll need half and half for this recipe which usually has 10% fat
I’ve made this a number of times, and while it takes 30-60 mins, it’s really very easy. I love the balance of sauteed pepper flakes, fresh peppery basil, and sweetness. I use a deep saute pan, tilt it, and use a stick blender to blend it up. We had it on lobster ravioli with fresh shrimp and it’s fabulous!
If you want to make a lot and save it, how would you store it? Freezer? Or would you only recommend eating it immediately?
Didn’t mean to reply to your comment. Sorry! *face palm*
It’ll store in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat it over medium low heat.
I was going to can it I think that would work if your wanting to put it up
This is my go to favorite authentic Italian recipe , you provably hear it before on other recipes , but if I can make this anyone can make it .! Just a quick note , don’t leave anything out , that balsamic is the quint essential ingredient , not to mention the tomato paste and heavy cream . Don’t use any dry basil , trust me go buy the fresh leaf basil , this is a grand slam !
As Guy Fieri would say “out of bounds “ , this would be the river directly into flavor town !
This was so good! Thank you for posting. My husband said it was “restaurant quality” ???? Perfect consistency.
I used heavy cream and it worked out fine. Topped with shaved parmigianino reggiano and crusty bread on the side.
Delicious!!!
Good recipe! I don’t like to use canned ingredients so I use fresh tomatoes that have been blanched along with a pinch of oregano. If you’ve never blanched fresh tomatoes before try it out! I feel that the flavor is always improved when you use fresh items and you don’t ever need to wonder what preservatives were added.
What kind of tomatoes do you use? I was going to try plum tomatoes, but wanted to see if there were others that would work. (My italian family used to can tomatoes every summer – they only used plum tomatoes)
Thank you!
I added mushrooms and Italian sausage to the mix for a final touch.
Oh yum! That sounds delicious!
First – never add garlic with onions. Sautee the onions for 3 minutes for this recipe, then add garlic for one minute or you will burn the garlic. Rookie mistake.
Also – are you actually suggesting that someone transfer an entire pot of sauce into a blender just to incorporate a little basil? Just chop the basil small, or use an immersion blender instead of making an enormous mess inside your blender.
And for what it’s worth yes – I have made this recipe. I used less heavy cream rather than half and half, my changes above. I cannot get over either issue. SO many home “chefs” suggest you sautee onions and garlic together and it is universally known and a no-no. And come on. Cut the basil into a fine mince, there is no reason to involve your innocent blender. Yikes.
Without seeming mean, both your points about the blender and the onions and garlic are both objectively wrong in the context of this recipe. The blender is needed because it calls for WHOLE tomatoes, the blender is used to make a smooth sauce out of them and the onions not just for the basil.
As for your statement about onions and garlic its wrong in almost all cases. Aromatics ( garlic, ginger, etc) are almost universally added FIRST and alone after oil is hot. You want them in a hot and low moisture environment to begin releasing their flavors via the high temperature. After about a minute you would add onions which will introduce water lowering the temperature to around 200° due to evaporative cooling. They will not burn in a wet environment and because this is a sauce recipe the dish becomes wet once you add the onions and subsequent ingredients. When added after the onions the garlic will never have a chance to get hot enough to begin desired chemical reactions that they are known for. Source: degree in food science.
I made this as written. I have been cooking for over 50 years. Maybe once you learn to cook properly you won’t have such elementary issues. Onion and garlic play beautifully together. I blended the whole works together and it was wonderful.
If it’s not too high a temp, you can Sautee onions and garlic together. I do it all the time and it’s fine, no wait it’s delish!
1st, you have no idea what you’re talking about. Everyone sautés garlic an onions together. Also yes you need to use a blender or food processor because you have whole tomato’s . . .
As a professional chef of over 15 years… I can tell you that you clearly have no clue what you are talking about.
Read the response from Nmattson. They are correct. Maybe learn how to cook before you leave snarky, snotty comments on someone’s food blog?
From one chef to another, I love this!
Well said- I thought it was a snarky comment too…
Exactly. Garlic burns so easy and changed the flavor dramatically. I always add garlic when my onions are translucent.
Rookie mistake? Apparently you’re not cooking it right as I’ve made this multiple times and have never once burnt the garlic
Just made this last night and it was delicious! Served it with linguine, roasted salmon and broccoli. I misread the amount of red pepper flakes and added 3/4 t instead of 1 t. When I asked my husband if we should make any adjustments to the recipe next time he said to reduce the pepper flakes. LOL! Totally my fault. So it will be absolutely perfect next time around.
Thank you for the feedback Tara! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it.
Nice vodka sauce.
About how many ounces of pasta would you use for the 1X sauce? Trying to figure out how much sauce to make if I purchase 2 lb of fresh pasta.
Recipe as written is for 16 oz. of pasta. So you would need to double the vodka recipe for two pounds of pasta.
If I dont have whole peeled tomatoes, would it work to substitute crushed tomatoes?
I’ve never tried it with crushed tomatoes but I don’t see why it would not work. I recommend you still blend the mixture after it’s done cooking though.
I used crushed. It was fine. Hubby said restaurant quality
Still used the blender!
This was perfect! Delicious!
How long would you say the sauce will keep in the fridge?
Do you thing this would freeze well?
Cheers!
Thank you! It’ll last in the fridge for 3-4 days. I normally try not to freeze sauce with cream in it as it can separate when reheated.
I absolutely love this recipe. I have made it multiple times for my family, birthday dinners, and brought to friends that had a new baby. It is the BEST vodka sauce I’ve ever tried! I always use Tito’s vodka. Thank you for sharing it.
So happy to hear that! Thank you Sharon!
I can’t find my immersion blender as we moved house. Can I make this without blending ?
You can also use a blender or food-processor.
I tried this and it rendered beautiful results. I would definitely recommend this recipe and will plan on making it again. Thank you!
I tried this recipe and found it to be a little bit bland. My cooking skills are not 5star by any stretch, but tonight’s meal got a 2 star from the family.
Can this be used with lobster and crab ravioli?
Yes! That would be delicious.
This dish was very flavorful and delicious.
I’d make some minor changes.
1) Add more garlic (cloves and garlic salt or powder)
2) Add turkey/chicken meatballs
3) Add shaved Parmesan
This is our go-to Vodka Sauce recipe! We opted for heavy cream in place of half n half as that’s all we had and it was nice and rich! I added some baked prosciutto-wrapped chicken strips to the top…sooo good! Thank you for a great recipe!
That sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing.