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
Great recipe!!! I made it without onions (ran out) and it still turned out delicious. One shortcut I took was that I used an immersion blender rather than transferring to food processor (one less thing to clean).
I’ve made this 3 or 4 times now (with creative liberties, not necessarily measuring exact quantities of ingredients) and it’s delicious every time. You can’t go wrong with this recipe. I am curious – what is the reasoning behind spacing out some of the ingredients going in? For example, adding the balsamic vinegar 5-7 minutes after the vodka and tomatoes have had time to simmer. Is there a reason for not just dumping in all the ingredients after the onions and garlic have had time to cook? Thank you for this delicious recipe, it is a new go-to!
It’s all about building flavor and giving ingredients time to cook down as each ingredient requires a different amount of time to cook.
Would it freeze well? I’d love to make a huge batch and have it handy in the freezer?
Hi Lucy: I haven’t tried freezing this sauce so I can’t answer with 100% certainty but I think it should be okay to freeze. When you reheat it, make sure to use gentle heat so the cream does not separate.
My eldest suggested this as a food recommendation when I asked for dinner ideas. That was I think almost 2 yrs ago. EVERYONE loves it even my youngest and pickiest eater. This is such a flavorful meal, I don’t even care how long it takes me to make it because I love seeing everyone asking for seconds and thirds.
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.