I LOVE this pasta with Vodka Sauce Recipe so much! It takes less than 30 minutes to whip up, with just a handful of basic ingredients! It’s a favorite in my household and on regular dinner rotation! It’s the best dinner to whip up on busy weeknights, when you want to get a delicious dinner on the table with minimal effort.
What Does Vodka Sauce Taste Like?
Our homemade vodka sauce has a bright, creamy, slightly acidic and subtly peppery flavor.
Purpose of Vodka in Vodka Sauce
The vodka helps to balance out the tomato paste and heavy cream in the sauce. It creates a subtle, peppery heat and almost herbaceous brightness to the sauce.
How to Make Our Vodka Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
Process
- First cook pasta in a large pot of well salted water to al dente doneness.
- Drain pasta, reserving some of the pasta water. You’ll add this to the sauce.
- Place a skillet over medium heat and sauté shallots and garlic in some oil.
- Add tomato paste and stir together. You want the tomato paste to turn a deep red color.
- Deglaze pan with vodka and stir together for a few minutes.
- Stir in reserved pasta water and simmer sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
- Stir in cream and simmer for a few minutes.
- Stir in grated Parmesan and butter until sauce is smooth and slightly thickened.
- Add cooked pasta and toss together until well coated.
- Top with more Parmesan and serve!
Tools You Will Need
The Best Pasta to Pair with Our Vodka Sauce
Shaped Pasta
I like using a shaped pasta for this dish, specifically rotini, because I like how the small spirals pick up the sauce so well. Other great options are:
- penne
- bow tie
- cavatappi
- gemelli
- campanelle
- radiatori
Strand Pasta
If shaped pastas aren’t your favorite, I highly recommend fusilli col buco which is a great strand pasta that also picks up the sauce really well! Other great options are:
- bucatini
- mafalda
- tagliatelle
- capellini
- linguine
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions
Make Ahead
The pasta can be cooked and stored in an airtight container up to 3 days ahead of time. The sauce can be made up to 5 days ahead of time and also stored in an airtight container (separate from the sauce) until ready to use.
When ready to serve, pour sauce into a large saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 10 minutes. Stir pasta into sauce and continue to simmer for an additional 5 minutes until pasta has heated through. Serve.
Freezing
The pasta can be made, stored in an airtight container and frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw completely in refrigerator and stir into heated sauce until completely heated through.
To freeze sauce ahead of time, make sauce until it’s time to add cream. Cool completely, then store partially made sauce in an airtight container for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, thaw sauce in refrigerator. Heat sauce in a saucepan until heated through, then stir in cream and simmer. Adjust seasonings before adding pasta and tossing together. Simmer until heated through and serve.
Variations for Our Vodka Sauce
- Get veggies into the sauce! Some of our favorites are spinach, kale, broccoli, and asparagus.
- Add protein! Precooked shredded or chopped chicken is one of our favorite things to add to the sauce.
- Garbanzo or white beans can also be added for a vegetarian friendly protein.
- Add herbs! I love adding some torn basil or thinly sliced chives to the sauce to change things up.
- Add heat by stirring some crushed red pepper flakes into the dish.
- Make a vodka free option! That’s right this sauce can be made sans alcohol. Water with a squeeze of lemon juice can replace the vodka. It won’t give you quite the same peppery flavor, but it will help to bring out the acidity in the tomato paste.
More Pasta Recipes You Will Love
- Capellini with Garlic, Lemon and Parmesan
- One Pot Fettuccine Alfredo
- Cacio e Pepe
- Cajun Shrimp Pasta
- Bolognese Sauce
Want a yummy salad to pair with our vodka sauce recipe? We’ve got you covered:
Check out our Vodka Sauce Google Web Story.
The Best Vodka Sauce Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 8 oz dry rotini (or pasta shape of choice)
vodka sauce
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large shallot minced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ⅔ cup tomato paste
- 3 tbsp vodka
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- salt and pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- Fill a large pot with water, place over high heat and bring to a boil. Add a small handful salt to water and add pasta.
- Cook pasta, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water, and set both aside.
- Place a large skillet over medium heat. Once skillet is hot add oil and sauté shallots and garlic for 3 to 4 minutes, or until aromatics begin to slightly caramelize.
- Add tomato paste and stir together. Continue to stir until paste turns bright red,2 to 3 minutes.
- Deglaze skillet with vodka and stir together until vodka evaporates. Add reserved pasta water to skillet and stir together until smooth, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
- Stir cream into sauce until mixture is smooth. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer together, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in butter and Parmesan and continue to simmer until sauce is smooth, glossy and has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes.
- Add cooked pasta to sauce and toss together until fully coated. Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve with more grated Parmesan and black pepper.
NOTES
When ready to serve, pour sauce into a large saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 10 minutes. Stir pasta into sauce and continue to simmer for an additional 5 minutes until pasta has heated through. Serve. Freeze Ahead: The pasta can be made, stored in an airtight container and frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw completely in refrigerator and stir into heated sauce until completely heated through.
To freeze sauce ahead of time, make sauce until it’s time to add cream. Cool completely, then store partially made sauce in an airtight container for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, thaw sauce in refrigerator. Heat sauce in a saucepan until heated through, then stir in cream and simmer. Adjust seasonings before adding pasta and tossing together. Simmer until heated through and serve.
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Love this recipe! so delicious! I add roasted broccoli before adding the noodles and let it simmer for 10 min and then add pasta. *chefs kiss*
Made with light cream and was so happy with the flavorful and satisfying result. Not too acidic like some of the renditions I have had in the past. Definitely would make again!
Can I substitute half and half for heavy cream?
Yes! The sauce may be slightly thinner, but that’s about it
This is a really good recipe, I did not follow it 100% but the basis of how it is put together is absolutely perfect. My mods came in the form of adding 1.5 tsp dried basil (fresh would be better and added with the water) 2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes for spice, and 1/4 tsp smoked paprika for a depth of flavor. I also used only 1/3 cup tomato paste and 7 oz of tomato sauce. Came out amazing and used it on tom of Rana lobster ravioli which complemented the cream sauce like no other. Thx
Love this recipe! I’ve made it a few times and this time I tried adding an extra splash of vodka just before adding the heavy cream. Gives the sauce a sharper bite :)
Can you make this ahead of time and freeze and if so would you omit the pasta water until you are ready to use it
Hi! Yes you can! All of that information is in our post above, under the “make ahead and freezing instructions” section
It was very good but I did add some Italian seasoning during cooking. Also I sautéed chicken strips in the skillet first and then added that back in at the end. I also folded in spinach at the end. My family loved it. I will say if you like saucy pasta double it for the number of people you feeding.
I was craving vodka sauce (which I’ve never made) and Googled a recipe. Choose this one based on the preview and just went for it without reading any reviews or looking at any other recipes. WOW! I was not disappointed. Quick, easy, delicious, and basically perfect. Thanks for a great recipe!
Can you substitute canned San Marzano tomatoes instead of tomato paste?
What would the conversion be?
I love vodka sauce but haven’t made the recipe yet. I’m nervous, does the vodka cause a flame when added to the pan?
Not unless it touches fire! I’ve never had that happen and Ive made it a bunch of times! Just make sure your flame isn’t too high when you add the vodka. You can also turn the heat off when you add the vodka, then turn the heat back on after you stir it into the mixture :)
Holy moly. This is one of the most delicious sauces I’ve ever had. I doubled the recipe and added red pepper flakes for heat but otherwise it was honestly delicious.
This looks delicious, I can’t wait to try it. Does the alcohol cook out of the sauce by the time it’s done or should this be made without Vodka if it’s being served to children?
It definitely cooks off, but if you’re worried you can omit it with delicious results!
I don’t usually post reviews on recipes but I just had to support this AMAZING recipe! Very easy to work with and few ingredients, tastes like restaurant quality!
So happy you enjoyed this one!
In all the years I’ve been making different vodka sauce recipes, it never once occurred to me to make it with tomato paste. Quick, easy and delicious. Got rave reviews from the whole family. Didn’t have a shallot or onions in the house so I used a tiny bit of scallion flakes. Otherwise followed the recipe to a T. Will make this again- thanks!
Is the nutritional content per serving?
Yes!
If quadrupling this recipe for big family dinner, should the half cup pasta reserve water be quadrupled as well? Or can it be omitted altogether?
Hi! You may not need 2 cups, but i would still reserve some pasta water (about 1 to 1 1/2 cups) and stir it into the sauce as needed to get a better sauce consistency.
Just made this and I will definitely make it again! Easy to follow instructions, not a lot of ingredients or prep involved!
This was one of the better versions I have had and both kids absolutely loved it. Going into the archives to be used again for sure.
I’ve made this twice now and it’s come out amazing both times. Flavor is great! Super easy to make. I’ll continue making it :)
So happy to hear that!
Made this twice now…it is divine and speaks to my comfort food cravings. Second time around I threw a bag of raw spinach in. Next time I am thinking Ill sneak some shredded zucchini in there to keep it a one pot meal. Absolutely delicious!
Legitimately very tasty and easy! I agree, I think better than many restaurants. Served with a side of salmon. I think next time I could even add a little more pasta!
So happy you enjoyed this recipe!
This was delicious. My family said it tasted like a fancy restaurant dish!