Easy way to make Vodka Sauce (Perfect Sauce for Pasta)

With this recipe for homemade vodka sauce, boost your pasta game! Crushed tomatoes, garlic, salty pancetta, and cream make this straightforward red sauce. This meal is distinctive thanks to a dash of vodka.

It’s the ideal sauce for giving any pasta meal a restaurant-quality appearance and flavor.

Describe vodka sauce.

Make this simple sauce to impress your guests. The sauce is pancetta and onion-flavored creamy tomato sauce with a rich flavor.

A tiny bit of vodka is added to this traditional Italian-American sauce to bring out the aromas of the ingredients as they boil together. It’s a fantastic sauce with many uses that comes together quickly.

What Flavor Does Vodka Sauce Have?

The sauce has a flavor that is rich and creamy, resembling creamy tomato sauce (with more tomato, less cream). It consists of tomatoes, salty pancetta pieces, parmesan cheese, and some cream for richness.

The alcohol in the vodka burns off as it is added. The sauce has a deep flavor from the flavoring being absorbed into the components, but it doesn’t taste like vodka or alcohol. Any dish that calls for marinara or spaghetti sauce can utilize it!

Dinner is ready when served with homemade air fryer meatballs, a loaf of handmade garlic bread, and a straightforward salad like this Caesar Salad.

Components of vodka sauce

SAUCE Use a can of entire, tomato-juice-filled tomatoes! San Marzano tomatoes should be purchased in a big can since they have a strong flavor, thicker flesh, and fewer seeds.

The sauce’s creamy foundation is provided by heavy cream and parmesan or romano cheese.

VODKA Use budget-friendly vodka instead of a high-end brand for this recipe.

No booze? No issue! Even though it won’t technically be sauce anymore, substitute a splash of white wine. Leave out the vodka if you want to make this recipe alcohol-free. Although the flavor will change, the food will still be excellent.

SEASONINGS Sauce benefits from the body and little heat that garlic and red pepper flakes give, but you may also try other Italian flavors like oregano, basil, or fennel. For any recipe with an Italian influence, try making your Italian seasoning blend!

PANCETTA Italian recipes frequently call for the use of pancetta, which is cured pork belly. Similar to bacon, but cured rather than smoked. If you can’t find pancetta, you can use diced bacon, however, the flavor won’t be nearly the same.

Adjustments & Swaps

• For added richness when using diced tomatoes, add about a spoonful of tomato paste.
• If you have shallots on hand, replace the onions.

Creating Vodka Sauce

This gourmet sauce is simple to create.

1. In butter or olive oil, sauté onions. Cook the pancetta after adding it until the fat renders.
2. Add vodka and garlic, then stir (per the recipe below).
3. Simmer the remaining ingredients.
4. Add parmesan and parsley after taking the pan off the heat. Use black pepper and kosher salt to taste and season.

Before serving, garnish with additional parmesan cheese and parsley.

Tomatoes should be broken up into smaller pieces before using or using the back of a wooden spoon in the pan.

Pro Advice

• If preferred, include grilled shrimp, shredded chicken, or Italian sausage.
• You can use a hand blender before adding the cheese, though I prefer the sauce to have some texture from the tomatoes.
• If you plan to combine the sauce with pasta, save some of the pasta water and stir it in. The starches not only improve uniformity but also make the sauce stick better.
• Just until al dente, boil pasta in a large pot of salted water.

Suggestions for Serving

Pasta Options: Penne Alla vodka is unquestionably a favorite and the sauce is rich and delectable! We prefer pasta that has ridges or holes so the pasta will adhere well. You should use bucatini, rigatoni, or fusilli as your pasta of choice!

Serve alongside fresh Italian salad and homemade focaccia bread.

Simple Vodka Sauce

Make a basic pasta sauce fancier by including some pancetta and vodka.

Ingredients

• ½ small onion finely diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
• 4 ounces pancetta chopped, or bacon ½” dice
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• ⅓ cup vodka
• 28 ounces whole Italian tomatoes with juices canned
• 14 ounces crushed tomatoes
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ⅓ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese or romano cheese
• 3 tablespoons fresh parsley

Instructions

1. With your hands, mash the tomatoes, reserving the juices, and set them aside.
2. A medium saucepan should be filled with onion and olive oil. Cook onion until soft over medium heat. Cook for 3–4 minutes, or until some of the fat has rendered out, after adding the pancetta.
3. Then, cook for two minutes after adding the vodka. Add the garlic and cook it briefly, until fragrant.
4. Pepper flakes and tomato juices should be added. for 10 to 12 minutes.
5. Add cream, stir, and cook for a further 7–10 minutes, or until thickened.
6. Then, add parsley and parmesan cheese after removing them from the heat. Add salt and pepper after the taste.

Notes

This much sauce will cover 16 ounces of dry pasta.

No booze? No issue! Even though it won’t technically be vodka sauce anymore, substitute a splash of white wine. Leave out the vodka if you want to make this recipe alcohol-free. Although the flavor will change, the food will still be excellent.

If you can find them, San Marzano tomatoes are preferred. Before using or while cooking, mash entire tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon.

If preferred, include grilled shrimp, shredded chicken, or Italian sausage.

If you plan to combine the sauce with pasta, save some of the pasta water and stir it in. The starches not only improve uniformity but also make the sauce stick better.

Nutrition information

Serving: 0.25of the recipe | Calories: 510 | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 771mg | Potassium: 846mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 1730IU | Vitamin C: 34mg | Calcium: 223mg | Iron: 4mg