Vodka Red Sauce

This homemade vodka red sauce combines tomatoes, garlic, onion, and a splash of vodka with rich heavy cream for a smooth, velvety pasta sauce that’s full of flavor and ready in just 35 minutes.

I have been making this sauce on repeat lately! I originally learned this method from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Food Lab, in his Penne alla Vodka recipe. I loved the sauce base so much that I decided it deserved its own blog post because it is incredibly versatile. I have used it in my rotini alla vodka, layered it into lasagna, drizzled it over 5-ingredient meatballs, and even made it my favorite sauce for homemade pizza!

What I love most is how hardworking this sauce is. The vodka might sound fancy, but it helps bring out the flavor of the tomatoes and gives the sauce a more rounded taste, while the cream turns everything silky and smooth. You won’t taste a strong vodka flavor in the finished sauce, but it adds a little something special that makes this sauce so good.

Main Ingredients & Swaps

• Canned Whole Tomatoes – One 28-ounce can. I like Cento Whole Peeled Tomatoes or Thrive Market’s Whole Peeled Tomatoes in their juice.
• Butter & Olive Oil – I used both cooking fats to saute the onion. This combo really smooth out the flavor of the sauce.
• Onion & Garlic – One small onion and 2cloves of garlic, the aromatic base for everything.
• Red Pepper Flakes – Just a pinch for a gentle warmth with being spicy.
• Dried Oregano– 1/2 tsp goes a long way in flavoring this sauce.
• Heavy Cream – Half a cup, stirred in at the end for that classic blush-pink color and velvety texture.
• Vodka – 1/4 cup. It does not make the sauce taste like alcohol. It sharpens the tomato flavor and helps the sauce turn silky. The alcohol cooks off completely. No vodka on hand? The sauce still works without it, you will just miss a little depth.

How To Make Vodka Red Sauce

Start by softening the diced onion in butter and olive oil over medium heat for about five minutes, until translucent. Then microplane in the garlic and add the red pepper flakes and dried oregano. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant.

Add the can of whole tomatoes, including the juices. I usually take a pair of scissors and roughly chop the tomatoes in the can before dumping them into the saucepan. A rough chop is fine, because this will all get blended. Simmer the tomatoes, covered, for 30 minutes.

Turn off the heat, add in the vodka and cream, and transfer to a blender. Blend until smooth. Transfer the sauce back to a saucepan, add 1/2 tsp salt (or more, to taste), and simmer for 15 more minutes. To skip the extra dishes, you can also blend the sauce with a hand blender right in the pot. However, a real blender does give you a creamier result.

Ways to Use It

This sauce was made for more than just a pound of penne. Here is where I use it most:

• Toss it with rotini and seasoned ground beef in my Rotini alla Vodka with Butternut Squash and Ground Beef.
• Layer it into Butternut Squash Lasagna with Fresh Milled Khorasan Pasta in place of a traditional meat sauce.
• Spread it on some crispy homemade sourdough pizza dough for a creamy twist on pizza night.
• Simmer it in my Tomato Basil Meatballs in it and serve them over polenta or tucked into sub rolls.

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