Do you love pasta? Do you love vodka? If the answer is yes, this vodka sauce is for you.

Let’s back up a bit. Just what exactly is vodka sauce? It’s pink, it’s pretty, and it really does have vodka in it. It’s little bit retro (it was super popular in the 70s and 80s) and something you almost always see at classic old school Italian American pasta places. Vodka sauce is rich, luscious, and is one of the best homemade pasta sauces you’ll ever learn to make. If you’ve only ever had the jarred stuff before, you’re in for a treat.

Vodka sauce, like so many beloved foods, has somewhat of a murky beginning. Some people say that it’s completely Italian American and some say it originated in Bologna, Italy. From what I can tell, according to the internet anyway, penne alla vodka became peak popular in America. I love vodka sauce, so I’m here for it!

What is vodka sauce?

Vodka sauce is a tomato based cream sauce that is made with vodka. The vodka adds a distinctly sharp, bright flavor and helps emulsify the cream and tomatoes together. It’s a super comforting sauce that comes together quickly and pairs perfectly with pasta.

How to make vodka sauce

1. Render the pancetta. Cut the pancetta into cubes. Add a drizzle of olive oil into a large deep sauté pan over medium heat and render out the fat in the pancetta, stirring occasionally. You want the pancetta to be slightly crispy.
2. Add your aromatics. Stir in the onion and garlic and cook until slightly soft. Add the crushed red pepper flakes too, if you’re making spicy vodka sauce.
3. Stir in the vodka. This is the fun part! Stir in the vodka, scraping the pan a little to deglaze, and let it cook down and reduce by half.
4. Add the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes (crush them as you go) and tomato sauce then let everything come to a simmer. Cover and cook to reduce and concentrate the flavors.
5. Add the cream. Stir in the cream until the sauce emulsifies and becomes a beautiful rosy pink. Taste and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. It’s ready for pasta!

What does vodka sauce taste like?

Vodka sauce is creamy and rich. It’s luxurious and silky on the tongue thanks to the cream and sweet with a bit of acid from the tomato. As the sauce cooks over a low flame, the tomatoes caramelize and turn jammy, melding and combining with the vodka. The vodka flavor is in the background, with a hint of brightness and herbaceous pepperiness. In this version, tiny bites of crisped up pancetta add pops of savory saltiness too. Vodka sauce is creamy, comforting, and utterly delicious.

Is there vodka in vodka sauce?

Yes, there is vodka in vodka sauce. Lots of sauces have alcohol added to them: the alcohol bonds with fat and water, so food become smells and tastes better. Simply said, food cooked with alcohol becomes more aromatic and flavorful. Most authentic Italian sauces have wine and in this case, we switch out wine for vodka.

Saucing in the pan

You can improve any pasta by transferring your pasta directly to the sauce without rinsing, and then tossing the pasta in the sauce for a couple of minutes to really get the sauce sticking to the pasta. The secret is to reserve a cup or so of pasta water to help loosen the sauce to the consistency you prefer and get it glossy and smooth. If you’ve never tried it this way, give it a shot, I think you’ll love it.

Can you make vodka sauce without vodka?

Yes, you can absolutely make vodka sauce without vodka. It won’t be exactly the same, but it will still taste pretty close. To substitute vodka, add a squeeze of lemon and some extra pepper.

Is vodka sauce vegetarian?

Most vodka sauce recipes out there are vegetarian. This recipe has pancetta (Italian cured pork belly) in it but you can leave it out to make a vegetarian version.

Can you add meat?

If you love some protein in your pasta sauce, you can definitely make this sauce with meat. Actually, this recipe already has meat in it: pancetta. Pancetta is cured pork belly and it is absolutely delicious (and by far the best meat for pasta sauces). It adds smokiness, saltiness, and umami to the sauce. The pancetta gets crisped up and when you get a bite with a little nugget of salty, porky goodness it’s like winning the lottery.

Pork and tomatoes are a classic Italian combination because they compliment each other perfectly. If you don’t have pancetta, you can substitute it with bacon. You can also do vodka sauce with ground pork, ground beef, and especially with chicken, which is probably the second best option.

Make it spicy

If you love spicy pasta, this vodka sauce is the perfect vehicle. Just add a generous pinch of crushed red pepper flakes in when you’re cooking the garlic and onions – adding the pepper flakes to hot oil blooms them and releases and amplifies their spicy flavor.

Ingredients for vodka sauce

1. Pancetta. Pancetta is Italian smoked pork belly. It adds smokiness, salt, and umami to the sauce. If you don’t have pancetta, you can sub in bacon in a pinch. Or you could even leave it out entirely for a vegetarian vodka sauce.
2. Onion. The onion is going to add a bit of sweetness. I like to chop my onions pretty fine so the sauce is on the smoother side. If you want a really smooth and pretty sauce you can leave the onions out entirely (but it won’t taste as good).
3. Garlic. Don’t skip out on the garlic though. It adds a mellow sweetness and smells amazing when you’re making this sauce.
4. Red pepper flakes. Red pepper flakes are what gives spicy vodka sauce its heat. Bloom the red pepper flakes in oil to maximize their flavor.
5. Vodka. The quality of the vodka isn’t so important here, so if you aren’t a drinker and don’t have a usual brand of vodka, just buy the cheapest one you can find. Sobieski or Stolichnaya are both good bets.
6. Whole tomatoes. We love Mutti peeled whole tomatoes, but whatever brand you like will work. Switch out for canned cherry tomatoes for a sauce on the sweeter side, or switch out for fresh tomatoes to get a really bright poppy sauce.
7. Tomato paste. We like the kind that you squeeze out of a tube (doppio concentrato) because no recipe ever calls for a whole can of tomato paste, including this one.
8. Heavy cream. The cream is what gives the sauce body. You can’t switch it out for milk or broth because you’ll end up with a runny sauce.

Which pasta shape is best?

This creamy, spicy, delicious sauce will pair well with any pasta, but we especially love it with short pasta. Penne alla vodka is the classic but you could use any short pasta you love.

• Farfalle: Bow ties for the win! Some say bow ties (or butterflies, depending on who you are) are for kids but I say they’re for everyone! Farfalle actually traditionally go with a cream or tomato sauces so they’re perfect with vodka sauce, which is a combo of both.
• Fusilli: Fusilli are curly twirly corkscrews that is perfect for cream sauce. The grooves grape the sauce and they’re just a fun shape.
• Rigatoni: These tubes have nice ridges that the creamy sauce can cling to. They look almost like penne but are bigger and have straight instead of diagonal edges. I really like vodka sauce with rigatoni. Pictured below are calamarata, which are like a distant cousin of rigatoni.
• Shells: Um, shells might be the perfect shape for every sauce because of the little scoop inside where the sauce can snuggle up. More sauce equals more life, amiright?

This is going to be one of the best sauces you’ll ever make. If you’ve only had jarred vodka sauce, you need this recipe in your life. The pancetta is a game changer – that classic combination of pork and tomatoes (much like in amatriciana) is out of this world delicious. Please make this! You will fall into a happy pasta coma and realize that everything is right with the world.

Retro pasta dishes forever!
xoxo steph