Homemade Vodka Sauce is creamy and full of flavor! A red sauce made with tomato paste, vodka, cream and spices. Serve with penne pasta to make the classic dish.

I recently discovered the joy of vodka pasta sauce. I’m not too sure why it’s taken me so long to make it, but, now that I have…it’s heaven!
This sauce is creamy and packed full of flavor. Plus, it’s quick and simple to make. Don’t worry about the jarred stuff…serve this homemade version instead.

Your Ingredients List:
- Olive oil (or canola oil)
- Minced garlic
- Red pepper flakes
- Tomato paste
- Vodka
- Whipping cream
- Grated Parmesan cheese
- Penne pasta

A few recipe notes: No, you can’t get drunk off vodka sauce. This only requires 2 tablespoons of vodka and the alcohol will be cooked off in the process.
While penne is usually the pasta of choice when serving vodka sauce, any pasta will go with this. Stick with something similar in size/shape and you will be fine.
When it comes to red pepper flakes, I’m not overly generous with them, for my family. So, if you would like to give this sauce a bit more heat, increase the flakes a bit.
When making your pasta, be sure to reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water before draining. You should only need 1/4 cup of the water, but, reserve a bit more, just in case. If you do need to thin out the sauce after adding the first 1/4 cup, only add 1 tablespoon at a time.

Homemade Vodka Sauce

Homemade Vodka Sauce is creamy and full of flavor! A red sauce made with tomato paste, vodka and garlic. Serve with penne pasta to make the classic dish.
Ingredients
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1-2 tsp minced garlic
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 6 oz tomato pasta
- 2 TBSP vodka
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup pasta water
- 16 oz Penne (or your favorite) pasta
Instructions
- In a saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Then, add in garlic and cook 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Add in tomato paste and red pepper flakes and stir to mix with garlic.
- Then, add in vodka and stir until mixed. Be sure to get any bits scraped off the bottom of the pan. Turn off heat
- Prepare pasta according to box instructions. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water and set aside. Drain pasta and set aside.
- Turn the heat back on under sauce and whisk in reserved 1/4 cup of pasta water, whipping cream and cheese. Whisk until smooth and cheese is melted. Keep the heat at medium and whisk frequently to prevent burning. If the sauce needs thinning out, add just 1 tablespoon at a time of the remaining pasta water.
- Serve with cooked pasta. It can either be mixed with the entire batch of cooked pasta and sauce or individual servings with sauce on top.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 250Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 239mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 7g
All information and tools presented and written within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on ourtableforseven.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate
Laura
Tuesday 8th of October 2019
This looks amazing!!!
Erin Table for Seven
Thursday 10th of October 2019
Thanks Laura!
Miz Helen
Sunday 6th of October 2019
Your homemade Vodka Sauce looks great! Thanks so much for sharing your awesome talent with us at Full Plate Thursday. Hope you are having a great weekend and come back to see us real soon! Miz Helen
Erin Table for Seven
Monday 7th of October 2019
Thanks Miz Helen..have a good week!