Love vodka sauce, but never tried making it yourself? Try my simple and amazing vodka sauce recipe! It has an incredible, restaurant-quality flavor and comes together in one pot.
10large fresh basil leavestorn or cut into ribbons (may substitute 2 teaspoons dried basil)
1cup(265ml)+ 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
¼cup(20g)freshly grated parmesan cheeseplus extra for serving
16ozpastaif serving with pasta
Instructions
In a large pot, warm the olive oil and butter over medium heat until butter is melted.
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 2 Tablespoons butter
Add the onion and saute until softened and beginning to turn translucent, typically about 3-5 minutes.
1 medium yellow onion
Add the garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
Add tomato paste, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes, stirring until everything is well combined. Continue to cook, stirring, until tomato paste deepens in color.
2 Tablespoons tomato paste, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, ¾ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, ¼ - ½ tsp red pepper flakes
Gradually pour in the vodka, scraping the bottom of the pan as you do to scrape up any browned bits. Cook, stirring frequently, until vodka reduces by half and loses its potent alcohol scent.
⅓ cup vodka
Add tomatoes and basil, breaking/mashing them up with your spatula as you cook
28 oz canned whole peeled tomatoes, 10 large fresh basil leaves
Stir in the cream.
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
Puree. If you have an immersion blender, use it to puree the sauce until completely smooth. Otherwise, transfer the sauce in batches to a blender to process until smooth, then return to the pot.
Reduce heat to low and bring the sauce to a simmer. Allow it to cook, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. If serving with pasta, this is a good time to begin preparing it according to package instructions. You can serve sauce over cooked pasta or toss the two together before serving. See note for serving with pasta.
16 oz pasta
After simmering, add parmesan cheese and stir in until melted. Use as desired or store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week before using.
¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Notes
To serve with pasta
You can serve sauce over cooked pasta or toss the two together before serving. To toss together (my preference), once pasta has cooked, reserve about half a cup of pasta water before draining the rest. Add the drained pasta to the pot along with a splash (about 2 Tablespoons) of reserved pasta water. Stir until well combined, and simmer over low heat until sauce clings to the noodles (several minutes). Add more pasta water if/as needed (if the sauce becomes too thick). Serve, topped with more parmesan cheese and basil, if desired.