What’s your go to pasta sauce when eating at your favorite Italian restaurant? Mine is ALWAYS vodka sauce. For a delicious, restaurant quality sauce, try out my homemade vodka sauce recipe!

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Nearly every Italian restaurant has their own version of vodka sauce, most commonly served as penne alla vodka.

This delicious sauce is sometimes referred to as pink sauce – a hybrid between classic red sauce and alfredo sauce (with a little bit of vodka).

My favorite dish with vodka sauce is rigatoni with grilled or seared jumbo shrimp.

This recipe will make about 8 cups of sauce. I always freeze the leftovers to have some on hand for another dinner.

What You Will Need

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 large white onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 cup vodka

2 (28oz.) cans San Marzano tomatoes

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

2 tsp. kosher salt

2 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/2 – 3/4 grated parmesan cheese

San Marzano tomatoes are a type of plum tomato that are grown in the San Marzano region of Italy. They tend to be sweeter and less acidic than other plum tomatoes and make for an extra delicious sauce.

If you aren’t able to find San Marzano’s in your grocery store, canned whole plum tomatoes or ‘San Marzano style’ tomatoes will work just fine.

When choosing a vodka, anything that you would be willing to drink in a cocktail will work. Don’t worry, all of the alcohol cooks out of the dish!

Try out my recipe Cheese Tortellini with Vodka Sauce.

How to Make

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is transparent but not yet browned.

Add vodka and cook until reduced by half.

Pour the San Marzano tomatoes into the pot and cook at a slow simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove from heat and add salt, red pepper flakes and heavy cream.

Using an immersion blender, food processor or regular blender, puree sauce until smooth.

Return sauce to heat and cook for an additional 20 minutes over medium low heat.

Add parmesan and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

To serve,

What did you think about my homemade vodka sauce recipe? Comment below!