Creamy Pasta alla Vodka
This Pasta alla Vodka is one of my go-to, easy weeknight meals. It takes 20 minutes from start to finish and only requires a few ingredients and pantry staples. The mascarpone and cream vodka sauce is one of my all-time favorite pasta sauces, and it goes perfectly with any type of pasta!
“Beautiful recipe! I added sautéed deer sausage and shrimp to the finished product and it was quite marvelous!” -Jakayla (So Much Food reader)
Table of contents
What Is Pasta ‘alla Vodka’? All About This Creamy Tomato Sauce
Pasta alla vodka is a classic Italian-American recipe that you can perfect at home with just a few easy steps! It pairs al dente pasta (often penne, but you can use any shape you want) with a creamy, tomato-based sauce spiked with a little vodka.
So what does adding vodka do to the sauce? All the alcohol is cooked off, but the vodka boosts and intensifies the flavors of the tomatoes during cooking. Vodka also emulsifies the molecules of fat and water and tomato to make a perfectly luscious sauce.
My vodka sauce is vibrant and rich, with a kick from Calabrian chilies and extra creaminess from the mascarpone. Most recipes call for just heavy cream, but I think the mascarpone cheese makes my version even better!
Ingredients for the Creamy Vodka Sauce
- Tomato paste. Opt for a high-quality tomato paste. Your sauce only tastes as good as what you put in it!
- Shallots. I love shallots for a subtle onion flavor, with small pieces that melt into the sauce.
- Garlic. It’s not a great pasta sauce without garlic!
- Calabrian chili. Calabrian chile is my secret ingredient! You can find Calabrian chile paste at Trader Joe’s or on Amazon.
- Vodka. You could omit the vodka if needed, but it really brightens the sauce.
- Pasta Water. Adding pasta water to the sauce helps thicken it and helps the sauce cling to the pasta.
- Mascarpone. Mascarpone is an Italian cream cheese and it makes this sauce extra luscious.
- Heavy cream. You could use all mascarpone if you wanted, but I love the combo of both!
- Butter and Olive Oil. I always saute my shallots and garlic in a mix of butter and olive oil and add an extra pat of butter to the sauce at the end.
Tools Needed
How to Make Restaurant-Quality Pasta alla Vodka
- Boil your pasta. Always cook your pasta about 1-2 minutes shy of the package instructions. You want it to still have some toothiness to it.
Jenny’s Tip: Before draining your pasta, reserve about a cup of pasta water. This is liquid gold in cooking as it helps the vodka cream sauce cling to the ridges of the pasta.
- Sauté the aromatics. You’re looking for the shallot and garlic to soften before adding in the Calabrian chili paste.
- Cook the tomato paste. The key to a really vibrant and rich sauce is to cook the tomato paste for at least 4-5 minutes, until it’s deep red in color.
- Add the vodka. It will bubble a little bit, releasing the golden bits from the bottom of the pan. Those are pure flavor, so make sure to stir them into the sauce!
- Finish the sauce. Once the vodka has reduced, add the pasta, pasta water, cream, butter, and mascarpone. Toss everything together and cook for another 3-4 minutes, until the pasta has absorbed some of the sauce.
Ways to Customize Your Pasta
This recipe really is just a base that can be expanded on to accommodate whatever you have on hand! Here are some ways to customize this pasta recipe to your tastes.
- Add some protein. I love the flavor that Italian sausage adds, but you can easily swap in ground beef, turkey, chicken, or even meatballs (I always have a freezer stash!). If you’re vegetarian, try some hearty mushrooms or even chickpeas!
- Bulk up the veggies. Do you have some leftover veggies that you need to use? This pasta is the perfect way to use them up! This recipe would be great with the addition of spinach, zucchini, mushrooms, or bell peppers!
- Swap the pasta. Use whatever you have on hand like penne, rigatoni, paccheri, or even long noodles like pappardelle or spaghetti. Gluten-free pasta works too.
Side Dish Suggestions
Prepare a full Italian-inspired feast by pairing your creamy pasta with one or more of the following sides:
- Salads: Panzanella Bread Salad, Tomato Burrata Salad, Little Gem Caesar Salad
- Sides: Roasted Carrots, Parmesan Grilled Asparagus, Garlic Gremolata Green Beans
- Desserts: Almond Ricotta Cake, Nutella Chocolate Lava Cake, Coffee Panna Cotta
If you do give this recipe a try, I love hearing about it! Leave a comment with a star rating below. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter and never miss a new recipe! You can also snap a photo & tag @JENNYGOYCOCHEA on Instagram.
More Easy Pasta Dinners to Make
This post contains affiliate links from which I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Affiliate links allow me to keep providing great recipes for free and I never recommend products that I don’t love and personally own.
One-Pan Pasta alla Vodka Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter, divided
- 2 small shallots, finely minced
- 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon Calabrian chili paste
- 8 oz high-quality tomato paste
- 1/2 cup vodka
- 1 1/4 cup pasta water
- 4 oz mascarpone
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 10 oz. high-quality dried pasta, smooth tube shapes work best
- Kosher salt
- Freshly cracked pepper
- Parmesan
- Fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta to al dente, usually 1-2 minutes shy of package instructions. Reserve pasta water before draining the pasta.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil and 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter. Once the butter is melted, add the shallots and garlic and cook until softened. Add the Calabrian chili paste and cook for about a minute, until fragrant.
- Once your chili paste is fragrant, add the tomato paste and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring often, until dark in color. Add the vodka and bring to a simmer, stirring to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the skillet.
- After the vodka has simmered for a couple of minutes (make sure it doesn’t smell boozy anymore), add the pasta, pasta water, mascarpone, heavy cream, and reserved butter to the skillet. Stir really well and bring to a simmer. Once the pasta has absorbed some of the sauce and it’s nice and thick, season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Divide into bowls and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
Notes
Nutrition
You might also like...
-
One Pot Meals Tomato and Burrata Gnocchi
-
Pasta Pumpkin alla Vodka Stuffed Shells
-
Soups & Stews Sopa de Fideo (Mexican Noodle Soup)
Rate & Review This Recipe
I love vodka sauce! Just a note… the calculations if you ask it to triple the recipe aren’t right… I recommend the old fashioned way! ?
Lara,
I’m going to go ahead and adjust your review stars because your issue isn’t with the recipe, it’s with the converter. Not sure what the issue was for you, but it’s working fine on my end. Please consider not docking stars from a recipe for a possible glitch that’s out of my control. Thanks!
Beautiful recipe! I added sauteed deer sausage and shrimp to the finished product and it was quite marvelous!
Love those additions!
This recipe is fabulous. It’s the best vodka sauce that I’ve ever made. I added Italian sausage. I think I’ll try it with shrimp, mushrooms and spinach next time. I will say that it took awhile for my pasta to absorb the sauce, however, I’m pretty sure that I accidentally added too much pasta water. Thanks for the amazing dinner.