Get ready for this Pasta alla Vodka - the creamiest tomato based cream sauce slathered all over your favorite pasta with cheese on top... what more could you ask for?
I'm guessing everyone has their favorite Italian restaurant where you can order massive plates of food that are oozing with cheese and loaded various sauces and you walk out with enough leftovers for 3 days, right? Well this cheesy pasta alla vodka is restaurant quality in your own home! Al dente pasta tossed in a perfectly delicious tomato, vodka and cream sauce - we're doing it!
If you've never had Vodka sauce before - YES there is vodka in it. And NO it will not get you drunk.... aka you're safe to serve this to kids!! It's really just an incredible addition to a creamy tomato sauce to give it a bit of zip. I've loaded mine up with extra cheese to make it the ultimate comfort food! Snuggle up with a bowl of this and call it a night!
Want some more comforting pasta recipes:
- Penne with 5 Cheeses
- Cheesy Baked Gnocchi
- Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese
- Stovetop Mac and Cheese
- Cheesy Kale Pasta
- Cheesy Chicken Taco Pasta
- Chicken Rigatoni with Vodka Sauce
Cheesy Pasta alla Vodka
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup vodka
- 12 ounces favorite pasta shape
- â…” cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- grated Parmigiano-Reggiano to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the butter has melted, add the onions and sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano and crushed red pepper flakes and cook for about 1 minute more. Add the entire can of crushed tomatoes and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Season with salt and pepper.
- In 1 batches, transfer the sauce to a blender and add the cream and vodka. Remove the center knob on the lid (to allow steam to escape) and place a towel over the lid to prevent splattering. Slowly (starting on the lowest setting and increasing every few seconds), blend until completely smooth, about 30 seconds. Return to the saucepan and bring just to a boil over high heat to cook off the vodka. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water, then add the pasta to the sauce with the shredded mozzarella. Stir to combine, and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, adding some of the reserved pasta cooking water as needed to thin it out. (you might not need any of the reserved pasta water if you don't need to thin the sauce FYI). Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve immediately, topped with as much freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano on top as you want.
If making ahead, do I stop after step 2 and refrigerate? How long ahead of serving is appropriate?
yes!! and I would say it keeps in the fridge for a week. Longer in the freezer
So easy and delicious!!! It’s now my family’s favourite pasta recipe 🙂
If I don’t have crushed tomatoes should I just use tomato soup?
tomato soup will be too thin. Do you have something more along the lines of a tomato sauce?
Can I use a hand immersion blender?
sure
Honestly, this is one of the best meals I have made in recent memory. Better than a restaurant....It’s a super impressive, yet easy pasta dish. Thank you Gaby!!!
This is easy and delicious! The perfect comfort meal I was craving. Came together quickly and made extra sauce to have throughout the week!
What if you don’t have heavy cream in the house??
milk!
Great flavor! I added extra red pepper flakes for my S/O who loves a little spice!
Absolutely delicious! full of flavour, easy to make but tastes impressive. I used passata instead of chopped tomato so didn't have to blend but didn't need the full 28 ounces so will definitely make again and adjust that
Very good! I didn’t have time to go to grocery store so had to make do with a few subs (half and half instead of heavy cream, shallot instead of onion, and I used half farfalle and half buccatini). It turned out very good- classic and easy without being boring.
I added the cream with the cheese although the recipe didn’t say when to add it.
it's listed! it's when you add the vodka into the blender 🙂 step 2!
Gaby
What kind of onion (white, yellow, sweet) is your
favorite for this?
yellow!
This is the best pasta recipe I've ever used. My husband, who is very picky, enjoyed it so much, he took the leftovers for lunch today. My daughter is lactose intolerant. Is there an alternative for the cream? Thank you Gaby!
Any kind of vodka?
any unflavored works!!
Oh my. This is going to be a new favorite!!!
Perfect and so easy! The whole family LOVED it! THANK YOU!!