Our Easy Vodka Sauce Recipe
Vodka sauce. You’ve probably heard of it, maybe you’ve ordered it in a restaurant, or bought it in a jar. But, you haven’t really had vodka sauce (sometimes called pink sauce) until you’ve tried our homemade vodka sauce. Nothing compares to the rich, creamy sauce that our vodka sauce recipe yields, and it’s pretty fast, too. For a creamy, tomato-y vegetarian pasta sauce, try our Lemony Calabrian Chili Pasta or easy Three-Ingredient Tomato Sauce. Or, if you need pasta ideas beyond Baked Penne Alla Vodka, our massive Pasta Round Up has you covered.
Easy Vodka Sauce Ingredients
Extra-virgin olive oil
Yellow onion
Pancetta. Pancetta is bacon’s Italian cousin; both are pork belly, but pancetta is cured and bacon is smoked. Pancetta may be slightly harder to find than bacon, try asking for it at your local meat counter. If you can’t find it, use bacon.
Garlic
Vodka
Canned tomatoes
Salt
Heavy cream
Parmesan cheese
How To Make Vodka Sauce
Prep! Cut the pancetta (easier to do if it’s very cold) with a sharp knife and grate the Parmesan with a microplane grater.
Brown the onions and pancetta (or bacon, in a pinch!) in a large saucepan. When the pancetta is crispy, add a little garlic. OK, actually, we want you to add a lot of garlic.
Booze time! Pour in the vodka and tomatoes, crushing the tomatoes with your hands as you go. Now that the vodka’s open, maybe it’s time to mix up a martini?
Simmer! Now that you’ve got the vodka pasta sauce going and that martini stirred, go take a load off. You’ve got 30 minutes to chill.
Finish the sauce with a bunch of Parm, heavy cream, and salt to taste. Toss it with the pasta of your choice, and dig in.
How To Store Vodka Sauce + Tips
Families with kids may be curious if the vodka cooks out as the sauce simmers. Exactly how alcoholic your vodka sauce is will depend on the proof of your vodka as well as how long you simmer your sauce for but generally vodka sauce is considered to be safe for kids.
Leftover vodka sauce will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-5 days.
We don’t recommend freezing this vodka sauce because of the pancetta, cheese and cream.
Pasta with vodka sauce is one of the best, simplest meals ever, and any pasta shape your family loves will work fine. We especially love using small, tubular shapes like penne and rigatoni.
More Classic Pasta Sauce Recipes
Mambo Italiano!
For more recipe inspiration, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest or order our cookbook. We love when you share your meals. Tag us on Instagram using #themodernproper. Happy cooking!
