The Best Pasta Sauce Ever
Do me a favor: MAKE THIS PASTA SAUCE FOR DINNER TONIGHT! I think you’ll thank me. It’s absolutely, positively, hands down, 100% the best pasta sauce I have ever tasted. And I’ve had a lot of pasta sauce experience so you must understand how bold of a statement I just made. The best part is: I made it myself! And once you read how easy it is, you’ll be able to make it too!
I know. That’s certainly a lot of excitement over a pasta sauce. But let me explain. I grew up with lots of jarred sauce in my day, which don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed, but I never knew how much of a difference fresh could make. I thought that even though it was mass produced, the pasta sauce makers of my day still knew what they were doing and I should leave the sauce making to the experts.
But, through my love of Italian restaurants, I developed a love for vodka sauce, a sweet mixture of tomato and cream with a hint of spice from the vodka. No jar could ever compare to the restaurant quality I had tasted. So, I made this sauce. And let me tell you, I surpassed the restaurants! With chunks of tomatoes, onions, shallots, garlic, and a deep rich flavor, this sauce is truly addictive. I’m eating the leftovers for my lunch as I type this blog post and I wish I had more. The cream is often to blame for making vodka sauce too rich, but the small amount in this sauce keeps it light and still refreshing.
But truthfully, I think the secret is the shallots. I’m not a big onion fan but I do enjoy the flavor of shallots so I decided to mix the two to add flavor but still have enough to add texture. The onions and shallots become sort of caramelized and provide the perfect background flavor if you ask me!
Anyway, I couldn’t be more proud of my concoction that I just needed to share it with the rest of the world. Here is how to make my new favorite vodka sauce:
Step 1: Chop up 1 lg. shallot, 2 cloves garlic and 1/4 onion. Brown them in olive oil for about 5 minutes.
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Step 2: Add canned tomatoes (make sure to drain the liquid!) and fresh tomatoes to the mix and any seasoning you like. I love the spice of crushed red pepper flakes so I added some here. Let that stew for 5-10 minutes.
Step 3: Add cream and vodka. Let cook until thickened. Don’t worry - it’s not going to look right at first but give it a little time and it will become that orange color we all love. If the mixture is too thin, quickly stir in 1 Tbs. flour.
When it’s done, it should look like this:
…a simmering bowl of delicious tomato-ey creamy wonderfully flavored goodness!
Need a new saucepan? Get one from the Recipe4Living Cooking Store!
Now, pour it over some pasta. Mix in any veggies you want to add. We added sauteed mushrooms and steamed spinach. And voila, we had a wonderful meal!
The only thing I didn’t like was the pasta itself! I bought a new brand, and I don’t know if I just didn’t boil it long enough or what..but it tasted grainy, chewy and…well, terrible. It was sad to waste good sauce on terrible pasta…but there was nothing I could do. But the sauce still made the dinner and good pasta or bad pasta, it was hard not to eat!
I also have to give a lot of credit to my sous chef mother who did a wonderful job chopping up the garlic, onions and shallots. She is much neater of a chopper than I could ever be and I think that really made a difference in the sauce. Just look at that skill! Thank you mom!
Naturally, I’d like to submit this entry into Presto Pasta Nights to be hosted this week by me (Chew on That)! Tune in tomorrow for the roundup and a whole sloe of equally delicious looking pasta dishes.
Delicious Homemade Vodka Sauce
I made this vodka sauce from scratch, and it’s hands down the best I have ever tasted! Serve with penne, rigatoni or pasta of your choice! This recipe is loosely based off of this one but I made enough tweaks where I think I can safely call it my own.
Ingredients
2 cloves garlic
1 lg. shallot
1/4 yellow onion
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 14.5-oz. can whole tomatoes, drained
3 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 C. heavy cream
1/4 C. vodka
1 Tbs. all purpose flour (if necessary for thickening)
Directions
In a saucepan, brown garlic, shallots and onion in olive oil, about 5 minutes. Add canned tomatoes, fresh tomatoes and crushed red pepper. Mix, breaking up tomatoes, and let cook on medium to high heat for 5-10 minutes. Add heavy cream and vodka and stir. Let cook for 5-10 minutes. If the mixture doesn’t thicken, quickly stir in 1 Tbs. flour. Keep heated until serving.
Serve over cooked penne or rigatoni or pasta of your choice. Tip: Try out this pasta pot from the Recipe4Living Cooking Store!
More Like This:
Penne Pasta with Tomato Vodka Sauce
Shrimp Penne a la Vodka
Rigatoni a la Vodka with Chicken and Asparagus
Serving Size: 4-6
Popularity: 100% [?]
Tags: homemade vodka sauce, pasta recipes, pasta sauce recipes, presto pasta night, vodka sauce recipe
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It looks so rich and creamy and delicious!
Posted by Reeni at April 23rd, 2009, 2:51 pmVodka sauce is great! Thanks so much for this post!
Posted by Hugging the Coast at April 23rd, 2009, 3:45 pmOh gosh yes please! I only discovered vodka sauce for pasta fairly recently but it’s an absolute winner, yum, yum…
Posted by Daily Spud at April 23rd, 2009, 3:56 pmThanks for the comments - I highly recommend you make it, it’s so easy!
Posted by Hillary at April 23rd, 2009, 4:27 pmVodka sauce wowwww creamy, drinkable and totally eatable :)
Posted by Gera @ SweetsFoods at April 23rd, 2009, 5:10 pmMmm, the shallots always make the sauce that much more amazing I find.
Cheers!
Posted by Zo at April 23rd, 2009, 7:30 pmthis looks great! I love vodka sauce!
Posted by LK- Healthy Delcious at April 23rd, 2009, 8:21 pmYou know Hillary, I tried vodka sauce this year partly because of you! You had gone so nuts for it, I figured it was really worth a taste. First time was over ravioli at a local restaurant, and then I made Lidia Bastianich’s recipe for me and Steve for Valentine’s (and submitted it to PPN that week!). It was awesome. I made it again a couple of weeks later.
So you should be really proud! What a great job and what a delicious sauce this must be. And thanks for getting me to try it at all and add a great new love in my life. :)
Posted by Melissa at April 23rd, 2009, 8:32 pmLoving your portion of the vodka on this one, in my opinion, that is where many vodka sauces fail, adding too much vodka. Happy eating!
Posted by Heidi / Savory Tv at April 24th, 2009, 1:24 amThis sauce looks sensational! Can’t wait for the round-up.
Posted by Alisa - Frugal Foodie at April 24th, 2009, 10:05 amLooks and sounds fantastic…can’t wait to see your roundup later. Thanks for hosting Presto Pasta Nights yet again!
Posted by Ruth at April 24th, 2009, 11:44 amThis DOES look good! I haven’t tried vodka sauce before that I know of so I’ll have to give your recipe a try - maybe next time I attempt homemade pasta! :)
Posted by anna at April 24th, 2009, 7:49 pmIt looks gross…no offense its your pictures. Im sure its good. Ive been a cook for 7 yrs and have made some vodka tomato sauces similar to this before. The sauce itself looks good, its your shots of the dish…maybe some parsley? lol
thanks for the good read anyways
Posted by Jared at April 26th, 2009, 9:59 pmRecipe tips from someone who eats sauce from jars and can’t even cook pasta? No thanks…
Posted by Dave at April 27th, 2009, 6:08 amJared and Dave,
It must be so fulfilling to know that the internet will never run out of things for you to critique. The world will be a better place for knowing your opinions on things that only interest you enough to bitch about. THANK YOU!!!
If you don’t have anything nice to say, get your own damn blog.
Posted by Thar Be Losers! at April 27th, 2009, 3:49 pmLooks pretty photoshopped.
Posted by Phil E. Drifter at April 27th, 2009, 4:12 pmThank you everyone for your comments. I just want to assure that these photos have not been photoshopped.
Posted by Hillary at April 27th, 2009, 5:39 pmThat looks absolutely disgusting. Horrible and brown. Yeurgh.
Posted by Anonymous at April 28th, 2009, 3:56 amI really like this recipe! One alternate would be to try “Aleppo Pepper” instead of chili flake. I got some at an online called Juliet Mae Spices; This Aleppo Pepper is hot but not too hot, fruity but not too fruity, and yummy.
Posted by wm1 at April 28th, 2009, 9:54 amWhat type of pasta was it that you bought? If it was whole grain pasta then it was definitely the pasta not your cooking so that Dave guy can kiss your a**! I sometimes use whole grain pasta because it’s healthier but it doesn’t matter how long you cook it for, it’s always going to feel grainy and chewy. Anyway, the sauce looks great! I’ve never tried vodka sauce but it looks like something I would enjoy! Great Job!
Posted by Ashley at April 28th, 2009, 10:08 pmI have never heard of vodka sauce but it sure does sound yummy. Will def make this soon. Thank you for sharing!
Posted by Farina at April 29th, 2009, 6:57 pmthis is fantastic, i made it tonight and wish i had made a larger batch
Posted by Luke at April 29th, 2009, 11:26 pmMmmmm im going to try it!!
Posted by economlena at April 30th, 2009, 4:06 amMade the sauce for dinner tonight… turned out quite decent, although, I would mash it up a bit more next time (maybe with a hand blender) to make it a bit more “saucier”/creamy.
Tasted pretty good! Thank you!
Posted by Aashish at April 30th, 2009, 11:10 pmI heard recently (can’t remember the source, sorry) that tomato has ‘alcohol soluble flavours’ - that is, flavours that only come out when alcohol is added. I’ve tried it out a number of times in various recipes, and the flavour is absolutely addictive! I’ll definitely try your sauce too.
Posted by Julie Lawrence at May 1st, 2009, 5:28 amThat sauce looks absolutely revolting
Posted by stretcharmstrong at May 1st, 2009, 8:42 amIt looks like Barf In A Bowl
Posted by stretcharmstrong at May 1st, 2009, 8:43 amNo cheese? I love vodka sauce, but it’s gotta have the cheese!
Posted by Kate at May 1st, 2009, 10:50 amThis Pasta dish looks absolutely devour-able.
I stay on my own so Pasta is regularly on my menu because it is easy to prepare. This one looks a little complicated but then again it looks too tempting for me to not try it out. Please keep dishing out more of this.
Life can be delicious.
THE PHENOMENON CALLED LIFE THROUGH MY COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES .. http://lifeshortstory.wordpress.com/2009/03/29/pushing-the-papers/
Posted by Murtaza. Soni at May 2nd, 2009, 8:53 amSounds good and photos look great to me. I want to try it but don’t have shallots, just lots of onions. Do you think it will be sorry without the shallots?
Posted by cyndie at May 2nd, 2009, 4:54 pmThis recipe actually turned out to be pretty good, I loved it! Thanks for sharing…
Posted by Breezy at May 3rd, 2009, 5:34 pmThis is the exact same recipe from joy of cooking.
Posted by anika at May 4th, 2009, 6:02 amHi, I just passed by and read your interesting (and yummy) recipe!
Posted by Mik at May 5th, 2009, 11:11 amNext time, look for the Barilla brand for your pasta: it’s a bit expensive in USA, but it’s worth!!
Hi,
Thanks for such a nice recipe. I am going to try this too.
Please make it video and post on youtube.
Thanks
Posted by Sandip at May 5th, 2009, 6:10 pmVodka sauce is great, but honestly those pictures make this “delicious” sauce look disgusting.
Posted by Lemony Snicket at May 5th, 2009, 9:10 pmI love vodka sauce. Is there a way to make it healthy? I asked the editors of http://www.favediets.com to see of they can create a healthy vodka pasta sauce recipe. Any other ideas? Thanks.
Posted by Rae Bu at May 5th, 2009, 9:46 pmI did this recipe tonight following it exactly. This isn’t the best pasta sauce ever, it doesn’t even place.
The pasta sauce is just too thin… I’m not talking about the consistency, but the flavor. I agree with Kate, that this should have some kind of cheese in it to hold the sauce together. The cream was pretty non-existent in the flavoring, the tomato and vodka pretty much drowned it out. I probably would have doubled the cream and shallots, added some butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano to give the sauce some depth.
Also, you should note to skin the fresh tomatoes or you’ll have little tough skin rolls at the end.
I’m being tough, but I will admit my wife and son liked it a lot. Though, she still likes the fresh fettuccine alfredo I make more.
2.5/4 Stars
Posted by Sam at May 6th, 2009, 10:31 pmHas potential
Wow, it’s look like delicious
but, I have one question, how much cost to cook this ?
Posted by raitucarp magazine at May 7th, 2009, 12:57 amgreat recipe, wonderful things if it was through the video ,thanks!
Posted by rif at May 8th, 2009, 1:11 pmwow!! brilliant recipe…tried it for dinner last night and it turned otu to be pretty good..
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Posted by arshi at May 11th, 2009, 5:38 amBLEAH !!!!
Posted by Debadda at May 13th, 2009, 11:18 amWhen you put cream, you kill all kind of taste, primarly and above all the taste of PASTA
Hi! I stumbled on this recipe and used it for a base as I had never made pasta sauce before! It was delicious! I added in quite a bit of my extra seasonings (herbs de providence, cayenne, white pepper), some mozzarella, a bit of butter, some sugar, green onions… I also put more onions and garlic. Topped it off with a bit of parm and seasoned steamed spinach. Very tasty! Will definitely make again! Thanks for the general idea!
I think this would be amazing on top of breaded eggplant, too!
Posted by Kim Joyce at May 27th, 2009, 2:14 pmI never cook with liquor. Ca this be used fro kids as well? will the vodka be a problem for them? What if a guest is in aa? will this be ok to use? I look at wine recipes, but pass beause of cooking for kids. Can this be frozen and saved for another meal?
Posted by Barb at June 10th, 2009, 8:07 pmIt look goods I think I will try it out!
Posted by Morten Pedersen at June 12th, 2009, 1:14 pmThis looks like heaven, but what do you think about the vodka and serving this for children? Would the alcohol content disappear, or would they just sleep really well later?!
Posted by Black Katz - flats to rent in London at June 16th, 2009, 6:43 amI just made this! The only minor adjustments I made are that I used fire-roasted canned tomatoes and instead of vodka, I substituted white wine. For a lower calorie version, try using half & half! As far as mix-ins go, I used marinated artichoke hearts and black olives. This sauce is a truly great way to impress people and it’s not too labor-intensive, so, thank you! Somehow, however, I did have difficulty achieving anything near an orange colour.
Posted by Sarah Marisa at July 10th, 2009, 4:29 pmwow this site is awesome… probably wasnt the best idea to start reading though right before lunch… these pics look incredible, might try to make this, this weekend…
Posted by Ashtray at July 23rd, 2009, 11:26 amThis looks really good. I’ve been trying to find a good pasta sauce recipe for and it looks like I just found it. Thanks
Posted by Tanya from Online Colleges at September 29th, 2009, 12:52 pmYou evidently have not been to “The Hill” in St. Louis. GREAT Italian sauces.
I made the Best Pasta Sauce Ever, the agreement was that it was just ok, nothing special. I’ll pass on making this again.
Posted by Paul at October 13th, 2009, 9:14 pmHIRRARY!
Posted by Bill at October 15th, 2009, 4:42 pmIt looks fantastic and delicious… I’m going to try it for dinner
Un saludo ;)
Posted by Roberto RECETASonline at November 15th, 2009, 11:20 amThanks! Ill try this sauce tonight at home, I will let you know if my family liked it!
Posted by lockerz invite at November 19th, 2009, 5:09 pmjust made this pasta….amazing!!!
Posted by miami at January 23rd, 2010, 10:04 pmIf i want to study cooking it ,is that easy?
Posted by quartz microfiber filter paper at February 10th, 2010, 10:23 pmLooks Great! Have you ever tried any of Bove’s of Vermont’s sauces?? We’d be happy to send for you to try!
Posted by JP Faiella at February 18th, 2010, 9:15 pmI wouldn’t do red onions in this sauce, just because I don’t like them– I’d go with sweet onions because they are less pungent. But everything else looks good!
Posted by JFR Cigars at March 6th, 2010, 11:04 pm-Sylvia
I have tried the Vodka sauce and it’s a little pungent for my taste… My husband was impartial.
Posted by Acid Cigars at March 6th, 2010, 11:12 pm-Sylvia