How to Make Vodka Sauce | An Italian Restaurant Classic You Can Make at Home

Watch my restaurant-style vodka sauce web story here.

First things first

The most important step in making this classic sauce is to start with a good marinara sauce.

I started with Fabio Viviani’s recipe, and you can watch him make make his tomato sauce here.

You can also use your favorite marinara recipe or use a good quality jarred marinara.

Ingredients

I did a bit of research on this classic sauce (thanks, Giada), and it contains these components:

• Marinara Sauce
• Vodka
• Heavy Cream
• Parmesan cheese

Remember, you can make any marinara sauce you like. Or you can use your favorite jarred sauce.

My favorite jarred marinara is Rao’s. Give it a try. It tastes very fresh with a minimal ingredient list.

And now, on to the recipe and technique for making restaurant-style pasta sauce.

Making vodka sauce from marinara sauce

The basic ratios for making this classic are easy to remember:

• 8 parts marinara
• 2 parts vodka
• 1 part cream
• 1/2 part Parmesan

To make a huge amount, the measurements would look like this:

• 8 cups marinara
• 2 cups vodka
• 1 cup cream
• 1/2 cup Parmesan

My recipe makes about 1/4 of that amount, and you’ll see the ratios hold true.

Classic proportions:

In the collage below, you can see the proportions holding true. I have 2 cups of marinara, so it will need 1/2 cup vodka.

Cook the two together and reduce until you have the original volume (2 cups).

Then, you’ll add 1/4 cup of cream, puree, and last, add 2 Tablespoons of freshly microplaned Parmesan cheese.

To marry the sauce to the pasta, you’ll need 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking liquid, shown in the last collage image.

Step by step instructions

1. Cook marinara and vodka together until the volume is the same as the original amount of marinara (See image below)
   
2. Add cream and pepper flakes. Puree with an immersion blender.
   
3. Stir in Parmesan.
   
4. Adjust seasonings if necessary.

How Do I Mix the Sauce Into My Pasta?

There is nothing sadder than naked pasta with sauce poured on top.

What you need to do is make sure that every noodle is coated with rich, creamy sauce. In order to do that, you have to know how to marry the sauce to the pasta.

It’s not hard to do, and it only takes an extra couple of minutes of cooking. The effort is more than worth it. After all, I didn’t show you how to make this restaurant classic only to have it poured haphazardly onto naked pasta.

To enjoy this the way they make it in restaurants, marry the sauce and pasta together.

In Short: To the pot of sauce:

• add some of your starchy pasta cooking water along with a bit of fat (oil, cream, or butter) to the cooked and drained pasta.
• Boil madly, stirring, to reduce the liquid.
• The starch lends a beautiful, creamy mouthfeel to your sauce.

What Pasta Pairs Best with Vodka Sauce?

The classic shape is penne, hence “penne alla vodka.” Penne is Italian for pen, and these short shapes sort of look like the nibs of fountain pens.

If you get the kind with ridges, which I prefer since the ridges hold onto more sauce, that’s called penne rigate, which literally means “striped penne.”

For every day, I turn to DeCecco most often. But for fancy pasta, here’s my pick:

My Pick for Fancy Pasta

Rummo Italian Pasta Penne Rigate No. 66 (1lb Package)

$12.99 $9.30 ($0.58 / Ounce)

For everyday cooking, I don't go much beyond brands available in my local grocery store, but sometimes I want fancy pasta. Rummo is an excellent pasta that is imported from Italy, from the Rummo family's pasta company in Benevento. They've been around since 1846. I'd say they know what they are doing!

Purchase Now

This is an affiliate link which means I earn from qualifying purchases. Your price is unaffected.

05/12/2023 08:43 pm GMT

It’s for more than just pasta

Looking for another way to enjoy your luscious velvety sauce?

Try it as a pizza sauce like I did in my Grandma Pizza Recipe. Nom. Use this grandma pizza dough recipe–it is seriously amazing!

And if you’re interested in an easy, shortcut version, try my Easy Creamy Vodka Sauce recipe!

Other classic pasta sauce recipes

Once you master this, here are some other classic pasta sauce recipes you will want to have in your back pocket:

• Primavera Sauce (Kid-Friendly with loads of vegetables)
• Try this creamy pasta sauce. It’s not necessarily an authentic Italian sauce, but it’s rich and creamy and tastes like garlic and Asiago cheese. It’s pretty excellent.
• Easy Puttanesca Sauce (A bold sauce with the huge flavors of anchovy, capers, olive, and pepper flake)
• Traditional Bolognese Sauce (Meaty comforting goodness)

If you have any questions about this or any other recipe or post on the site, there are a few ways to get in touch.

You can leave a comment on the post, and I’ll be back in touch within 24 hours.

If your question is more pressing, don’t hesitate to email me, and I should be back in touch within 4 hours (unless I’m asleep) or often much more quickly than that.

I really hope you love this recipe, you guys! If you make it, please share a photo with me, either in the PCO Facebook Group or on instagram by tagging @onlinepastrychef and using hashtag #pcorecipe.

I hope you’ve learned something from this post or that you’ve decided to make the recipe.

It would really help me and other readers out if you’d rate the recipe using the star ratings in the recipe card.

It’s also very helpful to me and to other readers if you leave a comment and/or a recipe review.

Thank you so much for being here and for helping others find my recipes by sharing on your social platforms!

Check out my how to make vodka sauce pin on Pinterest as well. Other folks have made it and have left photos!

Thanks, and enjoy!

Continue to Content

How to Make Vodka Sauce

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

How to make vodka sauce using any marinara sauce, including jarred marinara sauce. All proportions are by volume. Enjoy!
For ease of writing the recipe, I'm basing everything on 2 cups of marinara sauce. Please scale accordingly.

Print

Ingredients

• 2 cups your favorite marinara sauce (See Notes for Fabio's Recipe)
• 1/2 cup vodka, (it does not need to be top shelf, or even middle shelf)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 Tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
• a few hot pepper flakes, (optional but lovely)
• salt and pepper, to taste (only if necessary. Taste after you add the cheese and go from there.)

Instructions

1. Bring marinara and vodka to a boil. Simmer and reduce until it is at the original volume of the marinara. So, starting with 2 cups of marinara and adding 1/2 cup of vodka, you'll simmer until your total volume is back to 2 cups.
2. Add the cream and pepper flake and puree until smooth. (I used an immersion blender, but you can certainly use a blender-blender).
3. Stir in the Parmesan.
4. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.
5. To serve with penne or Whatever, cook the pasta for 2 fewer minutes than package directions. Drain, reserving a bit of pasta cooking water.
6. Dump in enough vodka sauce to coat all the pasta along with about 1/4 cup of the cooking water. You don't want the pasta swimming in sauce, so use your own judgement. This is pretty rich stuff. Each noodle should have a thin, sexy coating of sauce once you're done cooking.
7. Stir over high heat for two minutes. Plate and serve.

Notes

To Make Fabio Viviani's Marinara Sauce:

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 28 oz can excellent quality whole tomatoes
• salt and pepper to taste
• Italian seasoning to taste (optional)
• an additional Tablespoon or so of olive oil

Instructions

1. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the oil.
2. Toast the garlic in the oil until it is "cappuccino brown."
3. Immediately add the canned tomatoes and all the juice along with a heavy pinch of salt, some freshly ground black pepper, and some Italian seasoning (if using).
4. Cook over medium heat, smashing the tomatoes with the back of a spoon, until the mixture has reduced by quite a bit and the tomatoes are caramelizing (the color will be a richer, darker red). This will take about 15 minutes or so.
5. Add the additional olive oil and cook over high heat until the oil that separates out from the sauce is red.
6. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.

You can use this sauce as Viviani suggests over toast or marry it to your favorite pasta. Or puree the sauce and use to make vodka sauce!

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Cuisinart 7193-20 Chef's Classic Stainless 3-Quart Saucepan with Cover
• 
  4 cup Polycarbonate Measuring Cup
• 
  KitchenAid KHB2351CU 3-Speed Hand Blender - Contour Silver

Nutrition Information

Yield 4 Serving Size 1/2 cup
Amount Per Serving Calories 210Total Fat 6.9gSaturated Fat 3.1gCholesterol 15mgSodium 687mgCarbohydrates 17.5gFiber 3.3gSugar 11.1gProtein 3.5g

Thanks for spending some time with me today. Enjoy the sauce, and spread the love by teaching someone else how to make it!

Hi, everyone!

If you haven’t already, I’d love to have you sign up for my newsletter.

I generally send one or two a week with recipes, tips, and some behind-the-scenes action.

Just click the button below to sign up. Thank you!

Sign up for the Inbox Pastry Chef

Take care, and have a lovely day.