Pasta alla Vodka Recipe - Pamela Salzman (2024)

This is a classic sauce that is so easy and everyone loves it. If you don’t eat pasta, serve it over zoodles, spaghetti squash or do what I do – a smaller amount of pasta supplemented with lots of cooked, seasonal vegetables (e.g. asparagus, carrots, peas, mushrooms.) You can make it spicy or not at all. One of the reasons I wanted to share this recipe is to show you different ways you can swap for heavy cream in a savory recipe. I never have heavy cream just hanging around the fridge, and I also never feel the need to buy it either. When I refer to a ”rich, homemade cashew milk” in the recipe, I’m talking about making it with a base like JOI and doubling the quantity of cashew base I usually use. Some people swap coconut milk for heavy cream and don’t detect a coconut flavor; some people do and don’t care for it. Lastly, the vodka is optional, but the alcohol does burn off so you can give this to children. And, the vodka actually does provide a balancing flavor to the tomatoes and helps to emulsify the sauce.

Why You’ll Love This Pasta alla Vodka

• Comfort food good enough to serve at a dinner party;
• Easy GF/vegan modifications;
• You probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry;
• Creamy and delicious without being too rich!

Ingredients

• Shallot – 1/2 of a shallot finely chopped
• Garlic clove – 1 small garlic clove, finely grated
• Tomato paste – ½ cup (why do you use tomato paste over fresh or crushed?)
• Vodka – 2 Tablespoons, any brand you have in the house!
• Heavy cream – 1 cup heavy cream OR half and half, OR rich, homemade cashew milk, OR ¾ cup cooked white beans pureed with ½ cup pasta water, OR ½ cup almond milk cream cheese (I like Kite Hill) + extra pasta water.
• Crushed red pepper flakes – this is optional I use about ½ – 1 teaspoon. Modify depending on your preferences.
• Pasta – 1 pound short pasta like penne or rigatoni, fusilli – I used a GF pasta.
• Butter – unsalted butter or plant butter
• Cheese – Parmesan, 1 ounce (about ⅓ cup) finely grated plus more for serving
• Basil (if you have it) – you want to use fresh basil here

How to Make Pasta alla Vodka

1. Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook until the shallot is tender and translucent. Do not brown. Add tomato paste and scrape the skillet with a wooden spoon to deglaze the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook the tomato paste until it darkens a bit, about 5 minutes. (Important step to cook the paste.)
2. Add the cream and red pepper flakes and stir to combine. Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend IF you prefer a smooth sauce and then pour back into the skillet. Or you can use an immersion blender. The sauce can be made up to this point 5 days ahead and stored covered in the refrigerator.
3. Add vodka to the sauce and cook, stirring constantly, until most of the alcohol has reduced. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Season the water with a heaping Tablespoon of kosher salt and add the pasta, stirring constantly. Stir until the water comes back up to a boil and lower the heat gradually so that the water is boiling, but not too aggressively. Cook pasta until al dente. Reserve at least 1 cup of pasta water before draining.
5. Toss pasta with sauce in the skillet, and add butter, and ½ cup pasta water until butter is completely melted and sauce has thickened. Continue to add more pasta water as needed. If you want to serve this without pasta and you have no pasta water, you’ll need regular water or a light chicken stock or vegetable stock instead. Taste for seasoning and toss to coat with Parmesan cheese. Garnish with basil right before serving and add more Parmesan, if desired.

Tips

• How to perfectly cook gluten-free pasta:
  1. Boil plenty of water.
  2. Add 1 Tablespoon of kosher salt. (This is to flavor the pasta. No need to waste expensive sea salt here.)
  3. Add pasta and stir often. (This is so that the pasta doesn’t stick to each other.) You do not need to add oil to any pasta, gluten-free or otherwise.
  4. When you add the pasta, set your timer for the least amount of time that the package directions indicate. For example, with Trader Joe’s Brown Rice and Quinoa spaghetti, it says to cook for 7-10 minutes. I set my timer for 7 minutes.
  5. Lower the heat so that the water simmers, and is not raging boiling. This is important. Rapid boiling is what causes the pasta to lose its shape.
  6. MOST IMPORTANT STEP: When the timer goes off, turn off the heat and let the pasta remain in the hot water. Taste the pasta. It should still be a little hard. Scoop out a little pasta water and reserve.
  7. Allow the pasta to sit in the hot water with the heat off until you have your desired tenderness, which means you may need to test it every 30 seconds.
  8. Drain and immediately toss with your sauce. DO NOT RINSE PASTA, unless you want to use it in a cold dish. The starches on the outside of the pasta will help sauces, etc. stick. Use the reserved pasta water to add extra moisture to the pasta as needed. Keep in mind, gluten-free pasta does not sit as well as regular pasta, so try to serve immediately or at the least, keep that reserved pasta water on hand in case.

Substitutions

• Heavy cream – half and half OR rich, homemade cashew milk OR ¾ cup cooked white beans pureed with ½ cup pasta water OR ½ cup almond milk cream cheese (I like Kite Hill) + extra pasta water
• Butter – use a plant butter like Miyoko’s
• Parmesan – a vegan like Parmesan like Violife.
• Regular pasta – use your favorite GF pasta or pasta alternative. My go-to GF pasta is Jovial brown rice pasta or Jovial red lentil-brown rice pasta. Jovial also makes a great grain-free pasta.

Other recipes you may like:

Pasta with Melted Zucchini Sauce

Pasta con le Sarde

Pasta with 5-minute cherry tomato sauce

Pantry Pasta

If you give this Pasta alla Vodka a try, snap a pic and tag @pamelasalzman so I can see your beautiful creations. I also really appreciate readers taking the time to leave a rating and review! Subscribe for free to my site for the latest recipes, updates and things I’m loving lately. If you enjoy this recipe, check out my online class here! I teach a new class every month, which you watch on your own time. Give me an hour a month, and I’ll make you a better, healthier cook!