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    Easy Vodka Sauce Pasta

    Sep 28, 2017 · 27 Comments

    11.7K shares
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    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    Easy Vodka Sauce Pasta is a perfect dinner idea, whether it’s Sunday dinner, holiday celebration, Valentine’s Day dinner,  or just a dinner for two. This amazing creamy vodka pasta dish will make you feel like you are in pasta heaven!

    Bolognese Pasta in Vodka Sauce with Sausage

    And as a bonus won’t have to travel to Italy to enjoy a really good Pasta in Vodka Sauce. Because if you are reading this, you can EASILY make a great Vodka Sauce in your own kitchen.

    In my search for how to make this vodka sauce a la Bolognese, I discovered that there is no single recipe of Bolognese Sauce, but the basic ingredients include meat, tomato sauce and pasta. I used sausage as the meat and made from scratch creamy vodka sauce as the sauce.

    What pasta works best in vodka sauce?

    I chose Rigatoni for pasta here (it’s tube-shaped and larger than penne – perfect for the thick meat sauce!) and added mushrooms and fresh basil.

    What does vodka sauce taste like?

    The taste is quite meaty and creamy, but at the same time very delicate and aromatic! You will enjoy it.

    And besides, I think you will appreciate all the layering of flavors (vodka, cream, garlic and Italian spices), the simplicity of ingredients (mushrooms, sausage and pasta), and the amazing smell in the kitchen!

    Nothing in this Pasta in Vodka Sauce with Sausage dish tastes overbearing or under seasoned. This is a fantastic and incredibly tasty bolognese meat sauce to go with your pasta.

    I promise, you will love this dish, spiced up with all that vodka flavor. It’s elegant, easy to make and fills your house with incredible aromas. Let me tell you – sausage rigatoni here taste amazing.

    Bolognese Pasta in Vodka Sauce with Sausage

    After making this vodka sauce from scratch, I still cannot believe how easy it is to make home-made vodka pasta sauce, and how much superior in taste it is to the one bought in store. I will never go back to a jarred sauce ever again!

    And don’t be concerned about the taste of vodka. You can’t taste the harshness of the vodka, it is simply there to enhance the flavors, just like the wine does.

    My father hoped to taste vodka in this recipe after I told him that it contained it, but in vain. His main comment after finishing the dish was: “It has a nice spice to it, but why can’t I taste vodka in this? Did you put it in?” Vodka here just adds a touch of heat to help balance out the sweetness of the tomatoes and the cream.

    How to Make Creamy Vodka Sauce

    • I highly recommend to use sea or kosher salt in this creamy vodka sauce as it lends a more refined taste than regular table salt, has no additives and is saltier.
    • And do not rinse your pasta before adding it to your sauce. Pasta water is starchy, which helps the sauce cling to the noodle.
    • Once meat and mushrooms are cooked, reduce heat (or even remove pan from heat) and add ½ cup vodka to the pan, in a steady stream, VERY SLOWLY.
    • Increase heat to medium high to reduce vodka by cooking for 2 or 3 minutes.
    • Add 1 cup chicken broth and 1 can (32 oz) tomatoes.
    • Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce heat to simmer. Stir cream into sauce and simmer on low heat.
    Bolognese Pasta in Vodka Sauce with Sausage

    When the sauce cooks with sausage, mushrooms, garlic, onions and tomatoes and of course, vodka, in it (see details in the recipe box), it will look like A LOT OF SAUCE!

    But wait, once you add pasta – you will think you didn’t have enough. To finish sauce preparation, cream and basil is added to the mixture at the very end, right before mixing it with pasta.

    With this Pasta in Vodka Sauce with Sausage recipe, you can skip the restaurant and make the best vodka sauce at home!

    If you are in a mood to make more pasta dishes with alcohol, this time with wine instead of vodka, I have a variety of recipes on this site for you to enjoy:

    • Chicken Pasta in Creamy White Wine Parmesan Cheese Sauce
    • Pasta Da Vinci (Cheesecake Factory’s copycat recipe)
    • Chicken in Mustard and Wine Sauce
    Vodka Sauce Pasta Bolognese
    Print Recipe
    4.65 from 31 votes

    Easy Vodka Sauce Pasta

    This amazing creamy pasta Bolognese dish will you feel like you are in pasta heaven!
    Prep Time10 mins
    Cook Time30 mins
    Total Time40 mins
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: bolognese, pasta vodka sauce, sausage pasta
    Servings: 4 servings
    servings
    Author: Olya

    Ingredients

    Pasta:

    • 10 oz rigatoni or penne pasta

    Meat:

    • 1.5 pound pork sausage

    Creamy Vodka Sauce:

    • 2 tablespoon butter
    • 2 tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 teaspoon sea salt
    • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
    • 4 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 onion, chopped
    • 1 10 oz package of mushrooms, sliced
    • ½ cup vodka
    • 1 cup chicken broth, unsalted (if using not sodium free broth, adjust salt to taste)
    • ½ cup heavy cream
    • 32 oz can crushed tomatoes
    • 20 leaves fresh basil, torn
    • Parmesan, optional

    Instructions

    • Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 tablespoons butter, 4 cloves of minced garlic, and 1 chopped onion. Gently saute onions and garlic for 3 to 5 minutes to develop their sweetness.
    • Add 10 oz of sliced mushrooms, cook for 2-3 minutes until mushrooms release their moisture. Add 1.5 pound of pork sausage, breaking it down with a fork. Cook sausage for 3 minutes, until it’s broken down in nice little chunks. It doesn’t have to be cooked through. Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning and mix well into the skillet.
    • VODKA SAUCE: Reduce heat (or even remove pan from heat) and add ½ cup vodka to the pan, in a steady stream, VERY SLOWLY. Increase heat to medium high to reduce vodka by cooking for 2 or 3 minutes. Add 1 cup chicken broth and 1 can (32 oz) tomatoes. Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce heat to simmer. Stir cream into sauce and simmer on low heat, while pasta is cooking (next step).
    • PASTA: While sauce simmers, cook pasta in salted boiling water until cooked to al dente.
    • Now back to the skillet with sauce. Add about 20 fresh basil leaves and cook for an additional minute, then remove skillet from heat.
    • Drain pasta. Toss hot pasta with sauce. Taste and add more seasoning, if necessary.
    • Serve in bowls with a few leaves of basil sprinkled on top and more freshly grated Parmesan, to taste.
    Nutrition Facts
    Easy Vodka Sauce Pasta
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 998 Calories from Fat 639
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 71g109%
    Saturated Fat 26g163%
    Cholesterol 178mg59%
    Sodium 585mg25%
    Potassium 1622mg46%
    Carbohydrates 87g29%
    Fiber 8g33%
    Sugar 14g16%
    Protein 44g88%
    Vitamin A 1360IU27%
    Vitamin C 31.1mg38%
    Calcium 156mg16%
    Iron 6.8mg38%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only. This information comes from online calculators. Although whatsinthepan.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sam says

      May 02, 2022 at 1:18 pm

      So good! Any recommendations on how to make the sauce thicker? Pretty soupy…

      Reply
      • Olya says

        May 06, 2022 at 12:27 pm

        I like to use 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of rice flower (due to its starch content). Regular flour will do as well. You can also use cheese (Parmesan for example).

        Reply
    2. Alice says

      February 18, 2022 at 3:19 pm

      I loved this sauce and received many compliments on it. I did make a enough to freeze some and used it later and it tasted great. Now I am ready to make another batch.

      Reply
      • Olya says

        February 25, 2022 at 10:34 am

        Wow!!! I am so happy you are ready to make this again!

        Reply
    3. Kerry Ferguson says

      August 05, 2021 at 11:41 am

      Would this work with ground chicken?

      Reply
      • Olya says

        August 06, 2021 at 12:55 pm

        Absolutely!

        Reply
    4. Amy says

      May 07, 2021 at 6:28 pm

      Would this sauce be good made the day ahead of time? Reheat and add pasta at time of eating?

      Reply
      • Olya says

        May 10, 2021 at 9:59 pm

        Yes! Absolutely!

        Reply
    5. Troy says

      March 03, 2021 at 9:20 am

      I believe the stuff that gets missed here is that the sausage probably should be cooked separately and then added. The grease that comes from your sausage cook is overwhelming. We ended up putting our sauce in the refrigerator overnight soaking the grease off of the top with multiple paper towel changes and then reheated the sauce and out of the basil the next night. It’s still slightly greasy but next time I’ll drain it. That should be a step it’s in this recipe that’s not.

      Reply
      • Olya says

        March 03, 2021 at 11:31 am

        Fair comment, sausage tends to be excessively fatty. I am highly aware of it every time I cook it for breakfast. I will update it.

        Reply
    6. Carol says

      December 27, 2020 at 4:17 pm

      Excellent sauce…have shared with many
      Friends who also love it!
      I double the recipe and it always is perfect.

      Reply
      • Olya says

        December 31, 2020 at 1:10 am

        Great to hear about doubling!!! Just had this same sauce tonight.

        Reply
    7. Ted says

      August 01, 2020 at 7:03 pm

      Flavor is good but diced tomatoes would have been better than crushed tomatoes. My sauce is extremely soupy and needs more texture.

      Reply
    8. David Charyn says

      September 12, 2019 at 7:15 pm

      Do you add the tomato juice as well? Or just the crushed tomatoes?
      My sauce is VERY “wet”. I will simmer it down until its more like a stew.

      Reply
      • Olga says

        September 13, 2019 at 12:24 am

        My crushed tomatoes were pretty thick. I just used another can recently in the chili recipe and chili came through thick as well. Was your can mostly liquid?

        Reply
    9. Tim Nacrelli says

      June 07, 2019 at 8:27 pm

      I like the way you put your recipes together. The vodka sauce will be tried tonight.
      Cheers, Tim

      Reply
      • Olga says

        June 07, 2019 at 8:40 pm

        Thank you! I hope you enjoyed the vodka sauce.

        Reply
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