When you just want a big bowl of creamy, spicy pasta this easy homemade vodka sauce is the perfect indulgence. I’ve dried store bought vodka sauce before and it’s just never as smooth and creamy as what you get at an Italian restaurant. Plus, we love a little extra spice in this house (my husband is currently perfecting making his own hot sauce) so when I discovered Italian chili pepper paste it was the perfect addition to this sauce. I included the packaging of the one I used for this sauce in the ingredients below and easily found it on Amazon.
I love this sauce as is with penne or rigatoni, but you could easily add ground beef or Italian sausage or top with some melty burrata. This sauce has become our new go to, and I hope you love it too. This recipe makes enough for a full lb. of pasta but keeps well in the refrigerator for several days. If saving some of the sauce, I recommend boiling fresh pasta each time and waiting to add the butter so that you have the starchy pasta water to add to get the sauce silky smooth.
Spicy Vodka Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 6oz tomato paste
- 1/2 cup vodka
- 1-2 tbsp Italian chili pepper paste
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 tbsp butter
- Parmesean cheese for topping
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 lb pasta such as penne or rigatoni
- 1/4 cup reserved pasta water
Instructions
- Put a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Add a large pinch of salt to the water. Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente.
- While the pasta is cooking make the sauce. In a medium-large pan heat the olive oil over medium heat for a minute. Dice the onion as finely as possible. I have a small food chopper that works great for this. Add the onion to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes until the onion is soft. Mince the garlic cloves and add to the pan. Cook garlic for 1 minutes stirring often so it doesn't burn.
- Add the tomato paste to the onion and garlic. Stir with a whisk until all combined and the tomato paste has softened. Add the chili pepper paste. I recommend starting with 1 tbsp and then increasing if you like things more spicy. I did 2 tbsp and it had a nice kick to it. Cook for 2 minutes stirring every 30 seconds.
- Add the vodka sauce and cook for 4-5 minutes. You want to cook down the vodka so that you can barely smell the alcohol anymore. Add the cream, stir until the sauce is a nice orange color and the cream is all incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for a few more minutes until the sauce beings to bubble and you know it's nice and hot.
- Once the pasta is cooked. Use a glass measuring cup to reserve some of the pasta water before draining. Drain the pasta and then add to the pan with the vodka sauce if you have enough room or return to the pot you cooked the pasta in. Add the butter and vodka sauce to the pasta. Stir to coat the pasta and then pour a little of the pasta cooking water into the sauce. This will help the sauce become nice and smooth and stick to the noodles. I started with 1/4 cup for a whole lb. of pasta. If the sauce still looks pretty thick you can add more water.
- Scoop into bowls and enjoy. I recommend topping with a sprinkle of freshly grated parmesan cheese too.
