Ina Garten’s Vodka Sauce {Best Vodka Sauce Ever}
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If you’re a penne alla vodka fan, this sauce is for you. Ina’s vodka sauce = the best vodka sauce ever. And don’t be afraid to use the full cup of cream. Go big. You won’t be disappointed you did!
After reading the preface to this pasta alla vecchia bettola recipe in The Barefoot Contessa’s Foolproof, I had to make it immediately. More than being a mainstay on the menu of one of Ina’s favorite restaurants for 20 years, what struck me about the recipe was the method, which calls for roasting the sauce in a covered pan for one-and-a-half hours.
The recipe originates from a restaurant in Florence, and Ina likens the dish to the classic penne alla vodka “but with so much more flavor.”
Few sauces that call for using canned tomatoes leave me satisfied the way this one has. But this sauce has the potential to make this winter like no other.
During the hour and a half in the oven, liquids reduce and flavors concentrate, and the resulting sweet-spicy mixture needs little more than a few splashes of cream and a handful of cheese to balance it out. Adding the full cup of cream makes for an incredibly delicious sauce, but it can hold its own with much less.
This recipe is a little fussier than most of its kind, but the hands-on time is minimal, and the lengthy cooking time really transforms the canned tomatoes. If you’re a penne alla vodka fan, this one’s for you. And don’t be afraid to use the full cup of cream. You won’t be disappointed you did!
A Few Other Favorite Tomato Sauces
- Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce, Simplified
- A Second Marcella Hazan Tomato Sauce
- The New Basic’s Puttanesca
- Quick, Fresh Tomato-Basil Sauce
- Quick Red Enchilada Sauce
First you sweat the onions and garlic for five minutes:
After draining the San Marzano tomatoes…
you squeeze them right into the pan:
into a blender or food processor it goes:
Ina Garten’s Vodka Sauce {Best Vodka Sauce Ever}
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
Description
Adapted from: The Barefoot Contessa’s Foolproof
If you’re a penne alla vodka fan, this sauce is for you. Ina’s vodka sauce = best vodka sauce ever. And don’t be afraid to use the full cup of cream. Go big. You won’t be disappointed you did!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 medium (or a few small) Spanish onion(s), chopped to yield 2½ cups
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- ¼ – ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (If you are sensitive to heat, just use a pinch and adjust at the end. The ½ teaspoon makes for a seriously spicy sauce.)
- 1½ teaspoons dried oregano (optional — I don’t use. I love dried oregano, but I don’t always love it in tomato sauce.)
- 1 cup vodka
- two 28-ounce cans peeled plum tomatoes (56 ounces total)
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ¾ pound penne pasta or whatever shape you like
- 4 tablespoons fresh oregano or basil (I use basil)
- ¼ to 1 cup heavy cream
- grated Parmigiano or Pecorino
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF.
- Heat the olive oil in a large oven proof sauté pan over medium heat, add the onions and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes until translucent. Add the red pepper flakes and dried oregano (if using) and cook for 1 minute more. Add the vodka and continue cooking until the mixture is reduced by half, about 5 minutes more.
- Meanwhile, drain the tomatoes through a sieve. UPDATE: I no longer drain the tomatoes. I find the sauce comes out just as well, and by eliminating this draining step, I don’t have to worry about using up that juice at a later date. If you have made this many times and wish to continue draining the tomatoes, go for it. Save the strained juice. It freezes well and can be used for future sauce-making days or bloody Mary mix, etc.
- Put on an apron and crush the tomatoes into the pan with your hands—careful; this is messy. Add 2 teaspoons salt and a pinch of black pepper. Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid or foil and place it in the oven for 1½ hours.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta al dente. (Note: Ina adds 2 tablespoons of kosher salt to her pasta water. I do this, too, and find it really seasons the pasta nicely. There is no need to save pasta cooking liquid in this recipe, but if there were, the reserved liquid would be too salty. Just something to keep in mind.) Drain and set aside.
- Place the tomato mixture in a blender or food processor and purée in batches until the sauce is a smooth consistency. Place potholders or dishtowels around the handles of your pot to prevent burning your hands in the next step. (Note: I purée a handful of basil with the sauce at this step and don’t add any more fresh herbs.) Return sauce to the pan.
- Reheat the sauce, add 2 tablespoons fresh oregano (if using) and enough heavy cream to make the sauce a creamy consistency — start with a quarter cup; taste; add more as necessary. Add salt (if necessary) and pepper, to taste, and simmer for 10 minutes. Toss the pasta into the sauce and cook for 2 minutes more. Stir in a generous handful of grated cheese. Serve with an additional sprinkle of cheese and a sprinkle of fresh oregano (if using) on each plate.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: pasta, vodka, sauce, Ina Garten
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
211 Comments on “Ina Garten’s Vodka Sauce {Best Vodka Sauce Ever}”
As a lover of vodka pasta, I’ve made every recipe I could get my hands on…from quick & easy to complex & involved. When I saw Ina’s name associated with this recipe (her recipes are a never-fail to me) I knew I had to try it. As promised, it was “best ever”. Roasting the tomatoes makes all the difference. I followed Alexandra’s advice & skipped the extra step of draining the plum tomatoes. It turned out beautifully.
★★★★★
So wonderful to hear this, Meredith! And great to hear skipping the draining step worked well for you. I find this to be the best, too … great on pizza, too!
This sauce is sooo yummy! Oh, the tang of the roasted tomatoes… I find it hard to resist tasting it many times before it hits the table. I’ve used it in lasagna, and your eggplant parmigiano recipe as well. Delicious!!
★★★★★
So nice to hear this, Janet! It’s fantastic on pizza, too! I will try it in lasagna next. Thanks so much for writing!
Very good. Like most of her recipes I reduced the salt in half. Will make time and again and would serve to company.
★★★★★
So nice to hear this, Tish! I have a batch in the oven as I type. It’s been our go-to pizza sauce recipe of late, too 🙂