If you are wondering if you can make Vodka Sauce without Vodka, the answer is yes! This vodka sauce without vodka is creamy, tangy, and a little sweet. It is such a great and delicious pasta sauce and you truly will not miss the vodka. In this recipe, I use balsamic vinegar to give this sauce some extra depth.

What is Vodka Sauce?

Have you ever ordered penne alla vodka at a restaurant? It is incredible. It is sweet, creamy, and a little tangy. It has tomatoes (or tomato sauce), tomato paste, cream, onions, garlic (or shallot), basil, a little spice, parmesan cheese, and vodka!

Traditional vodka sauce is a little heavier than a traditional tomato sauce, but lighter than an alfredo sauce, it is similar to a Blush Sauce with a couple of differences. I remember my first time trying it and just falling in love. I was always into creamy sauces as a kid, so this one really felt like the best of both worlds, plus I loved that it was pink. Pink pasta sauce for the win!

I have made traditional Penne alla vodka in the past, but I don’t always have vodka on hand, so I was looking into a few ways to substitute it. You can use a little white wine if you have it, but I wanted to try to make a completely alcohol-free vodka sauce recipe. I looked up a few methods and decided to try balsamic vinegar. I like that vinegar is a little tangy, but balsamic vinegar is also a bit sweet and I felt like this would taste really nice in the sauce. I tested it out in different measurements and then decided on one.

Finally, I figured out a way to make a simple vodka sauce without vodka. It is truly delightful and I know you will love it!

Vodka Sauce No Vodka

Sometimes we want to make a recipe but we find that we don’t have all of the necessary ingredients. In a recipe such as “vodka sauce”, you would think that the vodka is very important. And it is! But there will always be those times when you just don’t have any vodka in the house but you still want to make something delicious.

Another situation that may arise is that you are cooking for someone that is either completely sober or cannot have alcohol for a religious reason. A lot of my friends do “Dry January” so I feel like this is a great recipe for all of those situations

Some people may be worried about using vodka in a recipe for kids, but don’t worry, the alcohol does cook out in the traditional recipe. Personally, I think this recipe below is a great recipe for kids. It has the sweetness of red sauce but the creaminess of a white sauce. It has a little tang from the vinegar and freshness from the fresh basil. My toddler gobbled this up, although I did need to cut the pasta into short little rings for her. She likes putting them around her finger and eating it that way. And honestly, I don’t care as long as she eats.

How do you make Vodka Sauce without Vodka?

INGREDIENTS

16 oz Penne or Rigatoni Pasta
2 tbsp Butter
1/2 Yellow Onion roughly chopped
3 Garlic Cloves roughly chopped
28 oz Tomato Sauce
2 tbsp Tomato Paste
1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
10-15 leaves Fresh Basil large leaves or use a little more
1 cup Heavy Cream
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese grated

optional

1 tsp Hot Sauce or 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

INSTRUCTIONS

Add two tablespoons of butter to a large pan on medium heat.
Once the butter has melted, add your onions and garlic. Cook for about 7 minutes or until soft
Add your tomato paste and mix well. Cook for about 3 minutes.
Add your tomato sauce and balsamic vinegar and cook for 20 minutes on low heat.
Boil your pasta according to package instructions
Once your sauce is ready, add it to a food processor or blender with the fresh basil. Blend until smooth. I use a vitamix for this because it really makes it so creamy.
Add the sauce back to the pan and cook it for an additional 5 minutes.
Turn off the heat, add the cream, parmesan cheese, and additional fresh basil.
Add drained pasta to the sauce and serve immediately.

Optional

If you want to add hot sauce or red pepper flakes, add it in when you add the tomato paste.
Also, feel free to use half and half instead of Heavy Cream, but I really think using the Heavy Cream is worth it in this recipe. Especially since you are already eliminating another key ingredient – vodka.

Notes/Substitutions: I had someone ask me if the Basil was important in this recipe because they do not like fresh basil. Personally, I love the freshness that the basil provides and I will always use it but if you do not like basil I would try to add another element to give this recipe some depth.

I recommended that they add a drizzle of hot honey once they plate it or maybe some sauteed pancetta. The hot honey would give the sauce an additional sweetness with a hint of spice. The spice is normally welcomed in a Vodka sauce so this seems perfect to me. Adding pancetta will certainly change the flavor profile of this dish but it adds a extra bit of oomph that the basil normally provides.

If you like this recipe, you may also like:

Blush Sauce