When I was in college I waited tables at a place where the servers got a free meal for every shift we worked, and I very quickly became addicted to the penne alla vodka. It was weird to me because I couldn’t stand the taste of vodka by itself (still can’t!). But now I know better. I’ve since learned that vodka is pretty much just alcohol and water, and the alcohol evaporates when you make vodka sauce. So is vodka sauce really just water sauce? Yes…but no. I also learned that when the alcohol evaporates it interacts with the tomatoes in a way that enhances their flavors and makes them tastier. That’s about as scientific as I can get here, but trust me, vodka gives the sauce a wonderful depth of flavor. With that knowledge in hand I took to creating a dairy-free version of my old favorite, swapping out the typically used butter for olive oil and heavy cream for cashew cream. My vegan vodka sauce turned out way more delicious than any of the free dinners I got back when I was in college!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Cashews. We’re using blended up raw cashews as the dairy-free base for our vegan vodka sauce. They must be raw (not roasted) in order for the recipe to work, and we’ll be soaking them in water for a few hours so they blend up smoothly.Olive oil. Vegan butter could also be used.Onion.Garlic.Canned diced tomatoes.Canned crushed tomatoes. If you can’t find these you could use another can of diced tomatoes and briefly blitz them in the blender.Vodka. Use a decent quality vodka here. It doesn’t need to be top shelf, but if you use the cheap stuff you’ll taste it. I like Smirnoff and Absolut for cooking.Salt & pepper.
Assuming you’re making vegan pasta alla vodka with this sauce, you’ll also want to add some dried pasta to your shopping list. I like to make vegan penne alla vodka, but any variety of pasta works! Vodka sauce also goes great with some fresh basil. Fresh basil, red pepper flakes, and vegan Parmesan cheese are also great accompaniments, but not strictly required.
How It’s Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!
Drian and rinse your soaked cashews, then place them into a blender or food processor with some water.Blend until smooth.
Tip: Did you forget to soak your cashews? Try boiling them for 20 minutes instead. And for future reference, keep a stash of frozen soaked cashews on hand, so you never have to worry about forgetting! Just soak then freeze them right in the soaking water. When you’re ready to use them, thaw, drain, rinse, and use like normal.
Heat your olive oil in a large pot, then add diced onion. Cook the onion for a few minutes, stirring it constantly until it starts to soften up.Add minced garlic and cook it with the onion briefly. Keep stirring to prevent your garlic from burning.
Add the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes and vodka. Stir everything up and bring the sauce to a simmer.Let the sauce continue to simmer until it thickens up a bit and all the alcohol cooks off.
Tip: You’ll need to taste-test the sauce to make sure the alcohol has all evaporated. If it’s still in there the sauce will taste funny.
Pour the cashew cream mixture into the sauce, stir it up and let it simmer just a few minutes more.
Take the pot off of heat and season your vegan vodka sauce with salt and pepper.Toss the sauce with your favorite cooked pasta and enjoy! I like to serve mine with some fresh basil, red pepper flakes and a sprinkle of vegan Parmesan cheese.
Tip: This recipe makes a big batch of sauce, because I find most blending devices don’t work well with less than a cup of cashews. I don’t recommend cutting down on the batch size unless you’re using something small like a mini food processor.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover vegan vodka sauce will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 4 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months. If you’ve already added your sauce to pasta you can store the leftovers in the fridge for about 3 days in a sealed container. You may find the sauce thickens a bit during storage, as the pasta sucks up moisture. Add a splash of water during reheating if needed.
More Creamy Vegan Pasta Recipes
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