Truffled Vodka Sauce Recipe

Vodka sauce has been around since the '80s, but its popularity has continued to the present day to the point where you can easily find store-bought vodka sauce in just about any supermarket. Still, there's no reason to settle for sauce from a jar when it's so easy and quick to make it yourself. This particular recipe, however, has a little something extra. Every home cook has their go-to staples, and developer Kara Barrett enjoys using truffles for that added decadence.

"I always have a little truffle oil or zest on hand," Barrett tells us, and she likes to find new ways to use her favorite ingredients. Here she's adding both of them to vodka sauce, explaining, "The depth of flavor that the truffle oil and fresh black truffle bring to the dish is really luxurious and makes this dish feel very decadent." She goes on to say that this sauce "feels like a special treat" despite the fact that it only takes 20 minutes to make.

The main ingredients of the sauce are canned tomatoes, tomato paste, vodka, and whipping cream. For flavoring, you'll also need a shallot, truffle oil, a black truffle, and salt.

Heat 3 tablespoons of truffle oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add shallots and saute until translucent and lightly browned.

Add tomato paste and stir for a few minutes until the paste deepens in color.

Add vodka, deglazing the pan by scraping away any dark bits. Cook for 1 minute.

Stir in the heavy cream and simmer for a few minutes.

After the sauce has simmered and reduced slightly, stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon of truffle oil.

Grate ¼ of a black truffle directly into your sauce.

Add 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and stir to combine.

Serve the sauce as desired. We suggest serving the vodka sauce with cooked pasta of choice, stirring in pasta water to help reach a desired consistency. Top your pasta with thinly sliced truffle, grated Parmesan, and fresh basil as desired.

The vodka sauce can be refrigerated for up to three days, which means that you can prepare it in advance. When you wish to use it, heat in on the stovetop on a low setting and add some more heavy cream or water to loosen it up again. If you're simultaneously cooking pasta, you can use a bit of the pasta water, but if you forgot to save it, you can make a DIY substitute with water, cornstarch, and salt.

If you want to freeze the vodka sauce, that's possible too, although the inclusion of cream might make it kind of lumpy as it thaws. In that case, you can try smoothing things out with an immersion blender or simply bury any saucy lumps under a layer of parmesan cheese. Another idea, however, is to make the sauce without the cream and freeze it. Once you are ready to eat, heat it and stir in the cream right at the end.

Vodka sauce is usually served atop pasta of some sort, and this rich sauce goes especially well with heartier types of pasta such as fettuccine, pappardelle, penne, or rigatoni. Any other pasta you have on hand will work, though, or you could even use the sauce to make truffled lasagna alla vodka or truffle vodka-sauced pizzas. Chicken parmesan or a fancy vodka-sauced meatball sub is also an option.

Vodka sauce can be used anywhere else you might think to use a cream-based sauce. This means you could incorporate it into a casserole, drizzle it over vegetables, or use it to dress up cooked chicken, fish, or even a burger. For breakfast or brunch, simmer eggs in truffle vodka sauce to make a variant version of shakshuka or uova al purgatorio. Once the sauce has thickened up in the refrigerator, it could also make a dip for crudites or crostini. Conversely, you could thin it out with some chicken or vegetable stock to use as the base for a soup. With a little imagination, truffle vodka sauce can be a surprisingly versatile condiment.