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Home » Pasta Recipes » Vodka Pasta with Sausage – Perfect Date Night Dish

Vodka Pasta with Sausage – Perfect Date Night Dish

Comfort Food, Easy Dinners, Pasta Recipes First Published: December 7, 2020 | Last Updated: September 3, 2022

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Vodka Pasta with Sausage is the perfect dreamy dinner. Crowd favourite Pasta alla Vodka kicked up a notch with savoury sausage – this is a real treat!

Rigatoni pasta with a creamy sausage and tomato sauce, in a pasta bowl with a chunk of parmesan and a cheese grater at the side

Pasta alla Vodka

Pasta with vodka sauce is one of my all-time favourite meals. It’s super easy to throw together and so dangerously tasty. This recipe from Foods Of Jane is my usual go-to (I always have the main ingredients stocked in my kitchen!) and this dish is heavily inspired by it.

For this recipe, I have added some crumbled Italian Sausage and swapped the tomato puree for some silky passata to take it up a notch. The result is a deliciously decadent meal, with a luscious sauce which you’ll want to lick off the plate. Perfect for Date Night or a cosy weekend dinner in front of the TV.

Fennel Sausage

Italian Style, or Fennel Sausages work best for this recipe, but as they can sometimes be a bit difficult to find in UK supermarkets, any type of pork sausage will work. If you really want to recreate that classic Italian fennel sausage flavour, you can add it in during cooking.

Before you cook the sausage, toast half a teaspoon of fennel seeds until fragrant then transfer to a pestle and mortar and grind. Add the ground fennel seeds to the pan when you brown the sausage meat, along with a pinch of chilli flakes.

close up of Rigatoni pasta with a creamy sausage and tomato sauce,

Why add Vodka to Pasta Sauce?

If you’ve never tried it before, you might be wondering why on Earth you would add vodka to pasta sauce.

Well, firstly, when you make a cream based sauce adding an acidic element (in this case, the tomato) can cause the cream to separate. Vodka can act as an emulsifier in this case, and stop the sauce from separating.

Secondly, it just really adds to the overall flavour of the dish! Small amounts of alcohol in cooking can help to intensify and release flavours already in the ingredients. Slowly simmering a small amount of alcohol helps to draw out the peppery, herbal flavours from the tomato in this sauce. The end product doesn’t taste of alcohol, but it does help pull the cream, tomato, garlic and onion together to create a silky smooth sauce with a lovely sharp bite.

Rigatoni pasta with a creamy sausage and tomato sauce,

Do I need to Use Vodka?

Nope – I find this dish works equally well with a good quality Gin (just make sure it isn’t super botanical or flavoured) or even Blanco Tequila (it must be high quality 100% agave with a clean taste). You could use white wine too – preferably a buttery Chardonnay. If you cannot consume alcohol then you could swap it for a splash of chicken or vegetable stock.

Close up of vodka pasta with sausage
What pasta should I use for this Vodka Sauce?

I love this sauce best with Mezzi Rigatoni but most pasta shapes will work, including penne, fusilli or even spaghetti.

Is this Gluten Free

The sauce is Gluten Free already, so just choose a suitable GF pasta and GF sausages.

Can I make this Dairy Free

Yes, swap out the cream for a dairy-free alternative.

What kind of Vodka should I use?

Any good quality, non-flavoured vodka. You don’t need to go all out but use something which you would be happy to serve to guests. Something like Smirnoff or Skyy.

Can I substitute the vodka?

Yes – I have used a neutral tasting Gin, good quality Blanco Tequila and white wine which all work well. If you don’t consume alcohol then swap in 50ml of chicken or vegetable stock.

How to serve?

With lashings of parmesan and some good garlic bread to mop up the sauce (because you won’t want to miss a drop).

Pasta alla vodka with sausage, topped with grated parmesan

I hope you like this recipe as much as I do! Please leave a comment or tag me on Instagram @carrieskitchen_ if you make it!

Looking for more delicious pasta dishes? Try one of these:

  • Bacon and Mushroom Carbonara
  • Creamy Sausage and Kale Pasta
  • One-Pot Chorizo Pasta with Peppers
  • Chilli Prawn Linguine
  • Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Pasta

Vodka Pasta with Sausage

Carrie Carvalho
Vodka Pasta with Sausage is the perfect dreamy dinner. Crowd favourite Pasta alla Vodka kicked up a notch with savoury sausage – this is a real treat!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Course Main Course, Pasta
Cuisine Italian
Servings 2 servings
Calories 995 kcal

Equipment

  • Large frying pan
  • Pasta Pot

Ingredients
 
 

  • 2 pork sausages Ideally Fennel or Italian Style*
  • 200 grams your favourite pasta shapes I love Mezzi Rigatoni or Penne for this recipe
  • 150 ml good quality tomato passata
  • 150 ml double or heavy cream
  • 1 shallot or small white onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, diced
  • 2 tbsp good quality vodka
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Instructions
 

  • Slit and peel the skins from the sausages and discard them.
  • Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat.
  • Add the sausage meat to the pan and break it up with the back of a spoon to very small pieces. Stir occasionally until the meat is browned all over, then remove from the pan and set aside.
  • As the sausage is cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
  • Add the remaining olive oil to the pan you used to cook the sausage, and add the shallot along with a generous pinch of salt. Cook for 4-5 minutes until it begins to soften but don't let it burn.
  • Add the garlic to the onions and cook for about 2 minutes until fragrant, then pour over the passata. Give it a stir then turn the heat to low and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to packet instructions – you want it to be al dente, so aim for the lower end of the timing on the packet.
  • Pour the vodka into the pan and stir well. Allow to simmer for 3-4 minutes, then stir in half of the cream. Let it bubble for a minute, then stir in the rest of the cream.
  • Let it simmer very gently on the lowest heat for another 3-4minutes, until the pasta is almost ready, then stir in the cooked sausage crumbles with a generous pinch of cracked black pepper.
  • Drain the pasta (reserve a few tablespoons of the pasta water) and stir into the sauce. Use some of the reserved pasta water if you feel you need to loosen the sauce a little. Add additional salt and pepper to taste if desired.
  • Serve with a sprinkling of parmesan and some fresh chopped basil or parsley.

Notes

*If you can’t find fennel or Italian sausage then you can use any good-quality pork sausages. Before cooking, toast ½ a teaspoon of fennel seeds in a dry frying pan until fragrant. Grind with a pestle & mortar then add to the sausage meat when cooking along with a pinch of chilli flakes.

Nutrition

Calories: 995kcalCarbohydrates: 90gProtein: 24gFat: 57gSaturated Fat: 24gCholesterol: 139mgSodium: 377mgPotassium: 813mgFiber: 6gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 1523IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 101mgIron: 3mg
Keyword pasta, sausage, vodka
Did you try this recipe?Follow me on instagram and tag me @carrieskitchen_

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    Vodka Pasta with Sausage - Perfect Date Night DishVodka Pasta with Sausage - Perfect Date Night DishVodka Pasta with Sausage - Perfect Date Night DishVodka Pasta with Sausage - Perfect Date Night DishVodka Pasta with Sausage - Perfect Date Night DishVodka Pasta with Sausage - Perfect Date Night DishVodka Pasta with Sausage - Perfect Date Night Dish
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    Comments

    1. Lesley says

      February 23, 2022 at 10:16 am

      5 stars
      Yes please, this is a great simple pasta dish and I love the splash of vodka for something a bit different.

      Reply
    2. Kate - Gluten Free Alchemist says

      February 23, 2022 at 1:57 pm

      5 stars
      You had me at ‘Vodka’ 🤭🤭
      Loving the sound of this… Super-simple too x

      Reply
    3. Janice says

      February 23, 2022 at 7:51 pm

      5 stars
      This recipe has my name all over it! I love the flavour of fennel and will definitely look out for those sausages, the simple cream sauce with a touch of vodka sounds absolutely divine.

      Reply
    4. Angela says

      March 2, 2022 at 7:28 am

      5 stars
      so tasty recipe 🙂

      Reply

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