Vodka Pasta
Vodka pasta is one of those recipes we kept seeing everywhere and eventually had to make our own plant-based version of, and honestly, we're so glad we did. The sauce is rich, creamy and a little bit spicy, with that signature silky tomato base that clings to every bit of pasta. The cashews do something genuinely magical here, giving it that luxurious, restaurant-quality creaminess without any dairy. It's the kind of dinner that feels a bit indulgent on a Tuesday night, and we are absolutely here for that. Make this tonight and you'll be thinking about it all week.
Before You Start
- Cashews soaked in boiling water for at least 1 hour
- Powerful blender
- 2x large pans
Ingredients
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp mixed herbs dried
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 60ml vodka
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 onion
- extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
- 250g penne pasta
- pepper to taste
- salt
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 150g cashews
- 1 x 280g jar of sun-dried tomatoes
- 150ml almond milk
- 20g nutritional yeast
- Salt & pepper to taste
- nutritional yeast to taste
- basil leaves
Method
Prepare the ingredients
- Place the cashews into a bowl and cover with boiling water
- Leave to one side for at least an hour until needed
Make the base
- Peel and dice the onions and garlic
- Place a large pan over a medium heat and add a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
- Once warm, add the diced onion, garlic and a pinch of salt
- Mix well and cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften
- Add the paprika, dried mixed herbs and chilli flakes and cook for a couple more seconds
- Turn the heat down to low while you add the vodka (or any alcohol) to the pan
- Mix through the vodka before bringing the mixture to a boil
- Simmer for 10 minutes
Make the sauce
- Drain the cashews and place them into a powerful blender along with the rest of the sauce ingredients, blend until smooth
- Add a dash more almond milk if needed to make a smooth, creamy sauce
Cook the pasta
- Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil
- Once boiling, add the pasta and cook for 1 minute less than stated on pack
- Once cooked, drain the pasta (saving some of the pasta water to mix through later)
Finish the pasta
- Once the vodka has had time to cook down, pour the sauce into the pan with the pasta and cook for a few minutes until heated through
- Add a dash of pasta water to make the sauce really creamy and cook for a few more minutes until everything is piping hot
- Roughly chop the basil and sprinkle on top of the pasta, along with a good sprinkle of nutritional yeast and a pinch of pepper
Tips & Variations
- Soak ahead: We know an hour feels like a long time when you're hungry, but soaking the cashews properly is non-negotiable for a silky smooth sauce. If you forget, cover them in boiling water and give them at least 30 minutes minimum.
- Spice it your way: This sauce has a gentle heat as standard but if you like it properly spicy, Henry always adds an extra pinch of chilli flakes right at the end. A little goes a long way so taste as you go.
- Pasta shape matters: We love this with rigatoni or penne because the sauce gets right inside the tubes, but spaghetti or linguine work beautifully too. Whatever you've got in the cupboard will honestly be great.
Why This Works
The trick is soaking the cashews properly beforehand so they blend down into a completely smooth, creamy sauce with no graininess at all. The vodka might sound like a gimmick but it genuinely helps release flavour compounds in the tomatoes that you just can't get any other way, and it cooks off so the whole family can enjoy it. Getting the onions properly soft and sweet before anything else goes in is what builds that deep, rounded base that makes the whole thing sing.