I know many of you love my Creamy Roasted Tomato Vodka Penne, but we do have a second plant-based vodka sauce recipe on our site, and this one is perfect for warmer weather. It uses three full pounds of fresh tomatoes and is enriched with dairy-free milk beverage, instead of cream, for a lighter and fresher finish. This vegan recipe was originally submitted by Tara Stack as a “main course” entry in our So Delicious Dairy Free 3-Course Recipe Contest, many years ago. Today, we’re giving it a big update!
Plant-Based Vodka Sauce to Lighten Up a Favorite Pasta Dish
Most vodka penne recipes use butter, cream, and/or cheese – often all three! But as Tara says, this lower calorie alternative is still the perfect comfort food. It uses heart-healthy olive oil instead of butter, and milk beverage instead of cream. She also does away with cheese of any kind. To compensate for the cheese, make sure you add enough seasoning and salt, to taste (cheese is very salty!).
Milk Beverage Options
If you want a slightly richer plant-based vodka sauce that is still quite light, you can substitute lite canned coconut milk for the milk beverage. If you need coconut-free, you can substitute your go-to unsweetened milk beverage of choice. Just be sure to keep the flavor profile in mind. Not all varieties of dairy-free milk beverage will meld well with a rich tomato sauce, and some can overwhelm the fresh flavors. We like simple unsweetened rice milk or cashew milk for tasty results.
Special Diet Notes: Plant-Based Vodka Sauce
By ingredients, this vegan vodka sauce recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, peanut-free, soy-free, tree nut-free, vegan, and vegetarian.
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- ½ cup vodka
- 3 pounds tomatoes (approximately 8 medium)
- ¾ teaspoon salt, pus additional to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- Italian seasoning, to taste
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk beverage (see post above for options)
- Heat the oil in a large enameled pot over medium heat. Add the onion, and sauté for about 5 minutes, or until translucent.
- Add the garlic, and sauté for about 1 to 2 minutes more, being sure the garlic does not burn.
- Add the vodka and cook off alcohol. The liquid should reduce by more than half.
- Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Cover and cook at a simmer for about an hour, checking in every 20 minutes or so to stir.
- Uncover, remove from the heat, and allow it to cool for about 30 minutes.
- Whisk in the milk beverage. Blend with an immersion blender or pour into your blender to puree until smooth.
- Taste test, and add more salt as needed.
- This sauce will keep in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for up to 4 days. It can be frozen for longer keeping.
More Healthy Plant-Based Sauce Recipes
Easy Dairy-Free Cheese Sauce
Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Sauce
Basic Dairy-Free Pesto
