This 30-minute sun-dried tomato pesto alla vodka pasta is beyond good. Saucy, silky smooth, creamy and cheesy… this bowl of perfection is a great mid-week meal, or a delicious date night dinner. The homemade pesto is what really makes this special. It adds a whole new vibrant layer of flavour and richness to this creamy pasta. This dish will become your new go-to when serving family and friends.

On my blog I’ve always preached making things from scratch instead of buying the pre-made jars from the store. Especially when it comes to pesto – I am a big fan of homemade. The store-bought pesto’s just always seemed overly processed and salty to me. And when it’s super easy to make, why not do it yourself!

So why vodka?

The first thing I need to point out is no, this dish won’t get you drunk! The vodka adds a bite that balances out the sweetness of the tomato. When used in small amounts, it intensifies the aroma of the sauce. It’s important to slowly simmer the vodka with the sauce… this will release its flavours and cook out the alcohol.

If you prefer not to cook with alcohol, chicken or vegetable broth will also work.

All the delicious details…

This is such a simple sauce. No crazy ingredients or lengthy steps. Just a bunch of fresh ingredients that you probably already have. For the pesto, blend together some sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, lemon juice and olive oil until it forms a thick paste. Begin by sauteing some onion in a pan. Then add the pesto and some tomato paste for extra flavour. Let that fry off for about a minute then deglaze the pan with the vodka. Let this cook for a bit to intensify the flavours. Then I like to stir through the cream and continue to let it simmer while the pasta cooks. Let the sauce thicken nicely, then turn off the heat and stir through the parmesan and cooked pasta. Remember to reserve some pasta water. This is so important as it helps to finish off the creamy vodka sauce.

When it comes to the pasta, fresh is always best, but dried is totally fine! I opted for linguine, but penne, rigatoni or spirals would also be great.

More quick and easy pasta recipes:

If you give this sun-dried tomato pesto alla vodka pasta a try, let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!