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This colorful and extra creamy Cherry Tomato Pasta Alla Vodka is the perfect summer twist on a classic Italian pasta. Fresh pasta tossed in a spicy cherry tomato vodka sauce that’s creamy and so delicious! The secret to this one pot pasta…sweet summer cherry tomatoes, plenty of basil, and lots of cheese on top. The fresh tomatoes add a vibrant layer of flavor and richness to this simple pasta. Serve this family style dinner up any night of the week. It’s delicious and looks pretty on any table…not to mention that everyone LOVES a GOOD creamy vodka pasta.
Hey there, hoping everyone’s weekend was amazing and filled with fun, late summer activities, and some very delicious food. We had a pretty laid back weekend with family in town. I cooked a lot, did some online shopping damage, wrote a crazy long Nine Favorite Things post, and thought about how excited I am to be able to tell you about this pasta today.
This is the summer pasta alla vodka recipe we all really need. Its inspiration came from a very unexpected source – Asher. She asked me if I could make pasta alla vodka for dinner one night soon. And while at first I said no, alla vodka is such a fall/winter recipe, I started to think, “what if we made it summery?”.
And that’s just what I did, and here we are. Cherry tomato pasta alla vodka…inspired by Asher but loved and happily consumed by all.
The details are simple – first the tomatoes
For this alla vodka you’ll need lots of cherry tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes are my favorite, but especially in the summertime. They’re juicy, sweet, and always so full of flavor. It’s rare when you get a bad one.
Since I love their sweet flavor so much, I knew they’d be great to use in this pasta.
I’d recommend using mostly red cherry tomatoes for a nicely colored sauce, but colored tomatoes work well too.
To make the sauce
Just like a traditional vodka sauce, this sauce is really, really easy, and essentially just a one skillet recipe.
Start by cooking the shallots until soft, then toss in the tomatoes, lots of garlic, fresh oregano, and plenty of chili flakes to give it some kick. You’ll want to cook the tomatoes over a high heat until they burst. Once the tomatoes burst, let them cook until they almost start to stick to the bottom of the pan. This will intensive the flavors of the tomatoes.
Now that the tomatoes are saucy, I like to puree about half them in a blender to create a smooth sauce. You can skip this if you prefer, but I love the creaminess of a mostly pureed sauce.
At this point, it’s time to add the vodka and finish things up.
The final touches
While the sauce is cooking boil off the pasta. When the sauce is ready, toss the pasta with the sauce along with a few pats of butter, parmesan cheese, and basil.
Stir until creamy. Immediately serve the pasta hot off the stove with plenty of extra parmesan and basil on top.
A little lemon would be delicious too!
Asher was lucky enough to eat this hot off the stove and her honest verdict? “Delicious, really, really good, can I have another bowl?”.
If you follow along on Instagram, you know that Asher does not sugarcoat a thing. If she loves something, she LOVES it. And if she doesn’t love something, well, she’s going to tell you the cold hard truth.
Fortunately for all of us, this turned out so very good. Like roll your eyes back, go for that second bowl, and finish the pasta all in one sitting, GOOD. Dramatic, but true.
Every bowl of this pasta is creamy, just oh so slightly spicy, with a subtle touch of basil, and just the right amount of butter and cheese.
This would make a great dinner party meal with a side salad and some bread. I usually keep it simple with something like my 5 Ingredient Beer Bread or Salted Butter Parker House Rolls.
Looking for other cherry tomato recipes, try these:
Spinach Ricotta Gnocchi with Sage Butter and Cherry Tomatoes
Marinated Cherry Tomatoes with Burrata + Toast
Lastly, if you make this Cherry Tomato Pasta Alla Vodka, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Cherry Tomato Pasta Alla Vodka
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 532 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh oregano
- 1-2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
- 6 cups cherry tomatoes, halved if large
- 1/2 cup vodka
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream or canned coconut milk
- 1 pound short cut pasta
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus more for serving
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
Instructions
- 1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet with sides over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook until the shallots begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano, tomatoes, and chili flakes. Cook 8-10 minutes, until the tomatoes burst and begin to stick to the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat. Blend about half the tomatoes in a blender until smooth, stir the tomato sauce back into the skillet.2. Place the skillet over medium heat. Stir in the vodka, cook 2 minutes, then stir in the cream. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm over low heat.3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the pasta according to package directions, until al dente. Drain.4. Add the pasta, butter, parmesan, and basil to the sauce, tossing until the butter has melted. 5. Divide the pasta among plates and top with basil and cheese. Enjoy!
Hi! Can I make this one without vodka ?
Hi there,
Sure, you can use broth in place of the vodka. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Tieghan, another winner. I’ve attempted Vodka sauce in the past but it just never met with my expectations, or my families. Yours on the other hand was far easier then others and most importantly, it was delicious. And on top of that, my daughter gave me your cookbook for Christmas and we look forward to exploring, preparing and consuming your genius work. Well done, thank you, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Hey Dean,
Wonderful! I am thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a go! Happy New Year!? xTieghan
Hi! I was wondering if you could share if this recipe is in one of your cookbooks, and if it is which one? Looking to share with family for the holidays. Thank you!
Hi Ann,
This recipe is only on the blog, the recipes that are in the cookbooks are exclusive to the books:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan!
Would this sauce still be stay great if I make ahead and freeze? Or does this only taste best if fresh? Trying to meal prep for the holidays and seeing if this would thaw out ok. Thanks!!!
Hi Christina,
Totally fine to make this sauce and freeze it! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
My favorite HBH! 100/10. Will add this to my revolving dinner menu. Tweaks I made: my grocer didn’t have fresh basil (only the squeeze kind – which I used). I loved the greenery in the original recipe and had some baby spinach so I threw that in! I also don’t have a food processor to “blend” some of the tomatoes to make a sauce, so I added a small can (smaller than a normal canned good size) of tomato sauce! I also didn’t have any shallots so I just used 1/4 of an onion.
A great show off recipe if having friends or family to dinner!
Hi Kassi,
I am so glad that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for trying it out! Happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
Hi I love this recipe!!! The weather here in Massachusetts is very mild today so I decided to whip up this recipe for my family!! It was a real hit! I have become obsessed with all of your recipes! 🙂
Hey Samantha,
I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! Have a great week! xTieghan
this is soooo delicious! i just made it and added some roasted broccoli right in at the very end and it’s so good! it’s rich, flavorful, bright, and surprisingly easy. thanks for a great recipe to add to my repertoire!
Hey Lauren,
Happy Friday!! Love to hear that you liked the recipe, thanks for giving it a try! Have a great weekend. xTieghan
Just did this recipe again, for my dad the first time and he absolutely loved it, he kept wanting more. This is my favorite pasta now ♥️ Thank you for the recipe!!
Hey Laura! Thanks so much for trying out this recipe, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! ? xTieghan
Thank you for this recipe, it was SUPER delicious and an excellent way to use up lots of cherry tomatoes!
Hey! Thanks so much for trying out this recipe, I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Happy Halloween 🙂 xTieghan
Fabulous. I always use coconut cream and it works great without overpowering the dish. I find bronze cut pasta work best for the sauce.
Hey there! So glad you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for giving it a try! xTieghan
Made this yesterday and it was absolutely amazing!!! My husband already said that this will be added to the rotation. It’s so easy and simple but taste so so so good.
I try it and it was delicious !
Outstanding! Made this tonight for supper and got enthusiastic thumbs up from the entire family!
I made some minor changes; used 1 tsp dried oregano instead of the fresh, reduced butter to 2 tbsp. It was absolutely delicious and I’ve been strongly encouraged to make it again. Often.
I will say this, it took awhile for the tomatoes to cook down – they were exceptionally juicy. I was glad I started a couple hours early.
Thank you Tieghan!
This was incredible!
I loooooove vodka sauce and this was the best I’ve ever had.
Was missing shallots and Parmesan cheese but it was still out of this world.
Creamy but not to heavy, rich in flavor and soooo easy to make.
I loved blending half the tomatoes.
Mmmm mmm mmm! ??❤️
Where do you get your pasta, I love the tight curls!