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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!
Hands down the best Pasta I’ve had! I used coconut cream with a bit of lemon juice, delicious!
Whole family loved it!
Will definitely make it a staple in our house.
Hey Erin,
Happy Wednesday! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it and sharing your feedback! xx
Absolutely perfect! I made this for dinner tonight as a family was looking for a comfort pasta and this nailed it!
Hey Jamie,
Happy Sunday!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xT
This is a wow! I used the last of our late-summer tomatoes and basil, with a couple of adjustments.
1. Used dry oregano (just shy of 1 tbsp.) b/c I didn’t have fresh on hand.
2. Blended most of the sauce, so that few chunky pieces remained, but enough skin to suggest the sauce was fresh. It was pretty smooth throughout.
Thanks Tieghan!
Hey Laurie,
Happy Wednesday!👻 I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and appreciate you giving it a try and sharing your feedback! xx
Oh my gosh this recipe is another winner! The BEST with summer cherry tomatoes. This puts all those TikTok vodka pasta recipes to shame. It tastes fresh and isn’t so goopy and thick. I had a little less than 6 cups of tomatoes so I cut the butter in half and used whole milk instead of cream or coconut milk and it was DELISH. We absolutely loved it. Serve with chunky bread to sop up all the yummy sauce!
Hey Mary,
Happy Friday🍁 I appreciate you making this recipe and love to hear that it turned out well for you! xT
This is one of my favorite recipes of yours to date – yum! I used two small onions because we didn’t have a shallot, and also used an entire can of coconut milk. + Trader Joe’s mini heirloom tomatoes, and it was….#chefskiss
Thank you!
Hi Becky,
Happy Wednesday! I love to hear that this recipe was tasty for you, thanks so much for making it!
Hello Hello,
love your recipes. Question? Can you use a mixture of tomatoes? I do not have enough cherry and Can you use thin spaghetti pasta.
Thanks
Jeanne
Hey Jeanne,
Sure, that would be just fine for you to do! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
Love this recipe, it was a hit in our family. I continue to have an abundance of cherry tomatoes. Do you think this sauce would freeze well?
Hey Karen,
Happy Sunday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for making it! Yes, you could totally freeze this! xT
Loved it! Easy and came together in less than 30 minutes. Kid-approved as well, just left out chili flakes. Still had amazing flavor.
Thank you!
Hi Marissa,
Amazing!! I love to hear that this recipe was tasty, thanks so much for making it and sharing your review:) xTieghan
This pasta is so amazingly delicious! The combination of the smooth creamy sauce and the fresh summer tomatoes bursting in your mouth is too good to be true, it’s definitely one of my favorite recipes!
Hey Julia,
Happy Wednesday! I love to hear that this recipe was tasty, thanks for making it! xxT
I loved this recipe! I’ve made it three times now and I’ve found it actually comes out thicker if I don’t use my blender. I made it with medley tomatoes yesterday and it was fabulous.
Hi Angela,
Fantastic!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for trying it out! xTieghan
Loved that this recipe suggested coconut milk as an alternative to heavy cream! I love vodka sauce but never make it due to the heavy cream. I did taste the coconut milk flavor (though my fiancé barely noticed it) and wonder if using light coconut will make it a little milder? Regardless, this was so tasty and I’ll definitely make it again. Thank you!!
Hey Stacey,
Fantastic!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for trying it out! I’m not sure that the light coconut milk would have a difference in flavor. xTieghan
One of our new favorites with all these tomatoes in our summer garden harvests!!
Hey Emily,
Happy Monday! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe out, I am so excited to hear that it was a hit! xx
Do you think grape tomatoes would be good for this? I have lots I need to use up! Not sure what the difference is between the two. Excited to try!
Hi Payton,
Yes, they are the same thing as cherry tomatoes:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
This was delicious! Love that you use fresh herbs in a lot of your recipes. Gives me great ideas on how to use my herb garden! This is now one of my favorite pasta recipes of yours.
Hey Hailey,
Happy Monday! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe out, I am so excited to hear that it was a hit! xx
This was very tasty and passed the kid test! I paired this with your Easy Pull Apart Garlic Parmesan Bread. It was very complimentary.
Hi Debony,
Happy Wednesday! I really appreciate you taking the time to make this recipe, I love to hear that it was a hit! xT
Made many a vodka sauce, and this one was one of the best ever. A little sweeter than my normal, but probably because the surplus of cherry tomatoes I have right now are SO sweet and yummy! Thanks, Tieghan! I have corn, tomatoes, basil, and jalapeños right now, and it seems you do too, so making all your latest recipes with this abundance. Next up, the Jalapeño Basil Chicken Stir-Fry! Mmmmm!
Hi Liz,
Fantastic! Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing your review, I am so glad it was enjoyed! I hope you love the stir fry! xx