Beef Vodka Pasta
Vodka pasta gets a bit of a reputation for being complicated, but it’s really just a tomato sauce built up in layers. Caramelised beef, cooked-down tomato paste, a splash of vodka to deglaze the pan, then cream and parmesan stirred through at the end.
The two things that actually matter here are cooking the tomato paste properly before adding any liquid, and holding back some pasta water. The starch in that water is what pulls the sauce together into something glossy that clings to every piece of penne, instead of sauce sitting on top and water pooling at the bottom of the bowl.
Five containers, ready in 35 minutes, and it reheats properly with just a splash of water to loosen the sauce back up.
Beef Vodka Pasta Meal Prep
VODKA PASTA Ā· BEEF Ā· MEAL PREP Ā· EASY
Restaurant-style sauce, weeknight effort
Letting the beef sit undisturbed for the first two minutes builds a proper caramelised crust, which is where most of the depth in this sauce actually comes from before the tomato and cream even go in.
Deglazing with vodka pulls up every bit of browned flavour stuck to the pan and helps carry the tomato flavour through the sauce. Most of the alcohol cooks off as it simmers, so what's left is depth, not a boozy taste.
It also holds up genuinely well as leftovers, which a lot of creamy pasta sauces don't. A splash of water and a good stir when reheating brings it right back to glossy.
Beef Vodka Pasta Meal Prep
Ingredients
Beef
- 750 g Beef Mince 10% Fat
- 15 ml Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper To Taste
Pasta
- 350 g Penne
- Salted Water For Boiling
Vodka Sauce
- 1 Brown (Yellow) Onion Diced
- 4 Garlic Cloves Minced
- 2 g Chilli Flakes
- 30 g Tomato Paste
- 80 ml Vodka
- 400 g Crushed Tomatoes Canned
- 200 ml Thickened Cream
- 40 g Parmesan Grated
- Salt & Pepper To Taste
To Serve
- Parmesan Cheese Grated
- Fresh Basil Torn
- Chilli Flakes Optional
- Cracked Black Pepper To Finish
Method
- Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the penne until just under al dente ā 1 minute less than packet instructions. Reserve 250ml (1 cup) of pasta water before draining.
- Heat the olive oil in a large wide pan over high heat. Add the beef mince and season with salt and pepper. Do not stir for 2 minutes ā let a crust form on the bottom. Break up and cook until the moisture has evaporated, the mince is no longer pink, caramelised, and reaches an internal temperature of 71Ā°C (160Ā°F). Push to the side of the pan.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion to the pan alongside the beef and cook for 3 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook for 60 seconds until fragrant.
- Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until it darkens slightly.
- Pour in the vodka and stir to deglaze the pan ā scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom. Let it reduce for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes until the sauce deepens in colour and flavour.
- Lower the heat and pour in the cream. Stir to combine and simmer gently for 3 minutes until rich, glossy and slightly thickened.
- Add the pasta and toss to combine, adding splashes of reserved pasta water until the sauce is silky and coats every piece of penne evenly.
- Remove from heat and stir through the parmesan until melted and glossy. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Divide evenly across 5 containers and finish with extra parmesan, fresh basil, chilli flakes and cracked black pepper.
What does the vodka actually do here, and can I leave it out?ā
Vodka helps release flavour compounds in the tomato that water or cream alone can't pull out, and it deglazes the browned bits stuck to the pan from the beef. Most of the alcohol cooks off as it simmers. If you want to skip it, swap in the same amount of chicken stock ā you'll lose a bit of depth but the sauce will still work.
Can I make this vegetarian?ā
Yes. Swap the beef mince for finely diced mushrooms or a plant-based mince, and brown them the same way to build flavour before adding the onion and garlic. The rest of the method stays the same.
Why do you leave the beef undisturbed instead of breaking it up straight away?ā
Stirring straight away just steams the mince in its own moisture. Leaving it flat against the hot pan for those first couple of minutes builds a proper caramelised crust, which is where a lot of the flavour in this sauce comes from before anything else is added.
Why do you reserve the pasta water?ā
The starch in that water helps bind the sauce to the pasta, giving it a glossy, silky finish. Skip it and the sauce tends to sit on top of the penne rather than coat it properly.
