Creamy Cashew Vodka Sauce

Vodka sauce is utterly delicious, especially when it coats a bowl of perfectly al dente pasta. Hit it with some fresh basil and serve it with a glass of red, and you’ve got yourself the perfect any-day-of-the-week dinner. 

However, most vodka sauce recipes include a heavy dose of cream and a generous sprinkle of Parmesan. Although there is no shame in dairy and cheese, I wanted to create a dairy-free vodka sauce recipe that is just as creamy, simple, and craveworthy as the original. 

For the Creamiest Dairy-Free Sauce, Use Cashew Cream

In order to achieve a really creamy vegan vodka sauce, I made a quick cashew cream using just cashews and water. Often the cashews have to soak overnight, but by bringing them to a boil first, 15 minutes of soaking is all they need to soften. Because cashew cream has a very mild flavor, it’s a versatile dairy substitute.

Don't Forget to Salt the Pasta Water

When making this recipe be sure to generously salt the pasta water. This will allow the pasta to soak up some of the salt as it cooks, which will enhance the flavor of the dish. But don’t be afraid to salt the vodka sauce itself. Just an extra pinch makes a world of difference. 

What Does Vodka Add to Vodka Sauce?

Don’t skimp on the vodka! Believe it or not, it serves more of a purpose than you might think. Adding vodka, although it gets mostly cooked off, helps bring sharpness and a cohesion of rich flavors to an otherwise sweet and fairly rich sauce. You don’t need anything too fancy, but I would argue that if you wouldn’t drink it, you shouldn’t cook with it!

Tips for Making the Best Dairy-Free Vodka Sauce

• Changing the sauce consistency—The sauce will look very thick before adding the pasta water. That's okay and is to be expected since the cashew cream isn’t nearly as liquidy as regular cream! If you prefer a thinner sauce, reserve extra pasta water. 
• Don't over-salt the sauce —Since the pasta water is salted, avoid adding too much extra salt to the sauce until after you've got the consistency right where you want it.
• Perfectly cooked pasta—Make sure to cook the pasta a little shy of al dente. It will finish cooking in the sauce.

Make Ahead

• The cashew cream can be made up to 5 days in advance if needed. Once blended until smooth, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use. It will separate as it sits, so give it a good stir before using.
• The vegan vodka sauce could also be made up to 5 days ahead. If doing so, cook the sauce as directed without the addition of the pasta water. Store refrigerated in an airtight container until ready to serve, then boil the pasta, and reheat sauce with the pasta water and drained pasta.