This vegan vodka sauce is rich, creamy and super easy to make with just a handful of ingredients. Perfect over pasta, you'd never guess this decadent sauce was dairy-free!
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4-8 hours
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 (28 ounce or 794 gram) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (28 ounce or 794 gram) can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup vodka
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- Cooked pasta (Note 1)
- Red pepper flakes
- Fresh basil
- Vegan Parmesan cheese
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Drain and rinse the cashews, then place them into the bowl of a food processor or the pitcher of blender with 1 cup of water. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the pitcher or bowl as needed.
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Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion. Sweat the onion for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent.
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Add the garlic to the pot and sauté it with the onion for another minute, until very fragrant.
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Stir in the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes and then the vodka. Bring the mixture to a simmer and reduce the heat to-medium low. Continue simmering the sauce for 20 to 25 minutes, until the sauce thickens a bit and the alcohol has cooked off (Note 2).
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Stir the cashew mixture into sauce and bring it back to a simmer, just for a minute, until heated throughout.
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Remove the pot from heat and season the sauce with salt and pepper.
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Serve over pasta of choice and optionally garnish with red pepper flakes, fresh basil and/or vegan Parmesan cheese.
- This recipe makes about 8 cups of sauce, which is enough to generously dress a pound of pasta.
- The best way to tell when you've reached this point is by taste-testing the sauce.