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Home / Tomatoes / Vodka Pasta Sauce

Vodka Pasta Sauce

Filed Under: Seasonal Summer, Tomatoes Tagged With: Pasta Sauce, Tomatoes

vodka-pasta-sauce-pn1

This pasta sauce recipe for home canning is from the Ball All New book (2016).

To use: open jar, heat thoroughly either in microwave or in a saucepan on the stove. For each half-litre (pint) jar you have heated, stir in 2 tablespoons heavy cream (or plain yoghurt or sour cream), and if desired, chopped fresh basil. Serve hot with pasta, etc.

Yes, tomatoes must be peeled before canning in this recipe to reduce the bacterial load going into the canner.

See all pasta-sauce recipes for canning.

Contents hide
  • 1 The recipe
  • 2 Vodka Pasta Sauce
    • 2.1 Ingredients
    • 2.2 Instructions
    • 2.3 Nutrition
  • 3 Reference information
  • 4 Recipe notes
  • 5 Recipe source
  • 6 Nutrition information
    • 6.1 With salt
  • 7 Salt-free

The recipe

Jar size choices: Half-litre (US pint / 500 ml / 16 oz)

Processing method: Water bath or steam canning

Yield: 4 x half-litre (US pint / 500 ml / 16 oz) jars

Headspace: 2 cm (½ inch)

Processing time: 40 minutes

Print

Vodka Pasta Sauce

Pasta sauce with booze in it, from Ball Home Canning.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword Pasta Sauce, Tomatoes
Prep Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes minutes
Servings 4 half-litre (US pint / 500 ml / 16 oz) jars
Calories 151kcal
Metric - US Customary

Ingredients

  • 250 g onion (finely chopped. 1 ½ cups, 9 oz. Measurements after prep.)
  • 5 cloves garlic (washed, peeled, minced)
  • 250 ml vodka (1 cup / 8 oz)
  • 125 ml water (½ cup / 4 oz)
  • 2 teaspoons salt (OR non-bitter, non-clouding salt sub)
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 3 kg tomatoes (6 lbs)
  • 2 sprigs basil (fresh, large sprigs)
  • 4 tablespoons lemon juice (bottled. ¼ cup / 60 ml. OR 1 teaspoon citric acid.)
Metric - US Customary

Instructions

  • Put everything from the onion down to and including the black pepper in a large pot at least 8 litres (quarts) in size. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and let simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, wash the tomatoes, core, and chop coarsely. Set aside.
  • Add tomatoes and any juice off them to the pot.
  • Bring pot back to a boil, reduce heat down to a simmer, and let simmer uncovered until both tomatoes and onion are very soft.
  • Press this tomato mixture in small batches through a food mill or sieve, and discard the skin and seeds.
  • Put strained tomato mixture back in the pot.
  • Add the basil.
  • Put heat to medium-high and let cook for about 45 minutes or until the volume of the sauce is reduced by half.
  • Remove basil.
  • Stir in either the citric acid OR the lemon juice.
  • Ladle sauce into heated jars.
  • Leave 2 cm (½ inch) headspace.
  • Debubble, adjust headspace.
  • Wipe jar rims.
  • Put lids on.
  • Process in a water bath or steam canner.
  • Process jars for 40 minutes; increase time as needed for your altitude.

Nutrition

Calories: 151kcal | Carbohydrates: 18.3g | Protein: 3.8g | Fat: 0.8g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 602mg | Fiber: 5.3g | Sugar: 11.2g

Reference information

How to water bath process.

How to steam can.

When water-bath canning or steam canning, you must adjust the processing time for your altitude.

For salt substitute, Herbamare Sodium-Free was used as it is non-bitter and non-clouding.

Shelf life for home canned goods

vodka-pasta-sauce-pn3

Recipe notes

  • If you don’t have fresh basil, use 1 teaspoon dried basil;
  • You could start with 3 litres (US quarts) of crushed tomato and start at Step 3. Or, use  2 litres (US quarts) of tomato passata and start at step 8. Add the basil, and instead of the fresh onion, use 1 to 2 tablespoons of onion powder OR finely minced onion that you softened in some water in the microwave and then drained. Note that Ball probably wouldn’t be crazy about not starting with fresh tomatoes, though. Even though those are perfectly reasonable ways to get a tomato base out of season, they generally don’t condone any changes to their recipes, even sensible ones that no sane person could object to with a straight face;
  • When you go to use it, if you do add the dairy, don’t let it boil after you add the cream, yoghurt or sour cream, or it might curdle on you;
  • Yes, any dairy must be added only at time of use: it’s unsafe to home can any products with dairy in them.

vodka-pasta-sauce-102

Recipe source

  • Butcher, Meredith L., Ed. The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving. New York: Oxmoor House. 2016. Page 207.

Modifications:

  • Added suggestions for starting with crushed tomato, or tomato passata

Nutrition information

With salt

Per 250 ml (1 cup / 8 oz)

  • 151 calories, 602 mg sodium

vodka-sauce-base-nutrition

Salt-free

Per 250 ml (1 cup / 8 oz)

  • 151 calories, 21 mg sodium

vodka-sauce-base-nutrition-salt-free

* Nutrition info provided by https://caloriecount.about.com

vodka-pasta-sauce-pn2

Tagged With: Pasta Sauce, Tomatoes

Filed Under: Seasonal Summer, Tomatoes Tagged With: Pasta Sauce, Tomatoes

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Shana Burstyn

    December 17, 2023 at 1:57 am

    Can I increase the amount of garlic? Cloves vary so much in size! And I love garlic…

    Reply
  2. Alison

    May 22, 2023 at 3:15 pm

    Can we substitute something for the Vodka that isn’t alchol?

    Reply
  3. Helene

    January 06, 2021 at 8:58 am

    How long can this sauce be preserved? Thank you

    Reply
    • Healthy Canning

      June 20, 2021 at 11:11 pm

      See here for a discussion of shelf life of home canned goods

      Reply
  4. Kristen

    December 27, 2019 at 7:19 pm

    Could I swap the vodka for cognac? Do you think it would alter the recipe too much for it to be “safe”?

    Reply
    • Healthy Canning

      January 02, 2020 at 3:11 am

      That would be an acceptable swap.

      Reply
If you need FAST or relatively immediate canning help or answers, please try one of these Master Food Preserver groups; they are more qualified than we are and have many hands to help you. Many of them even operate telephone hotlines in season.
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“If you got me started on the queer things some women do when they start canning, I’m likely to go on talking all night. The safe way to can is to get a reliable canning guide from your State College or from the Bureau of Home Economics at Washington, D. C. and follow that as though it were the laws of the Medes and Persians.”

— USDA, Radio service. Housekeeper’s Chat. 14 September 1933.
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