vodka sauce

noun

plural vodka sauces

: a tomato-based sauce made with cream and vodka and usually additional ingredients (such as cheese, garlic, or basil)

… the vodka sauce on the rigatoni is rich and creamy.

—Joseph Hernandez

The vodka sauce is something very special, the pink color comes from crushed tomato mixed with cream.

—Joe Avelluto, Jr., quoted in The Kansas City Star

… pasta with vodka sauce—a dish, frankly, I have never understood because vodka has no flavor.

—Marian Burros

Word History

First Known Use

1981, in the meaning defined above