Baked Zita alla Vodka 🍝
Summary
One of my favorite recipes to serve for any occasion including holiday dinners is baked ziti. In my family we always serve an Italian baked pasta dish as a first course before our main courses such as turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing.
This recipe is very similar to my baked ziti recipe but instead I made a delicious pot of vodka sauce in place of my traditional sauce. This is why I named it Drunken Baked Ziti in my video because the vodka sauce really takes this baked pasta to the next level.
The official name for this dish is Baked Ziti alla Vodka and the best part about my Baked Ziti alla Vodka blog is that you can make my Drunken Baked Ziti recipe or simply make my vodka sauce and pour it over any pasta you wish! Let’s make it!!!!!
To the party! My vodka sauce starts with a combination of garlic, onions, red pepper flakes, olive oil, butter, salt and pepper giving your sauce a rich and savory flavor. This is a delicious foundation for any Italian sauce you are making.
My mom never kept vodka or any alcohol in our house growing up so if you don’t keep vodka in your house just buy the mini bottle for a 1 time serving.
After adding your vodka and heavy cream your vodka sauce should have an orange red color.
I add a big spoonful of the vodka sauce right into my ricotta and mozzarella cheese mixture to help make the dish creamy and evenly flavored in every bite.
🗒 More Recipes You May Enjoy
👝 How to Store Leftovers
Store in air-tight container for 3-5 days in refrigerator.
Items featured in video
🤔 Common Questions
You can use half-and-half or milk but your sauce will be less rich and creamy.
Add a pinch of sugar to neutralize the acidity of the tomatoes.
Baked Zita alla Vodka 🍝
Ingredients
- 1 lb ziti
- 10 garlic cloves chopped
- ¼ of a large red onion chopped
- 6 oz tomato paste
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley divided
- 8-12 oz fresh mozzarella cut into cubes divided
- 1 cup + 6 tbsp grated pecorino romano divided
- 15 oz ricotta
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 50 ml vodka mini bottle
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- ¼ cup water
- ¾ cup pasta water
- 0.75 oz fresh basil ripped up divided
Instructions
- In a pot add butter and olive oil. Once the butter is melted add in the red onion, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, & pepper. Saute that for a few minutes until translucent and fragrant.
- Add in the tomato paste and brown that up for a few minutes until it’s a burnt orange red color. Then sir in the titos and let the alcohol burn out for about 2 minutes.
- Then add in the can of crushed tomatoes and fill the can with ¼ cup of water and add it to the pot. Bring the pot to a boil, then lower it to a simmer, and let that simmer for 10 minutes.
- Boil the ziti noodles in salted water until al dente.
- Next add in the heavy cream, fill the measuring cup that had the cream in it with ¾ cup of pasta water, and add it to the pot. Also add in salt, pepper, ½ cup Pecorino Romano, half of the ripped up basil, and give that a stir. Bring the pot to a boil, then lower it to a simmer, and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- In a bowl add ricotta, 4-5 oz of cubed fresh mozzarella, ½ cup Pecorino Romano, ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, salt & pepper, and a ½ cup of the vodka sauce from the pot. Mix that until combined. Then add the cooked ziti noodles and everything together.
- For layering, first take a 9×13 baking pan and add a ladle full of vodka sauce to the bottom of the dish. Then add in half of the ricotta noodle mixture. Then add 2-3 oz of the cubed mozzarella and 3 tbsp pecorino romano. Then add 2 ladles full of vodka sauce. Then the other half of the ricotta pasta mixture. Then add 2 more ladles full of vodka sauce. For the last layer add 2-3 oz of cubed up mozzarella, 3 tbsp pecorino romano, ¼ cup chopped fresh basil, the other half of the ripped up basil, and top that with some cracked black pepper.
- Cover with foil and bake at 400°F for 30 minutes. Then uncover and bake for another 15 minutes or until browned and bubbly! Enjoy!
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Delicious! I was looking to mix up our dinner rotation and this perfectly fit the bill and is moving into regular rotation. It’s much faster than lasagna and just as delicious. The only tweak I’d make is adding browned spicy sausage to it since I love with a bunch of carnivores! LOL
I’m definitely going to try the sausage next time! So happy you loved 🤍