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

Examples of vodka sauce in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Foods in walk-in cooler were above 41 degrees - vodka sauce at 44 degrees, tuna stack at 44 degrees and coconut sauce at 44 degrees. — Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1981, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of vodka sauce was in 1981

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Cite this Entry

“Vodka sauce.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vodka%20sauce. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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