The Hands-Down Best Store-Bought Vodka Sauce

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If your homemade penne alla vodka recipe is known around town as the best in the biz, using the jarred stuff might make you feel like a bit of a slouch. But what if we told you that we tasted nine different store-bought vodka sauces, ranked them from worst to best, and found one affordable brand that brings Italian home cooking to your kitchen in an instant for under $10?

When it comes to creamy, tomatoey vodka sauce, there's no doubt Botticelli does it best. A family-run business, Botticelli Foods uses authentic ingredients sourced from Italy, and its vodka sauce is no exception. It's made with tomatoes from its own farms in Sicily and Parma, as well as extra virgin olive oil, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Pecorino Romano. Combined with heavy cream, aromatics, and a splash of vodka, it's got everything a good vodka sauce needs, and in just the right amounts. The sauce is a light orange, indicating it has a healthy dose of cream, along with toothsome bits of cheese. The tomatoes are well integrated, but not totally pulverized, providing a nice homestyle texture. Pepper and oregano do a notable job in their supporting role, deepening flavor and bringing an earthiness to the heavy creamy elements and high acid levels.

We aren't the only ones who love Botticelli's Alla Vodka sauce. Folks ordering it from Amazon can't seem to get enough either. "This sauce is just like homemade! I use it in all my recipes that call for tomato sauce," one reviewer wrote, adding that it's "especially good on top of my pizza before I bake it and gives my lasagna and spaghetti sauce a nice punch. The flavor is amazing!" Others called out the authentic Italian tomatoes: "Very good sauce. Chunky, real tomatoes, not just puree." However, if you're interested in getting a jar, make sure you buy it from the store. Some reviews complained about poor packaging and broken jars upon delivery.

If you really want to give your store-bought vodka sauce that homemade taste, there are a few easy upgrades you can make. You can always start by adding a bit more of what's already there to tailor it to your taste preferences. If you love your vodka sauce extra-creamy, add ½ cup of heavy cream, or shave a generous amount of extra Parmesan cheese into it. If you prefer it a touch more tomatoey, a spoonful or two of tomato paste should do the trick. To get those flavors to pop, you might add some fresh herbs, such as oregano, basil, rosemary, or thyme. You can also add some chopped garlic, or perhaps red pepper flakes if you like your sauce to have a little heat. Protein is also an excellent addition; while sausage or ground pork can be tasty, we prefer pancetta fried with onions and simmered with the sauce for a bold, rich flavor that resembles a Roman amatriciana.