Low fat vodka cream pasta sauce? It can be done!

Sure, it takes a little more work than buying a jar of pasta sauce from the store…but for a made-from-scratch recipe, it’s really not that hard.

I’m not going to lie: I’m really excited about this recipe. I spent a long time trying to figure out the right way to make this, and I’m very happy with the results.

So if you like vodka cream sauce, but don’t like all the calories that come with it, give this a try.

I will recommend that you use an immersion blender, but it’s certainly not necessary (the sauce can be chunky instead of smooth). I had never used one before making this. My mom toyed around with the idea of buying one for some time, so this gave us an excuse to get one and try it out. Talk about an easy way to puree sauce! I really wish I had had one when I made the Creamy Colcannon Soup. I could have skipped all the work with the blender!

Yields: 12 servings of about ½ cup each
Cook Time: about 40 minutes

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp light butter
½ cup onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14.5oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 (14.5oz) can crushed tomatoes
½ cup vodka
¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1 cup plain, fat free Greek yogurt
6 Tbsp reduced fat, grated Parmesan
Salt & pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, stirring constantly. Add tomatoes, vodka, and red pepper flakes. Simmer, uncovered, and stir frequently while reducing liquid for 25 minutes. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, stir ½ cup of tomato mixture with yogurt until smooth to temper it and avoid curdling the yogurt. Whisk this into the saucepan with the remaining tomato mixture. Stir in the Parmesan cheese. For an extra smooth sauce, blend with an immersion blender. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with your choice of pasta.

Nutrition Information:

Nutrition Disclaimer: I am not a certified nutritionist…these are just the calculations I’m pretty sure are close to correct. I use BodyMedia to generate my information.

Calories: 63
Fat: 1g
Saturated Fat: 0.6g
Cholesterol: 4.7mg
Sodium: 212.4mg
Carbohydrates: 5.8g
Dietary Fiber: 0.9g
Sugar: 3.1g
Protein: 3.3g

Dietary Exchange: ½ Starch, ½ Meat
Jenny Craig: Either count this as 2 Limited Frees, or add 2/3 cup of cooked pasta and 2 oz of lean meat for a complete meal (equivalent to 2½ Starch and 2½ Meat).
Weight Watchers: 1 Point (using calculatorcat.com).