Forget Vodka Sauce — Swap In Tequila For An Elevated Take On Your Pasta Dish

Let us know if this sounds familiar. You're in your kitchen, preparing your go-to recipe for penne alla vodka with crispy prosciutto, when you realize you've forgotten to restock your liquor cabinet recently. Fear not. Even if you don't have any vodka, you can still make a version of this deliciously creamy and comforting pasta dish with tequila.

To learn more, Food Republic spoke to Dan Mancini, Founder of MamaMancini's. While using tequila to make Italian food may seem counterintuitive, Mancini informed us that the two liquors produce the same chemical reaction when cooking. "Both tequila and vodka act as that much-needed emulsifier binding everything together to create that velvety sauce we love," he said.

With that in mind, tequila usually has a much more pronounced taste — slightly sweet, earthy, and herbal — than vodka, which tends to taste more neutral. If you're concerned that tequila might overwhelm your pasta dish, Mancini said not to worry. "As far as taste, I have never found that tequila or vodka leave an overpowering taste and, in most cases, no added taste at all," he noted.

Mastering making pasta sauce with tequila starts with knowing what tequila you use. Tequila comes in four main varieties — blanco, reposado, añejo, and extra añejo — each with a unique flavor profile related to the aging process. Mancini clarified: "I would only use blanco for a tomato sauce[;] it's pure in taste like a vodka is." The other varieties are aged in oak barrels, which gives them a darker hue and richer flavor profiles that could interfere with your sauce. "In my opinion, oak flavor of any type does not belong in my sauce," Mancini said.

If you're a fan of smoky bacon mac and cheese, consider using mezcal instead of vodka or tequila blanco to give your pasta a wood-fired taste. Like tequila, mezcal is an alcohol made from the agave plant. It's known for its distinct smoky, rustic flavor. Adding mezcal will give your creamy pasta dishes a deliciously smoky taste– something that isn't called for in traditional penne alla vodka but is delicious nonetheless.

Regardless of what kind of alcohol you use in your pasta sauce, Mancini encouraged home cooks to go slowly. Start with a little bit and add it gradually to your pan, tasting as you go along. As Mancini reminded us, "You can always add more, but you can't remove what you added if it's too much."