Easy Vodka Sauce & Provolone Puff Pastry Pizza.
This vodka sauce puff pastry pizza is perfect for an easy weeknight meal. Rich and silky vodka sauce with provolone cheese on a flakey and buttery crust. No rising dough to worry about either! Simple and delish.
My love for puff pastry pizza knows no bounds. None!
I make an extraordinary, obnoxious amount of puff pastry pizzas. I shared a crazy amount here too. And in my book Everyday Dinners. They are just so simple and check all the boxes.
Super easy.
Weeknight accessible without making dough.
Customizable.
Insanely delicious.
What else can you ask for?!
I’ll tell you what: to slather it in a rich and creamy vodka sauce.
My favorite sauce of all time.
You know, growing up I did not care for tomato sauce. I’ve rambled about this a million times. My mom made pasta every Thursday night and I never wanted to eat marinara or meat sauce with it. I didn’t mind it on pizza, but I also didn’t like my pizza to be loaded with sauce.
Now, I feel like if I had vodka sauce back in the day, I’d be all over it. I would have requested it every Thursday and never complained. I can eat it weekly now!
There is something about it – it’s so slightly sweet, savory, silky smooth and so rich. The way that it coats noodles is something else too. It coats every bit of the noodle in the best way possible: the perfect amount. Not too much, not too little.
I make my own vodka sauce from a base of tomato paste and it’s very easy. I find it to be one of the simplest sauces to make, but also one with the most flavor! The recipe calls for starchy pasta water, but a quick combo of water with starch and cornstarch works too. You can also just use warm water or stock. But I love making the faux pasta water.
I have a recipe for a traditional vodka sauce pizza with my homemade dough. And it’s fantastic. But it does require making dough and sometimes I want the pizza when I haven’t made the dough! You know. Craving problems.
So this is the puff pastry version. Embarrassingly easy. Add on the cheese. Tons of basil. Bake it until super flakey and golden and bubbly. DREAMS.
There is just no beating this on a busy weeknight or even a weekend when you don’t feel like cooking.
Using this as a crust is one of my favorite things on earth!
I do not roll my puff pastry. But I do choose to use ones that do not have perforations. I use either the wewalka brand or the jus rol brand and I find both at my local grocery store.
Pizza forever!
Vodka Sauce Puff Pastry Pizza
Vodka Sauce Puff Pastry Pizza
Ingredients
vodka sauce
- ½ cup reserved pasta water, or substitution, listed below
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 shallot, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- salt and pepper
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 ½ tablespoons vodka, I like Tito’s
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup finely grated parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
pizza
- 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed if frozen
- 1 cup freshly grated provolone cheese
- parmesan cheese, for topping
- fresh basil, for topping
Instructions
vodka sauce
- Make the vodka sauce first. To make a starchy pasta water without cooking pasta, combine 1 cup of water with ½ teaspoon of cornstarch and ¼ teaspoon salt. Bring it to a boil in a saucepan, then turn off the heat!
- Heat the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, stir in the shallots and garlic with a big pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the onions soften. Add in the tomato paste and stir, cooking for 5 minutes. The color will darken - this is where the flavor is!
- Stream in the vodka and stir, scraping the brown bits and flavor from the bottom. Stir in ½ cup of the reserved (or makeshift) pasta water. Stir in the heavy cream and parmesan, stirring until the cheese melts. Taste and season the sauce with more salt and pepper if needed. This will make a little more sauce than needed. Store it in the fridge for a few days or use it to make another pizza!
pizza
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place the puff pastry sheet on a piece of parchment paper, on a baking sheet. Poke it all over with a fork. This prevents large bubbles.
- Spread the sauce on the puff pastry, leaving a 1-inch border. You don’t want too much sauce because it will make it too heavy. Just an even layer.
- Sprinkle the sauce with the grated provolone. Sprinkle on some parmesan.
- Brush the edges of the puff pastry with the egg wash. This is optional, but helps give that shiny, puff pastry crust.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the puff pastry is golden and crisp.
- Top with fresh basil and another sprinkle of parm. Slice and serve!
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I appreciate you so much!
It’s a must make!
