Vodka Meatballs

Creamy vodka sauce is the ultimate comfort food, and with the addition of easy chicken meatballs, it becomes a simple, heartier dinner. Meatballs are a nice and filling alternative to pasta, although you can serve with pasta alongside if you want to go all out—sometimes you just need some extra protein in your comfort dishes. The whole dish comes together in under an hour, and is one you can master in no time. Here's everything you need to know:

The vodka sauce:
Our vodka sauce relies heavily on rich, sweet tomato paste, and vodka adds an almost spiciness to the dish and helps balance out the heaviness of the sauce. Wondering how to make the best vodka sauce? Don't be shy with the tomato paste. It has a more concentrated flavor than canned tomatoes, and texture-wise makes for a smoother, velvety sauce. If you’re all about a saucy pasta, we recommend doubling the sauce.

No need to pull out the expensive vodka for this recipe—one that you have on hand will work just fine. Use your favorite, or check out our favorite vodka brands for inspo.

Variations:
We went with chicken meatballs for this recipe, but you can switch it up. Make our Italian meatballs if you're craving ground beef, or make ground turkey meatballs instead. Not feeling meatballs? This vodka sauce goes with just about anything: add chicken breasts or chicken thighs if you prefer.

Serving ideas:
We love this dish served plain, but no one would complain if you served this on top of a heaping bowl penne. Alternatively, you can serve this alongside some garlic and feta mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus, or cacio e pepe Brussels sprouts.

Did you try this recipe? Let us know how it went in the comments!