This creamy tomato vodka and gochujang potato bake is our twist on the viral vodka pasta trend, reinvented as a rich, flavour-packed potato bake. Unlike a classic potato bake that takes ages to cook, this cheats’ version par-boils the sliced potatoes first, before being added to the hot cream sauce. The result is guaranteed tender potato, a bubbling creamy tomato sauce with a gentle gochujang kick, and a golden parmesan crumb topping, all achieved with just 25 minutes in the oven.
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
- 1kg Spud Lite potatoes
- 1 large brown onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 40g unsalted butter, diced
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 ½ tablespoons gochujang paste
- 1 tablespoon vodka
- 2 cups (500ml) pure pouring cream
- Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
- 1 cup Parmesan, finely grated
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs

Method
Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced). Lightly grease a medium baking dish with butter and place on a baking tray.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Using a mandolin or box grater, thinly slice potatoes and add to a large pot of boiling water. Bring water back to the boil and cook for 5 minutes. Drain.
Meanwhile, place onion and garlic together in a blender and pulse to a paste.
Place butter in a medium saucepan over a medium heat until melted. Add the onion paste, stirring until well coated. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and gochujang paste, stirring to combine and cook for 2 minutes until aromatic. Add vodka and cream, bring to just below boiling point, then remove from heat. Season well with salt and pepper. Add basil and ¾ cup parmesan, stirring to combine.
In a small bowl, combine remaining parmesan and breadcrumbs together, mixing to combine. Set aside until required.
Pour cooked potatoes into prepared baking dish and sprinkle over breadcrumb mixture. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until potato bake is bubbling and the top is golden.
Follow KIDDO on Instagram and Facebook, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter