An early goal from Nathan Tyson and a double from substitute Grant Holt earned Colin Calderwood's side the points and provided three rare moments of quality in an otherwise lacklustre encounter.
But the manner of victory will matter little to the Reds boss, who had seen his side's lead at the top of League One cut, following their first back to back defeats of the season, at the hands of Leyton Orient and Doncaster.
Thoughts of a third defeat were quickly dispelled, after Tyson put them into an 11th minute lead, before substitute Holt sealed the points in the 65th minute.
Initially, Leon Constantine looked to be a player with confidence as he raced at the Forest defence to mount Vale's first attack, in solo fashion. But, despite having Danny Cullip on the back foot on the edge of the box, his final shot lacked the power to trouble Paul Smith, who made a simple save.
Forest suffered a shaky moment as John Thompson's headed back pass fell short, but Ian Breckin was well placed to intervene as Constantine threatened to break clear.
But, once the home side found their feet, they were quick to take the lead.
Junior Agogo found the space to strike a crisp, low shot from 18-yards that seemed destined for the bottom corner. But, while keeper Mark Goodlad seemed likely to save, he could do little as Tyson cleverly changed the path of the ball with a well improvised back heel flick into the back of the net.
Forest were now in their stride and quickly forced two more chances to score, with Kris Commons seeing a shot deflected, Nicky Southall forcing a neat save from Goodlad with a close range header and, finally, Vale surviving a goal-line scare.
That came after Breckin had beaten the keeper to a high ball into the box, deflecting it into the path of Southall. He hit a clever first-time chip that seemed goal bound until Colin Miles scrambled to head clear off the line.
The game then fell into a lull before half-time, with both teams struggling to carve out much in the way of opportunities.
The closest Vale came to an equaliser was when Paul Harsley forced a brave block from James Perch, who was struck in the face by the ball as he slid in bravely, on the edge of the box.
After the break, the game still struggled to spark into life, with the first notable moment not coming until Tyson had to be replaced in the 59th minute, after picking up an ankle injury.
Fortunately for Forest his replacement, Holt, was to have an almost immediate impact. The striker had barely been on the pitch for five minutes when he latched onto an incisive pass from Southall and charged clear of the Vale defence, before dispatching an emphatic finish beyond the advancing keeper and into the net.
Forest could have had another in the dying stages as substitute Jack Lester was sent clear by Holt, only to be stopped in his tracks by a questionable offside decision.
But there was still time for them to get a third, deep into injury time, as Holt controlled a high ball into the box and bent a powerful drive beyond Goodlad and inside the post.