Chicken Penne alla Vodka is a 30 minute, restaurant quality pasta entree with lean chicken breast and penne pasta in a creamy tomato vodka sauce. Make chicken alla vodka for date night OR any weeknight and win hearts.
Chicken vodka sauce pasta is so delicious, it tastes like dinner from your favorite Italian restaurant. The creamy, lustrous vodka sauce loves to be sopped up with this Homemade French Bread. Chicken alla vodka is so easy and versatile, it's perfect for date night OR busy weeknights, just like this Baked Feta Pasta.
Key ingredients
Recipe amounts are listed below.
- penne pasta - use classic or whole grain variety
- boneless skinless chicken breast - or boneless chicken thighs
- olive oil - or preferred cooking oil
- onion - white, yellow, or red
- garlic - fresh garlic cloves recommended
- vodka - any economical brand (no need to get fancy)
- canned crushed tomatoes - or any type of canned tomatoes
- heavy cream - you can sub half and half, if needed
- oregano - fresh or dried, also sub Italian seasoning
- crushed red pepper - adds a tiny bit of heat and can be adjusted up or down
- Parmesan cheese - or grated Romano
How to make chicken alla vodka
Full instructions are in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Boil the pasta, drain, and set aside.
Step 2: Pound chicken breast flat, season both sides, and saute in the skillet. Transfer to a cutting board, cover, and rest. Slice before adding back to the pasta.
Step 3: Saute onions and garlic. Deglaze the bottom with vodka. Then add tomatoes, heavy cream, and seasonings.
Step 4: Bring to a gentle boil, then simmer until it has slightly thickened.
Step 5: Stir cooked penne into the vodka sauce and Parmesan cheese, and continue warming. Add sliced chicken, then salt and pepper to taste. Serve and devour!
Can you taste the vodka in vodka sauce?
The vodka itself is undetectable in this dish because the alcohol cooks off during the process. As a result, you get a deep, gorgeous flavor. You can always omit the vodka, if you like.
Vodka sauce pasta recipe tips
- Substitute the vodka in this sauce with any cooking liquid such as wine, sherry, broth, or water.
- Use any type of pasta noodle for chicken vodka pasta.
- If you don't have canned crushed tomatoes, you can substitute canned diced tomatoes or even tomato sauce. If using canned, whole tomatoes, mash them into small pieces for optimal sauce texture.
- The longer you simmer the vodka sauce, the deeper the flavor.
- If your vodka sauce becomes too thick, add a splash of any cooking liquid. If it becomes too thin, simmer it long enough to reduce the excess liquid.
- To reheat, add a splash of liquid (heavy cream, milk, broth, etc) as needed to moisten the pasta because it absorbs the vodka sauce as it cools.
Try these easy pasta recipes
Chicken Penne Alla Vodka
INGREDIENTS
- 8 ounces Penne Pasta Noodles
- ½ teaspoon Sea Salt, for the pasta water
- 2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, about 1 pound
- pinch Salt and Pepper, to season chicken
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil, or preferred cooking oil
- 1 medium Onion, diced
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- ¼ cup Vodka
- 1 (28 ounce can) Crushed Tomatoes
- ½ cup Heavy Cream
- ¼ cup Fresh Oregano, or 1 tsp dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
- ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese, plus more for serving
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
Instructions
For the penne
- Follow package instructions to cook PENNE PASTA with SALT added to the water.
- Drain pasta, reserving ½ cup cooking liquid. Briefly rinse the pasta with cool water to stop it cooking, and set aside.
For the chicken breast
- Flatten CHICKEN BREAST to ½" thickness with a flat-sided meat tenderizer. Season with SALT and PEPPER.
- Heat OLIVE OIL in skillet over med-high heat. Add CHICKEN BREAST and sauté about 3-4 minutes each side until chicken is cooked through.
- Transfer chicken to a cutting board, cover, and rest.
For the vodka sauce
- Continue heating skillet on med-high heat and add a splash of OLIVE OIL, if needed.
- Add ONION and GARLIC. Sauté until the onion is tender and slightly browned.
- Add VODKA and scrape the pan to release any browned bits to deglaze.
- Stir in CRUSHED TOMATOES, HEAVY CREAM, OREGANO, and CRUSHED RED PEPPER.
- Bring everything to a gentle boil. Then reduce heat to med-low and simmer about 10 minutes to thicken sauce, stirring as needed. This also cooks off the alcohol.
- Add COOKED PENNE to vodka sauce and allow to heat through, stirring as needed. Add splashes of the reserved pasta water as needed to adjust sauce consistency.
- Add PARMESAN CHEESE to the sauce, continue heating to incorporate, stirring as needed.
- Slice the cooked chicken into ½” thick pieces and add to the vodka sauce along with the COOKED CHICKEN BREAST.
- Stir everything together. Add SALT and PEPPER to taste.
Serving and storage
- Serve warm garnished with chopped fresh OREGANO or parsley.
- To store, allow chicken pasta to cool completely and refrigerate in an airtight container up to 5 days.
Traci's Recipe Notes
- Substitute the vodka in this sauce with any cooking liquid such as wine, sherry, broth, or water.
- Use any type of pasta noodle for chicken vodka pasta.
- If you don't have canned crushed tomatoes, you can substitute canned diced tomatoes or even tomato sauce. If using canned, whole tomatoes, mash them into small pieces for optimal sauce texture.
- The longer you simmer the vodka sauce, the deeper the flavor.
- If your vodka sauce becomes too thick, add a splash of any cooking liquid. If it becomes too thin, simmer it long enough to reduce the excess liquid.
- To reheat, add a splash of liquid (heavy cream, milk, broth, etc) as needed to moisten the pasta because it absorbs the vodka sauce as it cools.
Equipment
- 12 inch skillet
- serving spoon
NUTRITION
Nutrition data provided as courtesy estimates using unbranded ingredients from a nutrition database. Please consult preferred resource for precise data.
Nan says
Easy peasy and oh so very tasty! Dinner in a dish! Honestly! All done in under 30 minutes too!
Joanne says
The taste and flavor were wonderful but I would not call this recipe easy. I come from a family line of great cooks. My Mom and both grandmother's were wonderful in the kitchen. My sister and I and even our son's all love and enjoy cooking. I'm an experienced cook that has cooked many many different recipes and instructions. I'd call this of moderate difficulty. I tried yours because it said it was easy! This was misleading and led to more work and adaptation than expected. I have a favorite cookbook that tells the difficulty of each recipe and I've always liked it because I can count on the indicated level of accuracy.
This recipe is a great one but needed an honest evaluation of it's level of difficulty. I will probably look at other
chefs and see if I can get a more honest one.
Traci says
That's unfortunate. This is the first time I've received this feedback on this recipe. I carefully wrote the instructions with beginner cooks in mind as I usually do. I'd love to know what would make this recipe easier for you if you care to share 🙂 Thanks so much and hope to hear back from you!
Ryan K. says
Restaurant quality is an understatement! This chicken vodka sauce made me look like a five star Italian chef! If you have to cook for a group or for two this recipe hits the spot consistently! I love the check lists and the fact that I’m not getting a million pop up mobile ads!
The Kitchen Girl says
Yessss! Thank you for the kind words and I'm so glad you're loving this recipe 🙂 It's one of my favorite one pot pastas!
Connie says
This was so delicious! It was a hit all around.
The Kitchen Girl says
Yayy! So glad you enjoyed it, Connie! You almost can't go wrong with Chicken alla Vodka 😉 I appreciate the feedback. Thanks!
Susan B. says
I was looking forward to eating this because I had tried it many years ago at a restaurant and loved it. I followed the recipe exactly and although it looked great when complete and the chicken was nice and juicy, the dish as a whole did not have much flavor to either me or my husband. The addition of salt after it was plated did help. However, we both felt it needed more flavor overall. I did use dried oregano since I did not have fresh, and I only simmered the sauce for the minimum 20 minutes…probably fresh oregano and more simmering would have increased the flavor a bit.
The Kitchen Girl says
No problem, Susan. I've never had feedback about this recipe lacking flavor, but everyone is different. In my own kitchen, I almost always find that lack of flavor means the salt-to-ingredient ratio is off balance because I'm so conservative with it lol. I wrote this as a salt-to-taste recipe, so I would simply start by adding more if you make it again. Also, add it to the pasta before serving to it's well-combined. Hope this helps and thanks for bringing my recipes into your kitchen. I'm here for questions anytime 🙂
J Allen says
Finishing up leftovers tonight and I must say this chicken vodka sauce recipe is hands-down the best and easiest version I've come across. Not to mention, easy to follow instructions, all the way down to reheating. It's just SO good!
Lauren says
I rarely comment online ... but had to for this recipe. It's DELICIOUS! I did make some minor changes/omissions. Added diced pancetta but did not add spinach as I didn't have any. The chicken breast I had meal prepped earlier in the week (cooked in white wine on 300 degrees F for 45 minutes ... then shredded and kept in air tight container). Thanks!
The Kitchen Girl says
Awesome, Lauren...love the Pancetta idea YUMMM! I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe...thanks for the feedback 🙂
Gabe says
I made this for the family last night and everyone loved it. Followed the recipe almost exactly except I added mushrooms with the veggies. The pan sauce came out awesome. Will definitely make this again.
The Kitchen Girl says
Awesome, Gabe! This is one of my absolute favs and I love the mushroom add-in idea...YUMM! Thanks for the feedback - I really appreciate it 🙂
JB says
Delicious, easy recipe, especially for a guy who doesn't cook much. Love the Chicken Vodka Pasta! Ten stars!
Traci Antonovich says
Awesome, JB! I'm soooo glad this one works so well for you 🙂 One-pot pasta doesn't get any more delicious than THIS!
Hannah F Healy says
Yum! This looks so good. I love how quick the recipe is!
Traci Antonovich says
Thanks, Hannah! Yes, dinner in 30! 🙂
Alison says
This looks great! Love the fresh ingredients and step by step instructions with pictures.
Traci Antonovich says
Thanks, Alison! Hope you enjoy!
Liz says
I am taking a break from pasta, pizza, bread but I I'm going to try this with quinoa!
Traci Antonovich says
Thanks, Liz...hope you love it!
Courtney | Love & Good Stuff says
my favourite kind of recipe! Delicious and easy to make. The sauce was to die for. Thanks for sharing!
Traci Antonovich says
Haha that's exactly how we feel about it! Thanks, Courtney...so glad you enjoyed!
Irina says
As a lover of Italian food, this pasta recipe is on my list to make! It sounds flavorful and delicious! Thanks for sharing.
Traci Antonovich says
Thanks, Irina! Hope you love it like we do! 🙂
Vicky says
I love one pot dinners and the fact that this one cooks up so quickly makes it a winner in my book. This is one of my favorite dishes to get when I eat out.
Traci Antonovich says
Thanks, Vicky! If you are a penne alla vodka fan, you'll love this recipe! 🙂
Denise says
One pot meals are the best thing ever. I am loving the looks of this recipe, it looks quite delicious - its a win with me!
Traci Antonovich says
Yay thanks, Denise! So glad to hear it! 🙂
Jordin says
I love one pan dinners for busy weeknights! They are so quick, and clean up is a breeze!
Traci Antonovich says
Thanks, Jordin! Meeee too! Chicken pasta = one pot and two plates 🙂
Beth says
I love recipes like this one that make me feel like I went out to a nice restaurant but didn't have to pay the restaurant prices!! Budget friendly and delicious - perfect!!
Traci Antonovich says
Thanks, Beth! Yep, that's how we feel every time we make this recipe 🙂
Joanne Gledhill says
This looks so yummy. I plan on making it very soon. I may add mushrooms I see so many ways I can play around after I make your version. Thanks for all the recipes. I no longer grab a cookbook since I have you providing so many great recipes.
Traci Antonovich says
Awesome, Joanne! Yes, mushrooms will be great in this dish! Love hearing this feedback and I'm glad you're enjoying my recipes 🙂