Chicken penne alla vodka
Golden seared chicken and penne in a creamy, peppery tomato-vodka sauce that turns a weeknight into a night out.
- 40 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.97 a serving
- 850 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 lb chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 tbsp butter
- ½ yellow onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 tbsp tomato paste
- ¼ cup vodka
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 12 oz penne
- ½ cup grated parmesan, plus more for serving
- ¼ cup fresh basil, torn (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp salt, plus 1 teaspoon
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
Each serving has about 850 calories, 43 g protein, 74 g carbs and 38 g fat, and costs about $2.97 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No chicken breasts? Boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenderloins work.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No penne? Rigatoni or elbow macaroni works.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Fill a large pot with water, add 1 tablespoon of the salt, cover, and over high heat.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Sprinkle the chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper.
Heat the oil in a large, deep over medium-high and cook it 5 to 6 minutes, turning, until and cooked through.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Cut one of the biggest pieces open: white all the way through means done.Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
Move it to a plate.
Turn the heat to medium, add the butter and onion, and cook 3 minutes, until soft. Stir in the garlic and pepper flakes for 30 seconds.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min 30 sec
Stir in the tomato paste and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until it darkens to brick red and starts to stick a little.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Cooking the paste takes away its raw, tinny taste and makes the sauce taste deep.Take the pan off the burner, pour in the vodka, then put it back and 1 to 2 minutes, scraping the pan, until it’s almost gone.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Always pour alcohol with the pan off the heat. It can flare if it hits a flame.Turn the heat to low and stir in the cream until the sauce is smooth and pink. Let it gently 2 minutes.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 2 min
Meanwhile, cook the penne 1 minute less than the package says. Scoop out 1 cup of the , then .
Reserve pasta water. It means scooping out a cup of the starchy cooking water before you drain the pasta. A splash helps the sauce cling and turn silky, and it’s the step everyone forgets.
How you’ll know: A mug of cloudy water is sitting by the stove before the pasta goes into the colander.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
High heatTimer: 10 min
Add the penne, chicken, parmesan and ½ cup of the pasta water to the sauce and over low heat 1 to 2 minutes, until glossy.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Low heatTimer: 1 min 30 sec
Serve with more parmesan and the basil on top.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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