Penne Ala Vodka With Chicken Recipe

garnished bowl of pasta with bread and red pepper flakes beside it

Thank you to Victoria Pasta Sauce for sponsoring this post. Victoria Pasta Sauce is committed to "Ingredients Come First ® !"

This Chicken Penne Alla Vodka recipe is the easiest weeknight dinner! Made with a lusciously smooth Victoria Pasta Vodka Sauce, juicy chicken and perfectly cooked penne pasta – you're going to LOVE this meal!

Anyone else still enjoying having date nights in? I don't know about y'all, but Ben and I have found that we enjoy staying in so much – especially when we get to whip up something as delicious as this Chicken Penne Alla Vodka.

And another great part? You can eat ALL of the pasta you want, drink a glass of wine and then put on your favorite comfy pants immediately after and watch your favorite TV show on the couch. It's a win-win, y'all!

Why You'll Love this Dish:

But in all seriousness, Ben and I love Italian food. Italy has been on our dream travel bucket list for years – and hopefully we will make it there one day. In the meantime, I'm SO happy to have found Victoria Pasta Sauce!

close up of jar of Victoria Vodka Sauce

Like I said above, Victoria Pasta Sauce has been 100% committed to high quality ingredients since 1929. Almost 100 years, y'all!

I mean, why travel all the way to Italy when I can eat a delicious sauce that uses legit Italian tomatoes?!

The ultra luscious vodka sauce coats the perfectly cooked penne noodles. Seriously, the noodles are bursting with sauce every single bite.

I'm using Victoria'sVodka Sauce in this recipe because its minimal ingredients results in an amazing flavor. You have your classic ingredients like: 100% Italian tomatoes, imported olive oil, fresh basil, high quality vodka, garlic and onions! Sound good? They also have NO added preservatives or sugar and salt! And its rich, creamy, and flavorful with Romano and Parmesan cheeses! Yes please!

The chicken is diced into bite size pieces – which adds an incredible protein and texture to the dish – making it a wonderfully balanced meal.

close up of side view of bowl of garnished pasta

The main reason I am obsessed with this dish, though?! It's SO simple. Truly, it takes less than 30 minutes to make this. Most of it is made in ONE skillet. Yes, you do have to use a small pot to boil the noodles but that's a quick dish to clean!

It's rare to find a dish that takes so little time to make but packs in such incredible flavor. Especially one that feels SO special and promotes togetherness at home.

So let's get into what you need to make it!

Ingredients You Need:

Victoria's Vodka Sauce
Chicken breast
Penne Pasta
Yellow Onion
Fresh garlic
Salt
Fresh parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes + fresh herbs to garnish

How to Make Penne Alla Vodka:

I love starting off recipes by going ahead and chopping up everything so it's all ready to go and place in the pan.

Dice your onion finely. Mince the garlic finely. You can absolutely skip these two ingredients if desired, considering the sauce has BOTH of them in it. However, I found that it added some extra flavor to the chicken. The sauce obviously doesn't need any extra flavorings – it's perfect as is, both taste and texture! Lastly, don't forget to dice the chicken breast into bite size pieces.

Now that everything is diced up, go ahead and get a large pot of water boiling for your pasta. Don't forget to add a large pinch of salt to the water to flavor the pasta. Once boiling, add the pasta and cook according to box instructions for perfectly al dente pasta.

Next, while the pasta is cooking, grab your favorite large and deep saucepan. Add a splash of olive oil in there. Once it's hot, add in the onions with a pinch of salt. Cook these for about 4 minutes. Then add in the garlic and cook for another minute.

pasta in skillet

Next, add in the chicken and make sure it is spread evenly in the pan so it cooks evenly. Add a large pinch of salt to the chicken to season it and then cook for 4-5 minutes, flipping halfway through.

By now, the pasta should be done or close to it! Once it's done, drain it.

Add the entire 24 oz. jar of Victoria's Vodka Sauce to the skillet and stir to combine the chicken and sauce. Let it heat up in the pan. Once it's warmed, add in the pasta directly to the skillet and mix to combine until each noodle is just soaked in that delicious sauce!

And now…you're done! Yup, that's seriously it. Load it into a bowl and if desired, you can garnish it with freshly shaved parmesan, red pepper flakes for extra spice or fresh parsley.

hand using fork to dig into bowl of garnished pasta

Eat while hot! If you do have leftovers, store them in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Pasta Add-In Ideas:

Tofu (sub for chicken)
Broccoli
Zucchini
Fresh Basil
Baby Bella mushrooms

Whether it's a special date night in or you're looking for an easy meal at home during a busy work week – this Chicken Penne Alla Vodka checks all of the boxes. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Haylie and Ben happily enjoying bowls of pasta in kitchen

If you want to look for your own jar of Victoria Pasta Sauce, click HERE to see where they sell it near you.

Thank you so much for following along here, friends! Want to see more? Be sure to follow ourbalancedbowl on Instagram and tag me with your photo if you end up making a recipe! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the Our Balanced Bowl Facebook page ! Like a recipe that you saw? Follow me on Pinterest here ! I always love to see your re-creations! If you do make a recipe, it would make my whole day if you were to rate and comment so I can get your feedback! Lots of love! – Haylie

Chicken Penne Alla Vodka

This Chicken Penne Alla Vodka recipe is the easiest weeknight dinner! Made with a lusciously smooth Victoria Pasta Vodka Sauce, juicy chicken and perfectly cooked penne pasta - you're going to LOVE this meal!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

1 24 oz jar of Victoria's Vodka Sauce
1 and ½ lbs chicken breast, diced into pieces
2 tsp olive oil
12 oz penne pasta
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
Red pepper flakes, Fresh parmesan cheese and fresh herbs to garnish (if desired)

Finely dice ½ of a medium onion. Mince 2 cloves garlic. Dice chicken into bite size pieces. Set aside.
Get the pasta water boiling in a small pot. Don't forget to add a pinch of salt to the water! Once that is boiling, add in the pasta and cook following the box's instructions for al dente pasta.
To a large deep saucepan, add 1 tsp of olive oil. Once hot, add in the onion with a pinch of salt. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until softened. Add in the garlic and cook for an additional 1 minute.
Add chicken along with a large pinch of salt to season the chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes, flipping halfway until cooked through.
By now, the pasta should be about done. Once it's fully cooked, drain it and set it aside.
Once chicken is done, add in the full jar of pasta sauce to the pan and combine with the chicken. Let the sauce heat up.
Once the sauce is warmed, add the pasta directly into the skillet and stir in to combine - making sure that each noodle is coated by the sauce!
Load it up into bowls and serve! Eat while hot.
Garnish with parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes and fresh herbs if desired. Serve with crusty bread. Enjoy!