Vodka Rigatoni with Chicken
Creamy tomato-vodka sauce with pan-cooked chicken
Ingredients
- 200 g Rigatoni
- 300 g Canned tomatoes
- 100 ml Heavy cream
- 30 ml Vodka
- ½ Onion
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 40 g Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 15 g Butter
- 1 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
- 40 g Salt
- 250 g Chicken breast (optional)
- 1 g Red pepper flakes (optional)
- 4 leaves Basil (optional)
- 1 g Black pepper (optional)
Method
- Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic.
- Warm the olive oil in a pan over medium heat and sweat the onion with a pinch of salt until soft and translucent, about 6 minutes.
- Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook 30-60 seconds until fragrant.
- Pour in the chopped tomatoes and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened and deepened in colour, about 18 minutes.
- Stir in the vodka and let it simmer off for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the cream and simmer gently for 2-3 minutes until the sauce is silky.
- While the sauce simmers, cut the chicken into bite-sized chunks and season with salt and black pepper.
- Cook the chicken in a hot oiled pan over medium-high heat, flipping once, until golden and cooked through to 74C/165F, about 10 minutes.
- Rest the chicken off the heat while you finish the pasta.
- Near the end of the simmer, bring a pot of water to a boil and salt it heavily.
- Drop the rigatoni into the boiling water and cook one minute shy of al dente.
- Reserve a mugful of pasta water, then drain.
- Add the drained rigatoni and the butter to the sauce and toss over low heat, loosening with a splash of pasta water until glossy. Off the heat, stir through the grated Parmigiano.
- Plate the rigatoni with the chicken alongside and finish with black pepper and torn basil.
Tap “Start cooking” for live timers that flag what to get ahead on while something simmers.
About Vodka Rigatoni with Chicken
Vodka Rigatoni with Chicken is an Italian lunch or dinner that comes together in about 41 minutes and serves 2.
Vodka Rigatoni with Chicken: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Vodka Rigatoni with Chicken?
A serving has about 979 calories — 49.3g protein, 91.7g carbs, 41.8g fat, 6.8g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 49.3g of protein, roughly 20% of its calories.
Is Vodka Rigatoni with Chicken gluten-free?
As written, no — it contains Rigatoni. You'd need a certified gluten-free swap for that ingredient to make it gluten-free.
Is Vodka Rigatoni with Chicken dairy-free?
Not as written — it uses Heavy cream, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Butter. Swapping those for a plant-based alternative makes it dairy-free.
How long does Vodka Rigatoni with Chicken take to make?
About 41 minutes start to finish, but only around 23 of those are hands-on — the rest is largely unattended cooking time you can step away from. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
Do I need every ingredient to make Vodka Rigatoni with Chicken?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out chicken breast, red pepper flakes, basil — they're optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Vodka Rigatoni with Chicken make?
This recipe makes 2 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.