Wonderfully creamy vodka pasta with chicken – quick and easy to make, and the flavour is simply superb. It is also known as “penne alla vodka”, and we love it in our house. It is packed with flavour, and so soft and creamy.
So why vodka in the sauce? Well, it is a vodka pasta, so there is no getting around the vodka. But the vodka is also said to make the sauce softer and creamier, while bringing out the aromas in the sauce. The same is true when you add wine to a dish, for instance. It does not need to be much – even a splash makes a difference.
Remember that the alcohol cooks off during cooking, so you can happily serve it to the children as well.
When I serve it to the whole family, I sprinkle chilli over the adults’ portions just before serving, as the girls are not keen on it. But when I make it for an adult crowd alone, I like to add a few chilli flakes to the sauce too – it gives the sauce a lovely “bite”.
Vodka pasta with chicken
Ingredients
- 500 g pasta
- 400 g chicken, cut into large chunks
- 125 g bacon, diced
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, grated or crushed
- 1 handful fresh basil
- 80 g Parmesan
- 250 ml whipping cream (38% fat)
- 50 ml vodka
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 3 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- Chilli flakes
- Salt and pepper
- Oil
Method
- Heat a little oil in a large pan, season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown it well – it should be cooked through but still juicy. Set it aside on a plate.
- In the same pan, fry the onion and bacon for a good 5 minutes. The bacon should be golden but not crisp.
- Add the garlic and fry for about a minute, then add the tomato purée and fry for another minute.
- Pour in the vodka and let it bubble up briefly, then add the chopped tomatoes, cream, basil and oregano and let the sauce simmer over a medium heat for about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.
- Return the chicken to the sauce, stir in the Parmesan and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add chilli flakes if you would like the sauce spicy – they really suit it.
- Drain the pasta, saving a little of the pasta water to adjust the consistency if needed.
- Toss the pasta in the sauce, adjust the consistency with a little pasta water if needed, and serve topped with some finely chopped fresh herbs and chilli flakes.
Nutrition
Premium
Virkelig lækkert. Elsker pasta retter.
Hej Marianne
Tusind tak for de søde ord, det er jeg virkelig glad for at høre 🙂
Warm wishes, Dianna
Hej
Kan man evt erstatte fløde med burrata?
Hej Sara
Ja absolut – lyder super lækkert 🙂
Warm wishes, Dianna
Retten er mega lækker. Men kan den fryses ned?
Hej Christian
Tusind tak:) Og det kan den sagtens ja:)
Dbh Dianna
Ej den smager virkelig lækkert!
Hej Emilie
Ej hvor godt at høre altså, tak fordi du skriver det 🙂
Warm wishes, Dianna
Super lækker
Hej Mette
Tusind tak for din besked, hvor er det dejligt at høre:)
Warm wishes, Dianna
Så er vi igang med denne ret igen. Har ofte tænkt på hvor meget en håndfuld er. Her basilikum. 5 7 9 11 stilke? Hvad tænker du
Hej Sine
Hvor er det dejligt I kan lide den:)
Haha ja det er faktisk et godt spørgsmål, hihi;-)
Jeg skriver det lidt sådan, fordi det også skal være op til den enkelte:) Nogle elsker meget basilikum (det gør jeg), andre ikke:)
Når jeg skriver en håndfuld basilikum blade, så bruger jeg ofte selv en lille potte, eller tæt på – alt efter størrelsen på bladene:)
Men altså sådan rundt regnet vil jeg sige en håndfuld er 7-8 stille:)
Warm wishes, Dianna
Har opdaget og begejstres for dine pastaretter. Vi er 2 og laver så kun halv portion, men vi er også glade for mad til 2 dage, så vil gerne have et opvarmningstrick.
Hej Sine
Ej hvor er det bare dejligt at høre, – tusind tak 🙂
Jeg er nu også ret vild med mad til 2 dage, – dejlig nemt i hverdagen, og oftest også mere økonomisk 🙂
Altså er det en pastaret, eller anden gryderet, så opbevarer jeg det gerne i gryden det er tilberedt i. Så er det nemt lige at varme igen, – og man sparer oven i købet på opvasken 😉
Ellers vil jeg anbefale helt almindelige plast bøtter, – evt. noget der kan gå i mikroovnen, for nem opvarmning af maden 🙂
Warm wishes, Dianna