If you love bruschetta and vodka sauce, you NEED to make this Bruschetta Rigatoni alla Vodka recipe. It’s a comforting, restaurant-quality dinner recipe that feels both fancy and unfussy. Creamy tomato vodka sauce swirls together with fresh tomatoes, ground chicken, garbanzo beans, spinach, and tender rigatoni to make a budget-friendly meal that comes together in one pan. I made mine using ingredients straight from my Hungryroot box (the tomato-basil-garlic ground chicken is unreal), and it’s perfect for busy weeknights or stocking the fridge for easy lunches all week long.
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Easy Recipe for Bruschetta Rigatoni alla Vodka
I love a good pasta and vodka sauce recipe, so as soon as I saw this one from Hungryroot, I knew I had to give it a go (and give it a Budget Bytes twist, of course). To keep things easy, I turned it into a one-pot meal by cooking the pasta right in the sauce with a bit of added water. I also leaned on shelf-stable, pantry-friendly ingredients like garbanzo beans from my Hungryroot box, which helped stretch this dish further while keeping costs down.
But what I like most about my Hungryroot subscription is how it actually makes it super easy to cook wholesome meals without the stress. They send full-sized groceries (plus snacks and breakfast options), and the more I add to my order, the more I save (how many grocery stores can say the same?!) It all started with a quick quiz, and then Hungryroot suggested personalized recommendations based on me and my family. Over time, it’s learned more about what I like and what I actually use, so I waste less, save more, and have way fewer “what’s for dinner?” moments. Yay!
PS: If you want to give Hungryroot a try, we have a great discount for you! Click this link to get 40% off your first box PLUS a free gift. Thanks Hungryroot!
Bruschetta Rigatoni alla Vodka
Servings 8 servings (2 cups per serving)Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil ($0.04)
- 16 oz ground tomato, basil, and garlic chicken ($6.99*)
- 2 beefsteak tomatoes (chopped, $2.86)
- 1 onion (small dice, $0.78)
- 2 ½ cups vodka sauce ($2.40)
- 16 oz uncooked rigatoni pasta ($0.98)
- 1.5-2 cups water ($0.00)
- 10 oz fresh spinach ($1.98)
- 13.4 oz organic garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed, $0.86)
- ¼ tsp salt ($0.01)
- ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.04)
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes ($0.03)
Instructions
- Gather and prepare all ingredients.
- Heat the oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add the ground chicken, break it into small pieces, and sauté for 4-5 minutes, until cooked. Then, remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
- Add the diced tomatoes and onion and cook for 5 minutes, gently scraping the bottom of the pan.
- Add the vodka sauce, uncooked pasta, and 1.5 cups of water to the pan. Bring to a simmer and cover. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring periodically.
- Add the chicken, spinach, garbanzo beans, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Continue to cook for 8-10 minutes while covered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is done. If the pasta is not fully cooked, add the last ½ cup of water and continue cooking until the pasta is done.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Medium Sauté Pan
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!how to make Bruschetta Rigatoni alla Vodka step-by-step photos
Gather all of your ingredients.
Cook the ground chicken: Set a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add 1 Tbsp vegetable oil, and once heated, add 16 oz ground tomato, basil, and garlic chicken to the pan. Break it into small pieces and sauté in the hot oil for 4-5 minutes until cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside for now.
Sauté the veggies: Add 2 diced beefsteak tomatoes and 1 diced onion to the same pan you cooked the chicken in. Cook for 5 minutes while gently scraping the bottom of the pan to pick up any stuck-on-ground chicken (which will add even more flavor!).
Add the pasta and sauce: Once you’ve sauteed the tomatoes and onion for 1 minute, add 2.5 cups vodka sauce, 16 oz uncooked rigatoni pasta, and 1.5 cups of water. Bring the pot to a simmer and cover with a lid. Let the pasta and sauce simmer for 10 minutes, stirring periodically.
Add the remaining ingredients: Now, return the cooked ground chicken to the skillet along with 10 oz fresh spinach, 13.4 oz organic garbanzo beans, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper, and ¼ tsp red pepper flakes. Cook while covered for a further 8-10 minutes until the pasta is done. Be sure to stir the pasta occasionally. If you find that your pasta isn’t fully cooked at this point, add the last ½ cup of water and keep cooking until the pasta is finished.
Serve: Plate up your homemade bruschetta rigatoni alla vodka, and enjoy!
I’m 100% ordering these ingredients again in my next Hungryroot box…this pasta is too good NOT to! 😉
Recipe Tips for Success
- Add more water if needed. One-pot pastas are one of my favorite midweek meals for something that’s both delicious and easy to clean up. One tip I’ve learned from making one-pot recipes like this is to know when your pasta needs a little extra love! If it’s still a bit firm after simmering at first, just add ½ cup more water and keep it going until it’s tender.
- Break up the ground chicken as it cooks. I use a wooden spoon or spatula to break the chicken into small pieces while it’s browning. Doing this helps it cook evenly and gives you a nice, crumbly texture.
- Keep the chicken warm. After cooking the chicken and removing it from the pan, you can cover it loosely with foil so it stays warm while you prep everything else.
- Stir the pasta occasionally. Be sure to simmer the pasta with a lid ON to keep the moisture and heat in the pan. I also like to stir it every few minutes so nothing sticks to the bottom. This is especially important in a hearty dish like this bruschetta vodka pasta, where the sauce thickens as it cooks.
Serving Suggestions
If you ordered some shredded sharp cheddar cheese in your Hungryroot box, sprinkle some over each bowl for an extra tasty finish. I love serving this with a slice of garlic bread for dipping, but you could even add a piece of fresh bruschetta on the side if you’re craving more of that tomato-basil flavor!
Storage & Reheating
Let your rigatoni alla vodka with chicken cool completely before storing. It’ll keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. To reheat, just pop it in the microwave or warm it gently on the stove with a splash of water to loosen the sauce. The pasta will soak up some of the sauce as it sits and may get a bit softer during storage, but it’ll still taste amazing. I usually don’t recommend freezing pasta dishes like this since the noodles can turn mushy when thawed (but you can try if you don’t mind the texture change!)
I just want to say I very much appreciate the substitution for the ground chicken as I do not live in the US and, as such, cannot order from Hungryroot. Thank you for taking into account that this specific ingredient may not be accessible even for reasons other than cost – I’ve been disappointed by too many tasty-looking recipes that are wholly based around a specific US-only product. This is a really intriguing idea and I’ll have to give it a try!
As I sit here eating leftovers of this recipe for lunch and reading reviews, I am baffled why people who use this FREE recipe site are so pressed about there being ads and partnered posts. Do they understand how sites like this afford to operate? Are they new here and have never come across Beth’s sponsored-post recipes? Here’s a link to the chicken at Target: https://www.target.com/p/mighty-spark-bruschetta-seasoned-ground-chicken-16oz/-/A-53788861. Very not impossible to find or only available if you sign up for hungryroot. Do the people who make this site for a living deserve this much hostility for making a living? Thanks BB and Melissa for this recipe that I was able to make with easy to find ingredients and which has kept my family fed all week with leftovers.
I can’t rate this as of yet, but can you please update the recipe to reflect how much chicken to use? It’s not mentioned on the ingredients list. Thank you in advance!
Hi Jacqueline! It’s in the recipe card! Its 16 oz (1 lb) of ground chicken. :)
Ah I must have missed it. Thanks for getting back to me. Can’t wait to try it! :D
This recipe leaves me with a number of questions. The first is the vodka sauce–does this recipe expect us to use a supermarket sauce? Which one? My second question is about bruschetta? It’s garlic toast, usually, but not always, topped with some sort of seasoned veggies, most often chopped tomatoes–don’t see any bread in the recipe, although it is mentioned as a possible side!
I frequently prepare BB recipes as soon as they appear on the site–not this time! Fortunately there is a vodka sauce recipe on this site.
I literally cant wait to try this. Looks so cozy and I think my kids would love it!
So, so disappointed to see a recipe that’s just an ad–the company name is prominently featured, appearing at least 8 times in this recipe. I’ve followed and recommended you for several years and this feels like a sell-out to me. The main ingredient is impossible to obtain without subscription and your substitution is clearly inadequate (unless that main ingredient is severely over-hyped in your text).
Thanks for your feedback, Margaret! We intentionally chose a recipe that you’d easily be able to make no matter what! We put an alternative to the ground chicken as a note in the recipe card that would be a super easy swap for you!
Thanks for your feedback, Margaret! We tried very hard to chose a recipe that you’d easily be able to make no matter what! We put an alternative to the ground chicken as a note in the recipe card that would be a super easy swap for you!
People trust budget bytes. Advertising for an expensive food service delivery service is inexcusable.
We don’t take that lightly, Ivy! We’re eternally grateful for the support of our readers and wanted to give you the opportunity to try out a new service at a steep discount! It can sometimes be tough to find certain ingredients, Especially if you have any dietary restrictions or allergies, and this is a great way to help bridge that gap if you need it. If not, that’s totally fine too! :)
Please also include the price if we order from HungryRoot.
Nice Hungryroot ad. I come here for recipe ideas, not to have subscription groceries shilled to me.
There’s still a delicious recipe idea here that requires minimal ingredients that you can easily source wherever you’d like! There’s a lot of readers that would benefit from this kind of service, especially if you live in a food desert where your grocery stores don’t have access to a lot of ingredients. We’re excited to be able to offer readers a significant discount to try it out, but it’s in no way a requirement to make the recipe. :)
The idea that this is going to help people in food deserts is dingenuous, it’s actually a service aimed at busy middle or upper income consumers who already have access and want convenience. Food deserts are often correlated with low-income communities and low income individuals. Therefore, most people living in those areas do not have the disposable income to afford premium grocery services like HungryRoot. Even with a discount, it’s not affordable for someone struggling to access basic groceries. The cost of the food through them far exceeds traditional grocery store prices.
Please also include the price if we order from HungryRoot.
Hi B. B’s:
The very first thing I look at after the title of the recipe, is the total cost. Then I view the ingredient list, also looking at the cost breakdown. Thinking… do I want to spend the money?
This is the reason why I began following B. B’s. to begin with; i. e., inexpensive recipes with the cost breakdown! Which is very important to me! Why isn’t the total cost and the cost per ingredient included?
Sincerely,
KBG
There is no mention of a comparable replacement for the ground chicken unless I missed it. There is no breakdown of the cost of the recipe. It is an ad for Hungryroot. The cost of seasoning the ground chicken to make it tomato, basil, and garlic ground chicken should have been included. The whole point of this site is budget meals with cost breakdowns and realistic ingredients.
We’ve updated the post with a price breakdown of what the ingredients would be at our typical grocery source and an alternative to the seasoned ground chicken mix! Thank you for pointing this out!
A recipe that’s really a giant ad, using a product that’s not widely available? Gross.
Hi Mel! We tried very hard to make sure that this recipe could easily be made with comparable ingredients you can get at any grocery store! We even just recently posted a homemade vodka sauce recipe that you can use! Hungryroot makes it very easy to buy all of the ingredients, but that is in no way a requirement and the recipe is easy and delicious regardless. :)
How can I make ground tomato and basil chicken, then?
Maybe an Italian chicken sausage? Or just mild Italian sausage if you can’t find chicken sausage?
That’s a perfect alternative! If you can’t find it in bulk you can also use fresh Italian chicken sausage links and remove the casing. :)
I found it at my local grocery store and at Target. I don’t think hungryroot invented this ingredient.
I enjoy using this site that literally costs me nothing to access, kind of like grace and humanity. I’ve been using this site for years, so I know that some recipes are part of partnerships which are necessary to keep the site running and the people behind it gainfully employed. It would be a huge bummer if it were put behind a paywall – kind of defeats the purpose.
Thank you, Carolyn! We tried really hard to create a recipe that would be accessible no matter what! If you can’t find that brand of ground chicken, you can absolutely dress up a plain package of ground chicken!
The recipe is at the end with an asterisk. I think I’ll try this with ground turkey from Aldi’s.( still just above 2.00/lb.