Fork N’ Flavor • Jar Sauce Upgrade
Creamy Vodka Chicken Parm with Pancetta (Jar Sauce Upgrade)
Crispy chicken cutlets, creamy vodka sauce boosted with pancetta + garlic + chili flakes, finished with fresh mozzarella and sweet cherry peppers. Comfort food, but sharp.
Serves:6
Prep:25 min
Cook:30 min
Total:~55 minPrint RecipeCopy Link
Drop your finished hero photo here later (4:5 crop works great).
Ingredients
- 2–3 organic chicken breasts, butterflied + pounded into 6 cutlets
- Salt & pepper
- All-purpose flour (about 1 cup, for dredging)
- 3 eggs, whisked
- Italian panko breadcrumbs (about 2 cups)
- Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (¾ cup + more for serving)
- Fresh mozzarella (8–12 oz), sliced or torn
- Sweet cherry peppers, sliced (to finish)
- Penne (1.5 lb)
- For the vodka sauce upgrade
- Jarred creamy vodka sauce (48 oz total — usually 2 jars)
- Pancetta (4–6 oz), diced
- Garlic (4–6 cloves), minced
- Red chili flakes (½–1 tsp)
- Butter (1–2 tbsp) (optional, for richness)
- Pasta water (½–1 cup, as needed to loosen)
- For frying
- Avocado oil (about ¾ cup) + olive oil (about ¼ cup), add as needed
Want the classic red-sauce version too? Try our NYC restaurant-style chicken parm.
Directions
- Prep chicken. Butterfly and pound 2–3 breasts into 6 even cutlets. Season both sides with salt & pepper.
- Set up breading line. Flour in bowl 1. Whisk eggs in bowl 2. Mix Italian panko + ¾ cup parm in bowl 3.
- Bread. Dredge each cutlet: flour → egg → panko/parm. Press crumbs on well. Rest 10 min (helps it stick).
- Upgrade the sauce. In a saucepan, cook pancetta over medium heat 5–7 min until browned and crisp. Add garlic + chili flakes for 30–45 sec. Pour in vodka sauce (48 oz). Simmer 8–10 min. Optional: whisk in 1–2 tbsp butter.
- Fry cutlets. Heat a skillet with ~¼” oil (start with ¾ cup avocado + ¼ cup olive; add as needed). Fry 2–3 cutlets at a time until deep golden: 3–4 min per side. Drain on a rack.
- Finish in the oven (best move). Heat oven to 425°F. Spoon a thin layer of sauce in a baking dish. Add cutlets, spoon a little sauce over (don’t drown), top each with fresh mozzarella. Bake 8–12 min until cheese melts and chicken hits 165°F.
- Cook penne. Boil salted water, cook penne to al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water, drain.
- Toss pasta (recommended). Add penne to a pot with sauce and splash in pasta water until glossy and creamy. Plate. Finish chicken with sweet cherry peppers + parm.
