Maggiano's may not be the most authentic Italian food ever, but their rigatoni d is delicious and a total nostalgic comfort food that I have been eating since I was a kid and Maggiano's first came around. A creamy pasta dish with mushrooms, wine, caramelized onions and cream, rigatoni d is not only delicious, but with this copycat recipe, something you can totally make at home.
When I started this blog I promised myself I would never do a copycat recipe. And here I am with my third copycat recipe (albeit my first from this restaurant). My Panera squash soup and corn chowder copycat recipes are two of my faves, and while eating out is special, memorable and fun, it isn't always practical. And having a few of your favorite restaurant meals easily accessible at home is not a bad thing.
Ingredients
The pasta dish is simple enough to throw together for a weekday meal, and easily adaptable for a large crowd. We make this often for parties and anybody who's ever had this at Maggiano's tells me it tastes exactly like their rigatoni d. Simple ingredients you'll need:
- Pasta. I mean, it's called a rigatoni d copycat recipe - so the obvs choice is to use rigatoni. BUT if you wanna make this say, right now, and don't have rigatoni, but have penne, that's totally fine. Only thing I recommend here is using a tube pasta of some kind
- Olive oil and butter. That's right you're gonna want to use both.
- Mushrooms. Nothing fancy, I use regular mushrooms or sometime cremini. When getting this at the restaurant, the mushrooms come quartered not sliced. I do either sliced or quartered or sometimes both.
- Onion. A thick dice, you want to see them in the dish.
- Balsamic vinegar. For deglazing the caramelized mushrooms and onions. This element, I think, is one of the secrets to making this dish a true copycat recipe.
- Garlic.
- Chicken. You can use leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken from the store or chicken breast, cooked and thinly sliced.
- Chicken stock. Just a little.
- Marsala. An Italian wine, that gives this it's unique flavor (making unlike it's relative, chicken tetrazzini).
- Cream.
- Parmesan.
- Basil. Fresh and roughly chopped, not just for some color, but adds a fresh, bright flavor.
Substitutions
So I do work really hard to make sure my recipes are adaptable to things you have on hand. And while substituting in the Maggiano's rigatoni d won't necessarily make this a copycat recipe, it will still be absolutely delicious.
- Use a different wine. Don't have marsala? Use a white wine instead, or better yet a sherry. Sherry will definitely make this more of a chicken tetrazzini, but still delicious. I have used vermouth in place of marsala, chardonnay and sherry, and while the flavor profile is a little different, it is still spectacular.
- Use different pasta shape. I said earlier, I think a tubular pasta works best for this, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try it if you don't have tubular pasta like rigatoni. Use what you have! Shells or rotini would be totally fine.
- Make it vegetarian. Not a meat eater? No problem, use extra mushrooms, and a variety of mushrooms, sub chicken stock for vegetable stock and you're in for a treat.
Top tip
Really get some color on the mushrooms and onions. You want a good caramelization. To achieve this, saute over high heat, uncovered. If you cover, the mushrooms will steam in their own water...not what you want.
Equipment
- saute pan
- pasta pot
Ingredients
- 1 lb. rigatoni pasta cooked al dente
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 16 oz mushrooms
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp. garlic smashed and minced
- 2 cups cooked chicken
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 1 bottle marsala wine
- 1 ½ cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoon parmesan cheese use the good stuff NOT the Kraft green can
- 2 tablespoon butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp. fresh basil chopped
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When the oil is glistening, add the onion to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the pan and continue to cook mushrooms and onions are caramelized a bit. Then add the balsamic vinegar and cook until evaporated and the mushrooms and onions a deep color, about 6-8 minutes more. Add the garlic and cook until just fragrant.
- Add the whole bottle of wine, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze the browned bits. Add the chicken stock and bring to a rapid boil and cook until the liquid is reduced by at least half, this will take a bit of time, but trust me, is worth it. You will get a good concentrated marsala flavor. Add your cream and cook until heated through. Toss in the Parmesan and butter swirl the butter in until melted. Add the cooked chicken and cook just a few minutes until the chicken is heated through. Toss the cooked pasta and basil in the sauce.
- Serve with extra shaved parmesan if you like.
Jack says
Made this tonight as my mom let me pick dinner. Turned out great, tasted just like being at Maggiano's.
Katie Beck says
That's why I love it! Enjoying Maggiano's at home. Thank you for making it!
Sam says
Made this for some neighbors coming for dinner last night. Was super easy and tasted great. My only recommendation - more parmesan cheese, extra cheese makes everything better! Thanks for the recipe.
Katie Beck says
I wouldn't say no to extra parm cheese either! Glad you enjoyed this!
Kasey Cox says
Made this last night and we really loved it. Used a mix of wild and baby bella mushrooms and it was great. Loved the suggestion of more cheese!
Katie Beck says
Love the use of wild mushrooms - great call! Thank you for making this!
Alex Lipowich says
Wow. This turned out really well. I don't cook as often as my wife does, so I thought I'd try something for the family and give her a night off. She did advise on the project in terms of "when" the onions and mushrooms were starting to caramelized. That took longer than expected. It sounds like you want to stop when just caramelized "a bit". Our Magiano's seems to serve it with the chicken having an almost shredded appearance, so after cubing it, I sort of tore it apart a bit, and I think it changes the texture and look. Preference for which cut of chicken? No fresh Basil in the winter, but found a Basil paste that served as a substitute. Used broth instead of Stock, but will definitely be doing this again. Huge hit. We paired it with a Caesar salad. I compared your recipe to others, and think the differences, mainly amount of Marsala as well as mushrooms probably make it better. In terms of "evaporate" on the balsamic... is that when it loses the pungent aroma? Thank you. Great recipe.
Katie Beck says
Hi ALex! I am so glad you and your family enjoyed this. As for the chicken, I most often cook a boneless breast and then thinly slice. I am not a fan of diced chunks of chicken in this recipe. I do sometimes use rotisserie chicken which I shred. These, I think are the two best ways for prepping the chicken in this pasta dish. The mushrooms and onions, for me, when caramelize them, don't take too ling, but I am likely cooking on a higher heat. The balsamic when evaporating and reducing becomes sweeter and clings to the onions and mushrooms which also helps speed up the caramelization process. Thanks again for making and hit me up for any cooking questions anytime 🙂
Helene Wallace says
The bottle of Marsala wine, do you mean those smallish bottles from Holland House? I think they’re 16 oz
Katie Beck says
Hi! No, I use regular marsala wine. Here is the links for the two bottles I have bought to use for cooking recipes.
https://wineanthology.com/product/6384/melillo-dry-marsala
https://www.jewelosco.com/shop/product-details.189150158.html?cmpid=organic_jwo_all_surf_goo_20220629
I do not recommend the Holland House cooking wines - they are not just wine, they are seasoned and can affect the saltiness of your dish. If you do use these because it is what is available to you, adjust your salt in the recipe and use less at first, and taste as you go.
Liam says
That seems like an absurd amount of Marsala? 1000ml?! That’s like the big bottles of wine.
Katie Beck says
Hi - the bottle I link in these comments (and is also the bottle I use) is not 1000ml, it is 750ml, which is a standard bottle of wine. Additionally is reduced (along with the stock) to reduce by half, which gives a greater depth of flavor. If you do not care to do this step, simply use half a standard (750ml) bottle of marsala wine and don't reduce the liquid down so much 🙂
Sandie says
You nailed this recipe, Kate! I made it this weekend for my daughter who is a hardcore Rigatoni “D” fan and she felt it was deliciously accurate! We’ll definitely make this again! Bravo!
Katie Beck says
Thank you so much Sandie! I am so glad you guys liked it 🙂
Anonymous says
Can you specify how many ounces of Marsala. A bottle sounds like a lot!
Katie Beck says
Hi! I use a 750ml, which is a standard bottle of wine (i have linked the specific bottle I use in a prior comment). The wine is reduced (along with the stock) to reduce by half, which gives a greater depth of flavor. If you do not care to do this step, simply use half a standard (750ml) bottle of marsala wine and don't reduce the liquid down so much 🙂
Kristen says
What kind of balsamic vinegar do you use?
Katie Beck says
Hi Kristen, I use this Colavita balsamic vinegar