Chicken Pasta DaVinci (Cheesecake Factory Copycat)

This is my take on The Cheesecake Factory classic Pasta DaVinci made at home, in your own kitchen. With tender seared chicken, caramelized cremini mushrooms, and rigatoni brought together in a rich, velvety Madeira cream sauce, you will be sure to impress a few friends.

We’re lucky enough to have a Cheesecake Factory right here in town, and we head there a few times a year. Every time we go, I’m that person watching the servers carry plates across the dining room, admiring what everyone else is having. Too often, I suffer from major menu envy—I’ll pick something average, only to watch incredible dishes and their aromas go by and wish I’d ordered them instead.

My niece, Ashleigh, has a real knack for picking the absolute best dish on the menu every single time. So on our last visit, tired of sitting with a unappetizing plate, I told her: “Order us our dinner Ash.”

At The Cheesecake Factory, she ordered us the Pasta Da Vinci. The moment I took my first bite, I knew I had to go straight home and recreate it in my own kitchen.

This home-cooked take on the classic brings all of that restaurant magic straight to your kitchen table. By pairing tender seared chicken breast with cremini mushrooms, caramelized shallots, and a rich Madeira reduction heavy cream sauce, you get a sauce that clings to every single ridge of the rigatoni.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

If you’ve ever had Pasta Da Vinci at the restaurant, you already know that the rich sauce is the absolute star of the show. Madeira wine isn’t an ingredient I use often—in fact, I had trouble even tracking it down in the store the first time I made this. But once you taste it, you start wondering what else you can cook with it!

My spin on the recipe came together from researching the menu ingredients and recreating the flavors I remembered from dinner. I swapped standard onions for sweeter shallots, and instead of parsley I stirred in baby spinach leaves to feel healthy and happened to have them sitting in the fridge. Turns out, both were fantastic additions that really elevated the look and taste of the dish.

About the Ingredients

Chicken Thighs (Or Breasts): The Cheesecake Factory uses chicken breast, but I personally prefer boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Thighs stay tender and juicy, even when reheating leftovers the next day. However, feel free to use chicken breast if you prefer. Just make sure to cut your protein into uniform, bite-sized pieces so everything cooks evenly.

Rigatoni Pasta: Rigatoni is true to the original dish and my absolute top choice because those deep ridges hold the heavy cream sauce beautifully. If you only have penne in your pantry, do not make an extra trip to the grocery store—penne works great, too.

Shallots & Garlic: Instead of standard red onions, I use fresh shallots. Shallots and leeks bring a delicate, sweet onion flavor that makes people wonder what your secret ingredient is. And, of course, we are using fresh minced garlic—because you cannot have a great pasta dish without it!

Cremini Mushrooms: Skip the basic white button mushrooms and go with cremini (baby bella) mushrooms. Sautéing them with a pat of real butter gives them a rich, golden-brown color and a deeper savory flavor.

Fresh Baby Spinach: I added a few handfuls of baby spinach simply because I had half a package sitting in my fridge and thought, why not? Tossing it in right at the end lets it wilt into the warm cream sauce, adding a fantastic pop of bright green color and extra nutrients.

Madeira Wine: Madeira wine is the absolute star of this recipe. It has a distinct flavor profile that sets it completely apart from its cousins, Marsala and Dry Sherry. If you absolutely cannot find Madeira, reach for dry sherry as your backup. Avoid Marsala here, or you will accidentally end up with “Chicken Marsala Da Vinci” instead! You do not need an expensive bottle; a budget-friendly cooking Madeira like Taylor works perfectly.

Heavy Cream & Chicken Broth: Heavy cream creates that signature velvety base that clings to every bite of pasta, while a splash of chicken broth balances the richness and loosens the sauce.

💡 Firehouse Skillet Kitchen Tip: A Note on Sundried Tomatoes

I once added chopped sundried tomatoes to this recipe to use up an extra jar in my pantry. While it tasted delicious, the combination of sundried tomatoes, sweet shallots, and Madeira wine made the final dish a bit too sweet. If you want to try adding sundried tomatoes for extra color and flavor, I recommend swapping the shallots back out for a standard red onion to keep the sweetness in check!

How to Make Pasta Da Vinci Step-by-Step

Every dish we cook should be about building flavor ingredient by ingredient. The absolute best part about this recipe—aside from boiling the pasta—is that everything comes together in a single pan.

1. Boil the Rigatoni

Get a big pot of heavily salted water rolling on one burner while you set up a large skillet. Drop your rigatoni and cook it until it hits al dente. Keep an eye on it and taste it as it gets close. You are looking for that sweet spot where the raw flour taste is gone, but the pasta is still firm to the bite. Before draining, scoop out a cup of that starchy pasta water and set it aside.

2. Sear the Chicken

Season your chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Heat your oil in the skillet and sear the chicken until it is just shy of completely done. We will slice these into bite-sized pieces later and let them finish cooking right in the warm sauce. This method keeps the chicken tender and prevents it from drying out. Transfer the chicken to a plate and cover it loosely to keep warm.

3. Sauté the Mushrooms and Aromatics

Lower your burner to medium and melt a pat of real butter in those pan drippings. Drop in your sliced cremini mushrooms. Sauté them until they get golden brown and deeply aromatic. Next, scatter in your shallots and garlic, tossing for about a minute just until fragrant.

4. Deglaze with Madeira Wine

Now add what creates that signature flavor: the Madeira wine. Pour the wine into the pan. As it bubbles up and cooks off the alcohol, use a wooden spatula to scrape up all those caramelized chicken bits stuck to the bottom. Let the wine reduce by about half. Keep an eye on it here, because over-reducing can make the sweet wine flavor too overpowering.

5. Build the Cream Sauce

Stir in your chicken broth and heavy cream. Bring everything to a gentle simmer until it starts to thicken and coat the back of a spoon. While that sauce is reducing, slide your chicken onto a cutting board and chop it into bite-sized chunks. Add the chicken straight into the simmering cream. Cook for a couple of minutes so the chicken finishes through while the sauce hits the right consistency. Taste your sauce and adjust seasoning after adding the salted chicken.

6. Wilt the Spinach and Mount the Butter

Scatter in your fresh baby spinach and stir, letting it wilt into the warm sauce for about a minute. Splash in a little reserved pasta water, add in the rigatoni, and drop in your last two pats of cold butter. Toss the entire pan until the pasta is beautifully coated and glossy.

Ladle the Pasta Da Vinci into a wide bowl, top it with freshly grated Parmesan, and serve it piping hot right out of the skillet!

Storage & Reheating

• Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days.
• Reheating: Reheat gently in a skillet over low heat with a splash of chicken broth, water, or milk to loosen up the cream sauce and bring back its original velvety texture. Microwave in 45-second intervals, stirring in between.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this ahead of time?

You can complete the dish and store it in a sealed container for the next day if you like. You can also prep ingredients ahead of time and store in airtight container to make the assembly take less than 20 minutes.

What if my sauce gets to thick?

Simply add in the pasta water and see if that thins the sauce enough. If not, add a splash of the broth, that should do the trick.

Do I have to add the Spinach?

No. This was my own addition to add color . brightness and some additional flavor. The original dish does not call for spinach, but it worked well.