This Cheesecake Factory Pasta Da Vinci is a delicious and surprisingly easy copycat recipe, packed with flavor from Madeira wine, sautéed mushrooms and garlic. It will surely tempt your family and friends with mouth watering aromas.
Pasta Da Vinci Wine Choices
MADEIRA WINE. When making this pasta, I used Madeira wine, which is a fortified wine. It is bright amber in color and is similar in texture to Marsala or dry Sherry. Both of these wines can be used as substitutes for Madeira, since Madeira can be tricky to find.
AMBER IN COLOR. Just make sure that the color of the wine you choose is amber and not pink or too light. Otherwise, you’ll be disappointed.
As a general rule, any medium dry fortified wine will work very well.
And remember, no matter which wine you decide to use out of those mentioned above, you will surely enjoy an impressive meal that can be made for a special occasion or as a weekend treat.
Why make Pasta Da Vinci
- SIMPLICITY – This is a very simple pasta recipe can be made quickly and with just a few ingredients. In the time it takes you to drive to the restaurant this dish can be prepared and already on the table.
- FLAVOR – You will be amazed by the flavor combination in this pasta dish. This Cheesecake Factory Pasta Da Vinci Copycat uses fresh mushrooms give the recipe heartiness, while the Madeira wine gives a touch of sweetness.
Main Tip on making Pasta Da Vinci
PROPORTION OF SAUCE INGREDIENTS. Many cooks have experimented with the pasta in Madeira wine sauce and I reviewed about 6 online versions and tried various proportions of the ingredients to come to the conclusion that the secret to that perfect tasty creamy wine sauce is the proportion of sauce ingredients:
What works is an easy to remember combination of ½ cup heavy cream to ½ cup, ½ cup chicken stock, ½ cup Parmesan and then 1 cup Madeira wine. I also added 1 tablespoon flour to help thicken up sauce a little bit.
The taste of this amazing sauce is deep, yet delicate due to the addition of Madeira wine flavor.
How to cook chicken chunks perfectly
Slice the chicken into bite sized pieces. Heat a stainless steel skillet over medium high, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and add the chicken cubes. Season chicken with salt as you cook. Saute until golden brown, then set aside.
Soften the onions
Add 4 tablespoon butter to the now empty skillet and turn up heat to medium high. Add 1 chopped red medium onion and cook for 4 minutes on medium heat until softened.
Brown the mushrooms
Add 8 oz sliced mushrooms to onions and continue cooking for 3-4 more minutes on medium high heat. Remove mushrooms and onions from the skillet onto a plate.
How to make Madeira Wine Cream Sauce
Add 2 tablespoon butter to the now empty skillet and allow it to melt. Add 4 cloves chopped garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Then add 1 tablespoon flour to butter and cook and stir for 1 minute to create a roux. This will help thicken the sauce for the pasta.
Reduce heat and add 1 cup Madeira. Once the sizzling has subsided, turn the stove back on and heat to a gentle simmer. Add ½ cup heavy cream and ½ cup chicken stock.
Cook for 5 more minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate and to allow the flavor of the sauce to develop. Turn off heat and add ½ cup Parmesan. Allow it to mix with the sauce using a wooden spoon.
Taste the sauce, and if it seems too strong, add additional ¼ cup chicken stock. Add a salt and pepper if needed. Add the mushrooms and onions back into the pan with the garlic, and simmer 1-2 more minutes.
Assembly of Pasta Da Vinci
Taste the sauce, and if it seems too strong, add additional ¼ cup chicken stock. Add a salt and pepper if needed.
Add the mushrooms and chicken back into the pan with the garlic, and simmer 1-2 more minutes.
Love Cooking with Wine?
If you enjoy wine in your cooking endeavors as well, I have a number of recipes on my site with wine in it for you to enjoy:
Chicken Pasta in Creamy White Wine Parmesan Sauce
Herb Roasted Chicken in Creamy White Wine Sauce
Seared Chicken Pasta in Chardonnay Wine Sauce
How about cooking with vodka:)?
Follow me on PINTEREST to get more recipe ideas!
Pasta Da Vinci – Sautéed Chicken and Mushroom Pasta in Madeira Wine Sauce
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1 lb chicken tenders or breasts, sliced in 1 inch cubes
- Salt, to taste
For the veggies:
Wine Sauce:
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 cup Madeira wine, (or fortified wine such as Sherry or Marsala)
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup chicken stock, (more if desired)
- ½ cup Parmesan
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes, (optional)
Pasta:
- 10 oz. any tubular pasta, (such as penne or rigatoni)
Instructions
- COOKING PASTA: Start boiling water to cook 10 oz of pasta al dente (not too soft – we will add it to the sauce later where it will have a chance to soften up) in salty water. Drain, but do not rinse.
- CHICKEN: Slice the chicken into bite sized pieces. Heat a stainless steel skillet over medium high, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and add the chicken cubes. Season chicken with salt as you cook. Saute until golden brown, remove chicken from the skillet
- ONIONS and MUSHROOMS: Add 4 tablespoon butter to the now empty skillet and turn up heat to medium high. Add 1 chopped red medium onion and cook for 4 minutes on medium heat until softened. Add 8 oz sliced mushrooms to onions and continue cooking for 3-4 more minutes on medium high heat. Remove mushrooms and onions from the skillet onto a plate.
- MADEIRA WINE CREAM SAUCE: Add 2 tablespoon butter to the now empty skillet and allow it to melt. Add 4 cloves chopped garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add 1 tablespoon flour to butter and cook and stir for 1 minute to create a roux. This will help thicken the sauce for the pasta.
- Reduce heat and add 1 cup Madeira. Once the sizzling has subsided, turn the stove back on and heat to a gentle simmer. Add ½ cup heavy cream and ½ cup chicken stock. Cook for 5 more minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate and to allow the flavor of the sauce to develop.
- Turn off heat and add ½ cup Parmesan. Allow it to mix with the sauce using a wooden spoon. Taste the sauce, and if it seems too strong, add additional ¼ cup chicken stock. Add a salt and pepper if needed. Add the mushrooms and onions back into the pan with the garlic, and simmer 1-2 more minutes.
- FINAL ASSEMBLY: Add chicken into the pan, and simmer 1-2 more minutes. Now add cooked pasta into the pan, and stir. Allow the pasta to heat for 1 minute.
- Serve sprinkled with red pepper flakes (optional) and additional Parmesan.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only. This information comes from online calculators. Although whatsinthepan.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
For other popular chicken recipes see Balsamic Chicken with Brussels Sprouts and Apples and Chicken Pasta in Creamy White Wine Parmesan Sauce).
Erin says
Curious if I only use 10 oz. of pasta for this dish? The ingredient list calls
for 16 oz., but the recipe says 10. Just want to verify. Planning to make tonight. Looks delicious and it was highly recommended by my sister-in-law!
Olya says
Erin – I used 10 oz. of pasta in this recipe. I will update the instructions – thank you for letting me know!!!
Diana C says
For those who are saying they can’t find Madiera Wine, it has a high alcohol content and therefore cannot be sold at the grocery store. I have been able to always find it at a liquor store.
Olya says
You are amazing Diana! I love that wine!
Christine P. says
I found some at Albertsons 🤷🏼♂️
Warren says
I just made this today and I REALLY love it! Its sweet, salty, and spicy all in one! I will definitely keep this in my recipe vault and will try your other CF recipe.
Olya says
Thank you Warren – sweet, salty and spicy is a great way to describe it!
Bill says
This was great. Thanks for doing all the research and sharing it with us. This was every bit as good as the dish we had at the Cheesecake Factory
Olya says
Thank you, Bill! I am so happy it was as good as the original:)!
Zharien says
Wow. This was amazing. My wife loved it. This is her favorite pasta from Cheesecake so I was able to bring cheesecake home for a lovely Monday night dinner! I used dry Marsala. Thank you soo much for this.
Heather says
I made this tonight and it was delicious! I’ve never had the dish before at Cheesecake Factory, so I have no idea if it’s the same, but this is definitely a keeper. I used Solera Sherry instead of Madeira as I couldn’t find it, and that worked great.
Linda says
Absolutely delicious! I used Marsala as I searched in vein for Madeira with no luck. Reduced it to 3/4 of a cup and it was Devine. My very favorite pasta as of now! Thank you so much!
Olya says
Your review made my day, Linda!
Samantha says
Ok everyone needs to know that this recipe is golden! I heavily researched copy cat davinci pasta recipes and trusted yours since you started by telling everyone to us a dark wine and not light. This was my pregnancy craving and I didn’t feel like driving and waiting at the Cheesecake Factory for my fav dish… so I just made this and even my husband said wow this tastes just like it! Pregnancy craving satisfied and I will definitely be making this again. FYI I added some fresh parsley to top it off and even used Taylor Madeira wine for $7 (only Madeira at the store) and it was so amazing!
Olga says
Woah what a compliment – I’m so glad it satisfied your pregnancy craving!!!
Jennifer Breidel says
I used Marsala wine and farfalle pasta. The recipe was perfect and easy!
Olga says
So happy to hear that!
Barbara Cunningham says
Oh my! This is so delicious. I substituted Dry Sherry, but found that the amount was too much for my taste. My solution was to add a wee bit of Better Than Bouillon (chicken base) to offset the overly strong taste of the sherry. This recipe is a keeper and one I’ll cook often.
Olga says
Good idea Barbara!