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Note: This post first appeared on June 23, 2011. The recipe has been edited slightly (to make the recipe slightly healthier and tastier!) and the photography got a huge facelift so that you might actually want to make this now, haha…someone really should’ve told me that half-eaten pasta and horrible yellow lighting is NOT appetizing! Enjoy!
Growing up, chicken marsala was one of my favorite dishes that my aunt made for us whenever we visited her. I don’t know what it was: the deliciously tender and breaded chicken, the sauce, or just the tradition of having chicken marsala with my aunt, but we loved those days. I swear every time we visited her in Florida, we would request that she make chicken marsala for us.
My aunt is a very special lady. She, along with my mom, grew my love for food and I was always in the kitchen with my aunt when we visited her. She would have the coolest gadgets and tips to make cooking faster. We called her the Asian Rachael Ray. Her bubbly personality and super fast cooking skills were so much like Rachael Ray on tv.
My aunt has actually taught me a good amount of cooking from as far back as I can remember and she has made me appreciate food in ways that I cannot explain. Her and my mom really truly believed that food brought people together and it was the center of all our family gatherings.
I remember my brother and I would always love when Aunt Jenny came up from Florida for Thanksgiving. She made the best American food. I’m not saying my mom didn’t but my mom cooked mostly Asian cuisine while my aunt, because she married an American, she learned a lot of American dishes that we didn’t get to have often, such as cheesy scalloped potatoes or a mean green bean casserole. Omg and her meatloaf was also so good.
As you can see, childhood memories consisted of a lot of time in the kitchen and surrounded with food. You can imagine my excitement when I went to Maggiano’s and saw this rigatoni D recipe on their menu. It’s like a pasta version of chicken marsala and quite possibly one of most delicious pasta dishes I’ve had there. I had to remake it and here it is! Full of chicken, mushrooms, onions, and a creamy marsala wine sauce. You will love every bite :)
Chicken Rigatoni and Mushroom Marsala
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups (150 g) dried rigatoni pasta
- 1 pound (454 g) boneless skinless chicken breast, diced
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 10 ounce (284 g) cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (237 ml) chicken stock
- ¼ cup (59 ml) marsala wine
- Splash or two of whole milk
- ½ cup (50 g) freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil. Add in pasta once the water has boiled and cook the pasta according to directions on the box. Drain pasta after it’s done cooking.
- Meanwhile, cut up the chicken into cubes and season with salt and pepper.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the chicken until it’s just cooked through.
- Add onions, mushrooms, and garlic and cook until mushrooms have shrunk down in size and onions translucent and fragrant, about 5-7 minutes.
- Melt butter in the skillet then add chicken stock and marsala wine. Cook until 1/2 the liquid has cooked off.
- Add the splash of milk (or heavy cream, if desired) and continue to let thicken. Cut the heat and add the parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Stir to incorporate and until it melts. Add the pasta and stir some more.
- The sauce might seem more liquid than thick but it thickens as it cools.
- Toss gently before serving and top with more cheese, if desired.
I kept looking over the recipe thinking that I may have left some ingredients out. Very disappointed!
Hi Julie, I just made this dish last night, only thing I did different was I put in some shitake mushrooms w/ the cremini but it turned out amazing! As my husband stated, “This is one for the books!” Thanks for sharing :)
Thanks for sharing!!
This was a mindfuck of deliciousness. A tonguefuck??? Eww??? Idk. But this recipe was so fast and easy that it shocked me how wonderful it tasted. It’s hard to say what my favorite TFT recipes are, but this makes the top 5.
Any recommendations on the wine? Like a few brands. I dont know much about cooking with wine
Marsala wine is just a cooking wine; I use Holland House’s marsala wine.
parmesan ended up being gooey clumps. would not mix in. Also, very little flavor, bland
Julie, this looks delicious! I was wondering if there was a substitute for the wine?
Is it personal preference for not wanting to use the wine/alcohol or something else? I ask because the wine is an essential part of this marsala chicken rigatoni and mushroom and I can give a substitute/alternative but if you don’t want to use alcohol, then I can’t give a proper substitute.
If the problem is due to alcohol, some markets do sell alcohol free wine. If the problem is due to grapes ten I would try some balsamic vinegar diluted with chicken broth. Thats the best I ĉould think of.
I want this yummy dish for dinner tonight!
My mouth is watering over this dish! YUM!