Maggiano’s%20Rigatoni%20D%20Recipe (2024)

Bring your favorite restaurant dish home with this Maggiano’s Rigatoni D recipe. The Maggiano Little Italy restaurant chain offers some of the best pasta around, including their famous Rigatoni “D”! The D stands for delicious, and once you try a bite you’ll know why!

This rigatoni is served in a tangy and creamy marsala wine sauce. It’s filled with pieces of browned chicken, sweet caramelized onions, and flavorful sautéed mushrooms. It’s the ultimate comfort food when you need something hearty to warm your stomach.

If you don’t have a Maggiano Little Italy nearby, we’ve got you covered with this copycat recipe. You’ll get all the flavors of the original dish, without the expense of restaurant dining. Even better, this quick and easy dish can be made in under 30 minutes!

The Best Ingredients for Maggiano’s Rigatoni D

Rigatoni

Choose rigatoni over other similar pasta varieties like ziti. Rigatoni are big and round, and have ridges that help hold onto the sauce! The hole in the middle also fills with sauce so you can enjoy more flavor with each bite!

Chicken Breast

Pick skinless, boneless chicken breasts, as they’re easiest to cut up and add to the pasta.

Buy fresh chicken for the best results. Fresh chicken breasts are juicier than frozen and will make your pasta tastier. Always pick the pinkest breasts you can find, and never buy a chicken breast that looks gray!

Yellow Onions

Cook with yellow onions to get a nice caramelization. Yellow onions are sharp when raw, but become sweeter as they cook.

Baby Bella Mushrooms

Use baby bella mushrooms for more flavor. Baby bella mushrooms are also called cremini mushrooms in some grocery stores.
Try portobello mushrooms if you can’t find baby bella. They’re both the same variety of mushrooms (agaricus bisporus), just picked at different stages.

Marsala Wine

Don’t skimp on the wine! True marsala wine is produced in Marsala, Sicily. It has a nutty and slightly sweet flavor that goes well with mushrooms. Some recipes substitute balsamic vinegar, but the flavor will be more acidic.
Use dry marsala wine for this dish, not sweet. Sweet marsala wine is usually served as a dessert wine.

Chicken Broth or Chicken Stock

Chicken broth and chicken stock are both soup bases used in many casseroles, rice or pasta recipes (like Lobster Pasta). They’re quite similar and both flavorful. Pick the one you have in your pantry or in your local store.

The main difference is that broth tends to be thinner than stock. Also, broth is made of meat and vegetables whereas stock is made with bones.

Heavy Cream

Choose heavy cream which has a minimum fat content of 36%. Heavier cream is more stable and can hold together in a sauce.
Don’t use table cream or any variety with less than 25% fat. Lighter cream will curdle when cooked with acidic ingredients like wine.

Parmesan Cheese

Buy true Parmigiano-Reggiano, not imitation parmesan cheese. Parmigiano-Reggiano is a hard, aged cheese that has a strong sharp flavor. The parmesan you can buy in a shaker for spaghetti is usually not real parmesan.

Add the rind of the parmesan cheese to your sauce for extra flavor and creaminess! Just remember to remove it before serving.

Herbs and Seasoning

This recipe calls for several herbs and seasonings. To add more taste, you can try garlic butter instead of regular butter. Fresh basil and parsley taste better but for more convenience, you can opt for a basil parsley mix.

Method

1. Boil the Rigatoni Pasta

   Add water to a large pot and let it boil. Pour in your rigatoni pasta and cook until al dente. Drain your pasta and set it aside.

2. Cook Chicken Breasts

   Heat olive oil in a skillet pan on medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts and cook for 7 minutes, turning once halfway through. Season with salt and pepper.

   Remove chicken from the heat when the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Both sides should be golden brown.

   Transfer chicken to a cutting board and cut it into 1-inch pieces.

3. Add Onion, Mushroom, and Garlic

   Add more olive oil to the pan. Cook diced onion over medium-high heat for 2 minutes.

   Add sliced mushrooms. Cook for about 5 minutes until onions are completely soft and mushroom juices have reduced. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant.

4. Deglaze the Pan

   Take the skillet off the burner and add the white wine and dry Marsala wine. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan and release all the browned bits.

   Return the skillet to the heat and stir until the browned bits have dissolved into the wine.

5. Make the Cream Sauce

   Add chicken broth or chicken stock to the pan. Turn the heat down to low and simmer until the liquid reduces by about 50%.

   Add the heavy cream and stir until a sauce forms.

   Since chicken broth or stock already contains salt, add salt and pepper only if needed.

6. Add Herbs, Cheese, and Butter

   Add chopped parsley and basil to the sauce, along with parmesan shavings and butter. Stir until the cheese and butter melt. If the sauce is too thin, you can whisk in some cornstarch to thicken it up.

7. Toss in Rigatoni and Chicken

   Add the rigatoni and diced chicken mixture to the skillet and toss with the sauce.

   Plate in a pasta bowl while hot, and serve with an extra sprinkle of parmesan and chopped fresh parsley.

How to Store Maggiano’s Rigatoni D

This rigatoni tastes just as good the second time, so be sure to save any leftovers! When stored in an airtight container, this pasta stays fresh for 3-4 days in the fridge.

In the freezer, this pasta will keep for 3-4 months. You can use either an airtight container or a freezer bag. I like using freezer bags to help save space and free up my containers for other uses.

Although it’s common to leave your food out to cool, it’s best to refrigerate leftovers as soon as you can. According to the USDA, bacteria begin to grow once cooked food reaches 40°F-140°F. If food is left out for more than 2 hours, it should be discarded.

How to Reheat Maggiano’s Rigatoni D

In the Oven

To reheat in the oven, place rigatoni in an oven-safe bowl and cover with foil. Heat the pasta at 350°F for 20 minutes.

On the Stove

Add a bit of oil to a skillet or saucepan and add your rigatoni. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until pasta is heated through. Avoid stirring too much, or the pasta will start to break apart.

Microwave

The microwave is my preferred method for reheating this pasta because it won’t dry out the sauce.

To microwave rigatoni, add a bit of water to your microwave-safe dish. Add pasta and heat for a minute. Stir the pasta, then return to the microwave and heat for another minute.

Let the pasta rest for a minute after it’s come out of the microwave. Then, dig in and enjoy!