Whenever we eat out at The Cheesecake Factory, more often than not, I order the Chicken Bellagio. I love pesto (as I confessed yesterday) and the Chicken Bellagio is a delicious pesto pasta dish! This recipe is Jack’s make-at-home version, and – dare I say – it’s even better than the dish they make at the restaurant!
Our Chicken Bellagio recipe is loosely adapted from the official recipe that the folks at The Cheesecake Factory are nice enough to share on their website here.
Rather than breading and frying a whole boneless chicken breast like they do at the restaurant, our version includes bite-sized, boneless chicken pieces that are marinated, and then sautéed with prosciutto and pine nuts helping to infuse some wonderful flavors into the chicken. Then the chicken-prosciutto-pine nut mixture is added to a creamy pesto-parmesan cheese sauce that is tossed with linguini. The dish is topped with some fresh arugula, giving it a great bright, fresh flavor that complements the creaminess of the sauce.
The result is a creamier version of the original – the chicken is so moist and tender and the flavors of the pesto, cheese and prosciutto just dance in your mouth! This is pure chicken and pasta comfort food – and you don’t have to leave home to enjoy this fabulous restaurant-quality dinner!
PrintChicken Bellagio
- Prep Time: 45 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6-8 servings
Ingredients
- ½ to ¾ cup of pesto, divided (see our homemade pesto recipe here) or use your favorite jarred pesto
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 egg whites
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dry oregano
- 1 cup of flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2-3 tablespoon butter
- 2-3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 package linguini pasta
- ¼ cup finely minced shallots
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 10 shaved slices Prosciutto, cut into one inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
- 1/3 cup pine nuts
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan Reggiano, divided
- 1 cup arugula
Instructions
- Prepare pesto according to this recipe.
- Cut chicken into 1” wide by 2” long strips.
- Mix egg whites, lemon juice, oregano and 2 tablespoons of pesto and stir to combine. Place in a quart zipper seal bag along with chicken strips and marinate for 30 minutes.
- Toast the pine nuts in a small frying pan over medium heat for about five minutes until lightly browned. Do not overcook.
- Mix the flour salt and pepper. Dip the marinated chicken strips in the flour and coat on both sides.
- In a 14” sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of oil over medium high heat until hot and frothy. Add chicken strips in single layer and cook on both sides for 2-3 minutes, or just until cooked through. Cook in two to three batches using an additional tablespoon of butter and oil if needed. Remove to platter and hold.
- Cook pasta according to package instructions.
- In the same pan over medium heat, sauté the shallots until translucent; about 1-2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add chopped Prosciutto, parsley and toasted pine nuts and cook for one more minute.
- Add cream and 3 tablespoons of the pesto. Add salt and pepper only if needed and stir to combine. Stir in 1/3 cup of the Parmesan cheese until melted into the sauce. Save the rest for serving.
- Add the cooked chicken into the sauce and gently mix to combine.
- To serve, mix two to three tablespoons of the pesto with the cooked Linguini and place on a serving platter. Top with the chicken and cream mixture. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese (more if needed) and top with the arugula. Or serve pasta, chicken and sauce directly onto serving plates and top each plate with Parmesan and arugula.
You may also like:
Pesto Chicken over Sautéed Cannellini Beans
Viva la Violette
I made this June 1st and it was AMAZING – like you were dining in a fine Italian restaurant. Thanks for the recipe. It was perfection.
WOW Peggy! Thank you so much – we’re so happy you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for letting us know – Martha
OMGosh, can you say flavorful, rich, elegant, and YUMMO! This was so amazing, it will become a staple in my arsenal of favorite go-to recipes. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.
Thank you so much….
We’re glad you enjoyed the recipe! (I totally agree – YUMMO!) Thanks for visiting our site! Martha
I made this for my family tonight and it was absolutely delicious! I will say, however, that it’s also very, very filling. You don’t need much to make your belly happy! I can’t wait to make this for my friends. They’ll go crazy over it! 😀
Thanks Katherine!
This was DELICIOUS! My oldest daughter has sever allergies and it is hard to cook when she comes over. There is nothing in this she cannot have. Thanks for posting
Thanks!! So glad you and your daughter enjoyed it!!
I made this Sat evening when my son was home. Everyone loved it!!!! My son is not a picky eater but rather a great chef himself and I impressed him with this one. Another great recipe from A Family Feast. I’m lovin your blog!!
Thanks so much Linda! I’m glad you (and your son!) enjoyed the recipe!
I love your down home recipes. How do I become a member and able to get your recipes?
Thanks so much Mary! You can sign up for our free emails through this link: http://eepurl.com/BF_ND
We live in Scotland, UK and made your recipe today, we both agreed it was AMAZING!! 😀 It did take a while, but was worth it for how good it tasted!
Thanks Laura – We’re glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Hi Martha!
Again, want you to know how impressed I am with you and Jack. I checked out the Cheesecake Factory recipe for this dish. Yours is not a copy-cat, it’s what I would call a “cleaner riff” on the recipe. WAY different! I applaud you for giving them credit for your inspiration!
Thanks Heather!! Have a great weekend!
it looks and sounds amazing. . . . . . 19 ingredients??? Not likely at my house. How can we “shortcut” this?
I promise Susan – this recipe is worth the effort! It’s delicious!
I made this for dinner on two Sundays ago, this has been added to our list of go to dinners. I made the first time exactly as the recipe stated. The second time I made the cream sauce by draining 2 cans of cannellini beans, rinsed and pureed in food processor. I added streams of chicken broth to thin out, slowly added a little cream and the taste was never missed. Sorry for the change but if I have to make it often the cream is going to straight to the waist. 🙁
Sounds like a great lighter version Valerie! Thank you for sharing!
I could eat the Chicken Bellagio day and night—thanks for posting this recipe. Nothing more comforting than heavy cream and pasta!!!!
You’re very welcome – I totally agree! 🙂
So this looks delicious! But any suggestions on making it without dairy??!
Thanks Laurie – You could make a pesto without the Parmesan (Here’s a good recipe: https://whole30.com/2015/04/pesto/) or some people swap in Nutritional Yeast for the Parmesan as well. And I suppose you could try using a cashew cream instead of the heavy cream (https://wholefully.com/cashew-cream/). No guarantees it will taste the same with all of those swaps but if you try it please let us know how it comes out! Hope that helps!