Cheesecake Factory Louisiana Chicken Pasta Recipe, Portioned From the Menu's Own Numbers
This Louisiana Chicken Pasta copycat follows the menu listing: parmesan-crusted chicken over pasta with mushrooms, peppers and onions in a spicy New Orleans sauce. Fish on the restaurant's allergen list points to Worcestershire in that sauce, so it's in here, alongside a salt-free Cajun blend. About 1,257 calories a serving by USDA figures.
Why This Recipe Works
- The allergen list explains the sauce. The restaurant lists fish for this pasta, and nothing on the plate is fish, so the likeliest source is Worcestershire, which is made with anchovies and is a staple of New Orleans cooking. Two teaspoons give the cream a savory backbone most copycats leave out.
- Egg is listed too, which fits a flour, egg and crumb breading. The parmesan goes into the crumbs, so it browns into the crust instead of melting off the chicken.
- The Cajun blend has no salt in it. With a salted store blend, more heat means more sodium; mixing your own separates the two.
- The chicken fries on its own and goes on top at the end, so the crust stays crisp on a plate of cream sauce.
What Does It Taste Like?
Rich and gently hot, with paprika and cayenne warming the cream, sweetness from the peppers and onion, and an earthy note from browned mushrooms. The chicken brings crunch and the salt of parmesan, and the Worcestershire keeps the sauce from tasting only of cream.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbBoneless skinless chicken breastsbutterflied, pounded to 1/2 inch and cut into 4 cutlets
- 1/2 cupAll-purpose flourfor dredging
- 2 largeEggsbeaten
- 3/4 cupPlain dry breadcrumbsor panko
- 3/4 cupParmesanfinely grated, mixed into the crumbs
- 3 tbspNeutral oil, such as canolafor shallow frying
- 12 ozFarfalle (bow-tie pasta)
- 2 tbspUnsalted butter
- 1 mediumRed bell peppersliced into strips
- 1 mediumYellow bell peppersliced into strips
- 1 mediumRed onionthinly sliced
- 8 ozCremini mushroomssliced
- 4 clovesGarlicminced
- 2 tspSmoked or sweet paprikaCajun blend
- 1 tspGarlic powderCajun blend
- 1 tspOnion powderCajun blend
- 1 tspDried oreganoCajun blend
- 1 tspDried thymeCajun blend
- 1/2 tspCayenne pepperCajun blend; adjust to taste
- 1/2 tspGround black pepperCajun blend
- 2 tspWorcestershire saucethe likely source of the fish allergen
- 1/2 cupChicken broth
- 1 1/2 cupsHeavy cream
- 1 tspFine saltdivided; taste before adding the last of it
- 2 tbspFresh parsleychopped
Equipment
- Large pot, for the pasta
- 12-inch skillet, for frying the chicken
- Wide sauté pan, for the sauce
- Three shallow dishes, for breading
- Wire rack set over a tray
- Meat mallet or rolling pin
Instructions
- 1
Mix the Cajun blend
Stir the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, thyme, cayenne and black pepper together in a small bowl.
- 2
Season the cutlets
Pat the pounded chicken dry and season it with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon of the Cajun blend.
- 3
Set up the breading
Put the flour in one dish, the beaten eggs in a second, and the crumbs mixed with the parmesan in a third.
- 4
Bread the chicken
Dredge each cutlet in flour and shake off the excess, dip it in egg, then press it firmly into the crumb mixture on both sides.
Visual Success Cues:- No bare patches of chicken showing
- 5
Fry the cutlets
Heat the oil in the skillet over medium heat to about 350°F. Fry the cutlets for 3 to 4 minutes a side, then rest them on the wire rack.
Visual Success Cues:- Deep golden crust
- 165°F in the thickest part
- 6
Cook the pasta
Boil the farfalle in well-salted water until just al dente. Save 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain.
- 7
Cook the vegetables
Melt the butter in the sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, peppers and onion and cook until the mushrooms brown and the peppers soften, 6 to 8 minutes.
- 8
Bloom the spices
Add the garlic and the rest of the Cajun blend and stir for 1 minute.
Visual Success Cues:- The spices smell toasted, not burnt
- 9
Build the New Orleans sauce
Pour in the broth and Worcestershire and scrape the pan, then add the cream. Simmer gently until it coats a spoon, 5 to 6 minutes. Taste, and add up to 3/4 teaspoon salt.
Visual Success Cues:- The sauce coats the back of a spoon
- 10
Toss the pasta
Add the pasta to the sauce and toss, loosening it with reserved pasta water a splash at a time.
- 11
Finish and serve
Slice the cutlets, lay them over the pasta and scatter the parsley. Serve straight away, while the crust is still crisp.
Pro Tips to Nail It
- Butterfly the breasts and pound them to an even 1/2 inch, so the crust and the centre finish at the same time.
- Mix the parmesan into the crumbs instead of pressing it on separately. It toasts inside the crust rather than scorching on the surface.
- Rest the fried cutlets on a wire rack, not paper towels, which trap steam under the crust.
- Cook the Cajun blend in the butter with the vegetables for a minute before any liquid goes in. Dried spices give up more flavor in fat than in cream.
- Keep the cream at a simmer, never a boil, and loosen it with pasta water rather than more cream.
- Taste for salt at the very end. The parmesan, Worcestershire and broth have all added some already.
Estimated Nutrition
Per serving- Calories
- 1257 calories
- Total fat
- 63.5 g
- Saturated fat
- 30.1 g
- Carbohydrates
- 103.8 g
- Sugars
- 10.3 g
- Protein
- 67.3 g
- Sodium
- 1372 mg
- Fiber
- 6.6 g
Estimated per serving from USDA SR Legacy values. Assumes 40 g of the dredging flour and all of the breading and frying oil are absorbed; salt in the pasta water is not counted because most of it is poured away. Regular, not low-sodium, chicken broth is modelled.
Reference values: USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy). These estimates are not the restaurant's published nutrition values.
Troubleshooting Guide
The crust falls off the chicken
Cause: The chicken was wet, or it went into the egg without a flour coat.
Fix: Pat the cutlets dry, dredge them in a thin layer of flour, press the crumbs on firmly and don't turn them until the first side is golden.
The crust darkens before the centre cooks
Cause: The oil is too hot or the cutlets are too thick.
Fix: Keep the oil near 350°F, pound the cutlets to 1/2 inch, and finish thick pieces in a 375°F oven for a few minutes.
The sauce is thin
Cause: The cream hasn't reduced long enough.
Fix: Simmer it a few minutes more, until it coats a spoon, before the pasta goes in.
The sauce turns grainy
Cause: It boiled hard after the cream was added.
Fix: Lower the heat right away and whisk in a splash of warm pasta water to smooth it out.
It's too spicy
Cause: Cayenne varies a lot in strength.
Fix: Start with a pinch of cayenne next time, and stir 2 tablespoons of cream into this batch.
Variations & Substitutions
- Smaller portions: Divide the batch into five plates instead of four. Each comes to about 1,005 calories, still lighter than the restaurant's 1,380-calorie lunch portion.
- Lighter sauce: Use half-and-half in place of heavy cream and simmer it gently. It has about a third of the fat and won't thicken as much, so stir in an extra tablespoon of parmesan at the end.
- Gluten-free: Use gluten-free pasta and crumbs, dredge the chicken in rice flour, and check that your Worcestershire is labelled gluten-free, since some brands use malt vinegar.
Storage, Reheating & Make-Ahead
Keep the chicken and the pasta in separate containers in the fridge for up to 3 days. Warm the pasta in a skillet over low heat with a splash of milk or broth, and re-crisp the chicken in a 375°F oven or an air fryer for 5 to 6 minutes. Cream sauces turn grainy after freezing, so don't freeze it.
Copycat vs Restaurant: Cost & Taste
The restaurant's dinner plate lists at $24.95 to $29.95 with 2,270 calories, 98 grams of protein and 4,660 mg of sodium. One serving here comes to about 1,257 calories, 67 grams of protein and 1,372 mg of sodium, so the restaurant plate holds roughly one and a half to two of these servings. Scaled to the same calories, it still carries close to twice the salt. The lunch portion, at 1,380 calories and $17.95 to $21.95, is about the size of one serving of this recipe.
More Recipe Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why does The Cheesecake Factory list fish for Louisiana Chicken Pasta?
- The menu doesn't say. Nothing on the plate is fish, and Worcestershire sauce, which is made with anchovies, is the likeliest source in a New Orleans-style sauce. That's why this recipe includes it.
- Is Louisiana Chicken Pasta spicy?
- The menu calls the sauce spicy. The 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne here gives a steady warmth; halve it for children and double it if you like real heat.
- What pasta does the restaurant use?
- The menu says only pasta. Bow-tie farfalle is the shape most copycats use, and it holds a cream sauce in its folds, so it's what this recipe calls for.
- How big is the restaurant portion?
- The dinner plate lists 2,270 calories, 98 grams of protein and 176 grams of carbohydrate, about one and a half to two servings of this recipe. The lunch plate, at 1,380 calories, is closer to one.
- How much sodium does the home version save?
- About 1,372 mg a serving here against 4,660 mg for the restaurant dinner plate. Even allowing for the bigger restaurant portion, this version carries about half the salt per calorie.
