I Made The Cheesecake Factory’s Recipe for Chicken Bellagio—Here’s What Happened

With more than 250 items available on their 21-page menu, it’s amazing that any single dish can reign supreme at The Cheesecake Factory. However, year after year, Chicken Bellagio always comes out on top as one of their best sellers.

If you’ve tried this dish, you’re probably not surprised it’s a customer favorite. You’ll also be thrilled to learn that the official Chicken Bellagio recipe from The Cheesecake Factory was released to the public, along with dozens of other customer favorites.

It’s time to put the official recipe to the test and see how it stacks up to the original! To complete the meal, serve with one of these copycat recipes from The Cheesecake Factory.

What Is The Cheesecake Factory’s Chicken Bellagio?

This whopper of a dish consists of a pile of spaghetti topped with Parmesan sauce, breaded, pan-fried chicken, prosciutto and lemon-dressed arugula. It’s creamy, crunchy, lemony, salty and oh-so-satisfying!

The cooking process has quite a few steps but it’s honestly pretty easy to make. If this is one of your favorite menu items from The Cheesecake Factory, it’s definitely worth trying to make at home—especially if your nearest restaurant is a few towns away

The Official Chicken Bellagio Cheesecake Factory Recipe

The recipe provided by The Cheesecake Factory is supposedly for a single serving. However, if you’ve ever eaten at The Cheesecake Factory, you know that their portions are enormous. If you follow more normal portion sizes, this recipe could easily serve 2 to 3 people.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces thin spaghetti pasta
• 1 ounce canola oil
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 3 ounces each
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 ounces egg wash (about 1 beaten egg)
• 1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
• 3 ounces Parmesan cream sauce
• 1-1/2 ounces basil oil
• 1/2 ounce chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 ounce Parmesan/Romano cheese blend

To plate the dish:

• 1/2 teaspoon parsley, chopped
• 3/4 ounce prosciutto, sliced
• 1/2 ounce baby arugula
• 1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 ounce Parmesan/Romano cheese blend
• Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

Step 1: Prepare the chicken

Lauren Habermehl for Taste Recipes

Flatten the chicken by laying a piece of plastic wrap over each breast and pounding them to about 1/4-inch thick with the flat side of a meat tenderizer.

Next, season the breasts evenly with salt and pepper before dredging both sides in flour. To finish breading the chicken, dip each breast in a beaten egg and then coat them on both sides with Italian breadcrumbs. The Cheesecake Factory suggests gently pressing the breadcrumbs onto the chicken to help “set” the coating. (Struggling a little? Here’s why your breading might be falling off.)

Editor’s Tip: If you can’t find small, 3-ounce chicken breasts, feel free to butterfly larger chicken breasts into four, smaller pieces.

Step 2: Cook the pasta

Lauren Habermehl for Taste Recipes

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Follow the package directions and cook to al dente—this took about 8 minutes for me.

Step 3: Pan-fry the chicken

Lauren Habermehl for Taste Recipes

While the pasta cooks, pan-fry the breaded chicken. Warm just enough oil to coat the bottom of a cast-iron skillet. Over medium heat, fry one piece of chicken at a time. Fry the first side for 3 to 5 minutes before flipping and cooking the other side until the breading is golden and crisp.

Transfer each piece of chicken to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

Step 4: Finish the pasta

Lauren Habermehl for Taste Recipes

Drain the pasta and then return it to the pot. Toss the pasta with the basil oil, chicken broth, butter and grated Parmesan cheese until well coated.

Step 5: Heat the Parmesan cream sauce

Warm the store-bought Parmesan cream sauce in a small saucepan over low heat.

If you’re feeling ambitious, make your own homemade Alfredo sauce.

Step 6: Dress the arugula

Toss the arugula with fresh lemon juice, a bit of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Step 7: Assemble

Lauren Habermehl for Taste Recipes

Add a mound of pasta to the plate. Ladle a generous amount of Parmesan cream sauce around the pasta (not on top of it).

Next, place the breaded chicken on top of the pasta and drizzle with a bit of the remaining Parmesan cream sauce. Sprinkle chopped parsley over top.

Shaped the prosciutto slices into a ring on top of the chicken, leaving a small, open area in the center. Finally, add a heaping portion of the lemon-dressed arugula and a final sprinkle of Parmesan.

Recipe Variations

• Change the pasta: Make this with whole wheat spaghetti for a slightly healthier version. Or, use a smaller pasta shape so it’s a bit easier to eat.
• Make it with pork: Swap the chicken for thin-cut boneless pork loin chops.

How to Store Chicken Bellagio

Since there are so many components to this dish, it’s best to eat it right away. If you do have extras, store each component separately in airtight containers. It will last for a couple days.

Can you freeze Chicken Bellagio?

We don’t recommend freezing this dish. Many of the individual components don’t freeze well, and they’d have to be stored separately anyway. You’re not saving yourself any time by making this ahead and freezing it.

Chicken Bellagio Tips

What is basil oil?

The most difficult ingredient to find (and most expensive) is basil oil. It can be found at a specialty oil and vinegar store, or on Amazon. The basil oil really does give this dish its signature flavor, so it’s worth picking up a bottle.

Making basil oil at home is possible but a bit labor intensive. First, blanch basil leaves, put them in an ice bath and then squeeze out the water. Then, blend the basil, olive oil and salt in a food processor.

If you don’t want to spend a lot of money or time on this ingredient, however, simply swap in a tablespoon of store-bought or homemade pesto.

How do you assemble Chicken Bellagio?

One of the most impressive aspects of this dish when served at The Cheesecake Factory is how all the ingredients are layered together and how the colors contrast against each other. To replicate this restaurant-style plating, first place the pasta in a mound in the center of the plate. Ladle the cream sauce around the pasta. Next, add the chicken on top of the pasta and drizzle with the remaining Parmesan cream sauce. Sprinkle chopped parsley over top.

To finish off the dish, shape the prosciutto slices into a ring on top of the chicken, leaving a small, open area in the center. Then, crown everything with a heaping portion of the lemon-dressed arugula and a final sprinkle of Parmesan.