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Pasta Milano Macaroni Grill Copycat – A homemade version of Macaroni Grill’s Pasta Milano. A creamy garlic and sundried tomato sauce, with chicken and mushrooms, over bowtie pasta
Making restaurant favorites at home is one of my favorite things. It can be anything from Mexican Pizza from Taco Bell to Fiesta Lime Chicken from Applebee’s. If you are a fan as well, check out all the Copycat Recipes on the site already.
Right out of college we lived in a town with a Macaroni Grill. It was one of my favorite restaurants at the time. After we moved we have never lived near one again, I am honestly not sure if they still exist. I loved their Pasta Milano. And now I can make it at home, whenever I want! With some Cheesy Garlic Bread on the side for good measure.
My version of Pasta Milano is a little lightened up from the original. Feel free to use more butter and heavy cream if you want it rich and super creamy. I want to be able to enjoy it more often, so I go just a little lighter. It comes together in about 25 minutes too, so it is great for a quick weeknight dinner.
What You’ll Need
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card.
- Chicken Breasts
- Olive Oil
- Mushrooms
- Onion
- Garlic
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes
- Half-n-Half -or heavy cream if you want to to be richer like the restaurant version
- Butter
- Parmesan Cheese
- Fresh Basil
- Pasta – you really can use any cut of pasta you like. They use bowtie pasta, so that I what I used.
- Salt & Pepper
How To Make Pasta Milano
Pasta Milano is a great one skillet meal that the whole family will devour. Plus, the leftovers are great for lunch the next day.
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card.
- Cook Pasta. The first thing you want to do is bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Brown Chicken. Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 5-6 minutes, until chicken is browned and cooked through. Remove it from the pan, and keep warm.
- Cook Veggies. Return the pan to the heat. Add mushrooms, onions, garlic, and sun dried tomatoes. Cook until onions are tender and the mushrooms are golden brown. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken back to the pan.
- Make Sauce. In a 2 cup measuring cup combine half-and-half, butter, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, and basil. Pour over chicken and mushroom mixture. Bring to a simmer, stirring to combine. Cook for 3-4 minutes until everything is heated through.
- Combine. Add cooked pasta to the pan, and toss to coat.
- Serve. This is best served immediately. Top with additional Parmesan cheese if desired.
What To Serve With Pasta Milano
You really can serve this with just about anything you would a traditional pasta. It does have meat and veggies in the dish, so it could be considered a full meal as is. But if you want to bulk it up and add more here are a few favorites to round out your restaurant quality meal.
I love the idea of making restaurant favorite at home, it means I get to enjoy them more often. This Pasta Milano recipe has been one of my favorites for almost 15 years. I was my go to order every time we went to Macaroni Grill, and now I can make it at home in about 25 minutes. Easy pasta recipes are such a great way to get dinner on the table during busy weeks. They are always ready quickly and the whole family loves them.
More Pasta Recipe to Try
- Chicken Pot Pie Noodles
- One Pot Fettuccine Alfredo
- Chicken Lo Mein
- Creamy Mushroom Pasta
- One Pan Cheesy Sausage Pasta
- Pizza Pasta Skillet
Pasta Milano (Copycat Macaroni Grill)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound Farfalle, (bowtie pasta)
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 pound chicken, cut into bit sized pieces
- 12 oz mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
- 1 1/2 cup half-and-half, or heavy cream
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 Tablespoon fresh basil, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions.1 pound Farfalle
- In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add chicken, cook for 5-6 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Remove from pan, and keep warm.2 teaspoon olive oil, 1 pound chicken
- Return pan to heat. Add mushrooms, onions, garlic, and sun dried tomatoes. Cook until onions are tender and the mushrooms are golden brown. Season with salt and pepper. Add chicken back to the pan.12 oz mushrooms, 1 cup finely chopped onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- In a 2 cup measuring cup combine half-and-half, butter, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, and basil. Pour over chicken and mushroom mixture. Bring to a simmer, stirring to combine. Cook for 3-4 minutes until everything is heated through.1 1/2 cup half-and-half, 1 Tablespoon butter, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 Tablespoon fresh basil
- Add cooked pasta to the pan, and toss to coat.
- Serve immediately. Top with additional Parmesan cheese if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I haven’t been to a Macaroni Grill but this looks insanely delicious. I love creamy and garlicky pasta sauces!
What?! You lived in Minnesota? I am from MN but live in Illinois right now! I love Macaroni Grill, great recipe!
I lived around the Cities until I was 10, then after college I lived in Rochester for a few years. Now in Colorado! Small world!
Wow that sounds like an insane amount of work for 4th graders. Good for you! I’m all about quick and easy options for the dinner routine. This looks amazing. Love that it’s a little lighter too!
looks good
I could absolutely destroy this whole bowl of deliciousness!!
This looks like a dish I could all the time! I love sun dried tomatoes 🙂
I’ve never heard of lego robotics but I sure like what I see with this dish! Yummy. 🙂
This looks really yummy. I’m looking forward to making it sometime.
I didn’t do lego robotics in middle school, but I did join my school’s robotics team in high school. Actually, our team was not affiliated with our school; we were a Boy Scouts venture crew, but most of our members were from my school, so it was basically the same thing, but we played up our freedom to recruit from other schools a lot. It was seriously a lot of fun helping the rest of my team design/build/program the big 120 lb. machines the high school level teams make. Our team was very big on the students doing all of the work instead of the mentors, so we all learned a lot of useful skills. Is your son’s team a FIRST team?
Thanks Deanna! His team was part of the First Lego League. They loved it, and did such a great job. Great organization!
This recipe sounds amazing and I have always enjoyed Macaroni Grill! Have you or anyone tried a “healthier” version with substitutions for the half & half, butter, etc.??? I would love any suggestions!!!
I have only tried it as written. 1 Tbls of butter for an entire recipe does not bother me. I have seen similar recipes that use a ton more butter and heavy cream. This is my lightened up version of those.
More than 10 years ago, my son worked at MG and introduced me to Pasta Milano. Hadn’t had it in years as the restaurant is no longer convenient to where I live. A few days ago, my family got together at a new location close to home and it was “okay.” The biggest disappointment was that they no longer have prosciutto in the Pasta Milano. WHAT? That was what gave it its tremendous flavor. Yes, garlic and cream sauce are good, and mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes are okay too, but the combination of all of the above with the seasonings and PROSCIUTTO made the dish. We still make it with prosciutto at home, but how sad that so many evidently have never had it that way. Want to make this dish REALLY good? Cut back on the tomatoes and dice some prosciutto for the real deal. Let me know if you like it!
I had no idea they used to make it with proscuitto, that sounds even better! Thanks for the idea!