Johnny CarinoThe first time I tasted Johnny Carino’s Gorgonzola Chicken, I knew I had to recreate it at home. After it disappeared from their menu, I made it my mission to perfect this recipe. What makes this dish special is how the sharp, distinctive Gorgonzola mellows into a velvety sauce that’s sophisticated yet comforting. Even friends who claim to dislike blue cheese find themselves reaching for seconds of this irresistible pasta.
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Gorgonzola Chicken Recipe
The secret to this restaurant-quality dish lies in the balance of flavors. Gorgonzola cheese naturally contains both creamy and sharp notes that create complexity without requiring many additional ingredients. The cheese melts into the half-and-half creating a silky sauce, while sautéed mushrooms add earthy depth. Fresh tomatoes added at the end provide bright acidity that cuts through the richness, creating a perfectly balanced dish with minimal effort.
Recipe Ingredients
Here’s a list of what you need:
- Boneless, skinless chicken breast – Provides lean protein and takes on the flavors of the sauce beautifully
- Vegetable oil РUsed for saut̩ing with a neutral flavor that lets other ingredients shine
- Pasta – Creates the foundation of the dish and absorbs the delicious sauce
- Half and half – Forms the creamy base of the sauce without being as heavy as cream
- Gorgonzola cheese – Delivers the distinctive tangy, complex flavor that defines this dish
- White button mushrooms – Add earthy flavor and meaty texture to complement the chicken
- Shredded Parmesan cheese – Provides a salty, nutty finish that balances the Gorgonzola
- Fresh tomatoes – Add brightness, acidity, and color that cuts through the rich sauce
Johnny Carino’s typically uses penne pasta, but I prefer to use fettuccine because I think it holds the sauce better.
How to Make Chicken Gorgonzola Pasta
Making pasta with chicken gorgonzola cream sauce is easy! Here are the basic recipe steps:
- Cook the chicken in a skillet until done then slice the chicken into strips.
- Sauté the mushrooms until soft and browned.
- Cook pasta according to the package instructions.
- Prepare the gorgonzola cream sauce.
- Stir the sautéed mushrooms into the sauce.
- Divide the pasta onto plates and top each with chicken, sauce, tomatoes, and Parmesan cheese.
Johnny Carino’s Chicken Penne Gorgonzola
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
- salt to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil plus extra if needed
- 8 ounces white button mushrooms sliced
- 1 pound dry penne pasta
- 2 cups half and half
- 4 ounces Gorgonzola cheese crumbled
- 1/2 cup chopped red tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Place each chicken breast between two sheets of plastic wrap on a cutting board. Gently pound the chicken to an even thickness of about 1/2 inch, starting from the center and working outward. Season with salt and pepper.
- Place the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, place the chicken breasts in the skillet and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Remove the chicken breasts from the skillet and let rest for several minutes before slicing into 1/4-inch slices.
- Place the skillet back over medium-high heat. Add an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil to the skillet if needed, and sauté the mushrooms with about 1/2 teaspoon of salt until the mushrooms have browned.
- Prepare the pasta according to the package directions. Drain.
- To make the sauce, combine the half and half and Gorgonzola cheese in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until slightly thickened. Add the sautéed mushrooms and mix well.
- To serve, divide the cooked pasta equally among 4 plates and top each with chicken slices. Drizzle with the sauce and top with chopped tomatoes and shredded Parmesan.
Notes
Nutrition
While this dish may no longer be on the menu at most Johnny Carino’s, you can still make this flavorful pasta for dinner. Serve it with freshly baked breadsticks and a simple garden salad.
Substitutions and Dietary Modifications
- Pasta Options: While penne is traditional, any pasta works well. Use gluten-free pasta for a gluten-free version.
- Protein Variations: Substitute grilled shrimp or sliced steak for chicken. For a vegetarian version, use roasted portobello mushrooms.
- Cheese Alternatives: If Gorgonzola is too strong, try a milder blue cheese like Danish blue. For those who dislike blue cheese entirely, try substituting half the amount with cream cheese.
- Dairy-Free Version: Use coconut cream or cashew cream instead of half and half, and a dairy-free cheese alternative (though the flavor profile will change significantly).
- Lighter Option: Substitute half and half with whole milk and use less cheese for a lighter sauce.
- Vegetable Additions: Add sautéed spinach, artichoke hearts, or sun-dried tomatoes for added nutrition and flavor.
Storage and Reheating Instructions
- Refrigerator: Store leftover chicken, pasta, and sauce separately in airtight containers for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: The sauce can be frozen for up to 1 month, though the texture may change slightly when thawed. Freeze the sauce separate from the pasta and chicken.
Reheating
- Sauce: Reheat gently in a saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. Add a splash of milk or half and half if it’s too thick.
- Pasta: Briefly dip in hot water to refresh, or add a splash of water before microwaving covered for 1 minute.
- Chicken: Reheat in a skillet with a bit of oil, or microwave gently until just warm to avoid drying out.
- Complete dish: For best results, reheat the components separately and reassemble. If reheating as a complete dish, add a splash of half and half and heat gently in a covered skillet.
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Check out my easy pasta recipes and the best copycat restaurant recipes here on CopyKat!
Such a great recipe! Tastes exactly like the original I get from Johnny Carino’s in Texas.
Add pan toasted walnuts and sundried tomatoes. Make the sauce in the same skillet
I added garlic after frying the chicken then added chicken broth to scrape everything from the bottom of my cast iron! Peeeeerfect!!!!
It’s missing the bacon and sun-dried tomatoes. At least the one I’ve had at Carino’s in Houston and Baton Rouge locations have this.
I was just viewing their site and it seems each location is different, so far I only found a location of theirs in Montana that still serves the gorgonzola, so sad. Anyways, caused me to do some searching online for a copycat recipe and found this, I CAN’T WAIT TO TRY IT! I am so excited, just added stuff on the grocery list for it! Already thinking about how delicious it will be! XD
So just made it, I LOVE IT! <3 Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Making this for my bfs birthday! Cant wait to try it. Thank you for putting this recipe up!:)
I used Penne Rigate pasta, since the ‘ridges’ and the ‘tube’ of the pasta held the sauce very well. I didn’t miss adding salt, since parmesan cheese is already salty. I did however, add a ‘scant’ sprinkle of garlic powder into the sauce. (Pepper was NOT missed in this dish.) I topped this dish off with a bit of finely chopped Italian parsley (sprinkled over the chopped tomatoes and the grated parmesan cheese.) I doubled the recipe, since I served it at a small dinner party. Everyone raved about it, and I loved it, as well.
I am glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe a great deal. I appreciate your refinements for your dinner party. I am happy to hear everyone enjoyed the dish.
Sorry but there is no way in HELL I would make a recipe, an ITALIAN recipe at that, that did not mention salt, pepper or garlic in the sauce. There is at least salt in it, just the cheese does not cut it. BLAND is what you’ll get and that is not a description I want my food tasting like. Fail. Try again
I am pretty certain you won’t respond, but I can’t tell if you made the recipe and thought it was horrific, or if you didn’t like how the recipe was written. I appreciate your passion, but I am curious as if you even made the recipe.
Your recipe sounds delicious, also, the “add ins” suggested by other people. Why do some people have to go out of their way to say something nasty, Not Happening, I’m talking to you! You don’t like the ingredients, move on by!! Don’t make it. Don’t use this site. Why be nasty?
I think people do this online because they feel they are powerful when they do this online. I have my doubts if the folks have even prepared the recipe.
TO: “Not Happening”: You’re obviously one of those readers who’ll criticize a recipe even before trying it. If you actually knew anything about Italian cooking, you’d already know that Gorgonzola contains a LOT of flavor, so you might not (even) need to add additional salt, pepper, and garlic. You should definitely make the recipe before you criticize it! Shame on you, as you’ve now demonstrated that you don’t really know as much about Italian cooking as you’d like us to believe that you do.
Not happening AKA Karen – We are a household that loves, loves, loves cheese. All types of cheeses. Gorgonzola and Parm are both very salty. Rarely do I add salt to a recipe that includes either or both of those cheeses. Your comment was rude and I hope that you are banned from every recipe site on the internet.
Do you have any idea of the time, energy and money that goes into recreating restaurant recipes and publishing them on the internet? Did you even attempt to make this recipe? We already know the answer.
It’s a very nice recipe. I used Trader Joe’s gorgonzola and easily crumbled it up to make a nice smooth sauce. I also used brown rice pasta and found that the texture was very good for this recipe.
This was awesome. I will be doubling the recipe next time so I can have leftovers. Also, we added onions, sweet red pepper, 4 cloves of garlic, and white wine to the sauce. Delicious.
Three words: delicious, delicious, delicious. Definitely making this again. One suggestion: you can use more cream to make more sauce and soak it up with some nice toasted bread. Hmmmm!
I didn’t have gorgonzola, but I used blue cheese, it was a little milder, but I enjoyed it just the same. Thanks!
Guess what I am making tonight?????