THE MOST TRUSTED COPYCAT RECIPES
THE MOST TRUSTED COPYCAT RECIPES

Romano's Macaroni Grill

Products: 14 of 4
Show: 24
  • Score: 4.71 (votes: 7)
    Romano's Macaroni Grill Chicken Portobello

    Menu Description: "Grilled chicken breast with Portobello mushrooms, smoked mozzarella and demi glace, with a spinach orzo pasta."

    Fire up the grill for my take on one of Romano's Macaroni Grill's most popular entrées: Chicken Portobello. After you grill a couple portobello caps, slice them thinly at an extreme angle to make wide slices that fit perfectly on top of grilled chicken breasts that have been rubbed with stone ground mustard (the kind with the whole mustard seeds in it). 

    Romano's delicious demi-glace is made from reduced veal stock, but a nice substitute can be made from a combination of canned beef broth and chicken broth. With plenty of garlic, rosemary and thyme in there, the aroma of sauce simmering on the stove will make everyone in the house drool.

    Try my Romano's Macaroni Grill Chicken Portobello recipe below, and find recipes for more of your favorite Romano's Macaroni Grill recipes here.

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 by Todd Wilbur.

    Update 1/25/17: If your demi glace is too thin add an additional tablespoon of cornstarch to thicken. 

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  • Score: 4.97 (votes: 88)
    Romano's Macaroni Grill Penne Rustica

    Menu Description: "Shrimp, grilled chicken & smoked prosciutto and Parmesan baked in a creamy cheese sauce."

    Romano's top-requested item is so popular they've even trademarked the name. Grilled chicken, shrimp, prosciutto, and penne pasta bathed in a creamy gratinata sauce is topped with cheese and paprika, and baked until the top is a crispy brown. There's a distinct smoky flavor that comes from the smoked prosciutto used by the chain, and you might have a hard time finding such a unique item at your deli. No big deal. Just use regular prosciutto, and have the deli cut it pretty thick—1/8-inch will do. My Macaroni Grill Penne Rustica copycat recipe will still work, since you'll get smoky hints from the grilled chicken and shrimp. 

    The chain serves up the entrée in a wide, shallow baking dish that comes to you straight from the restaurant's salamander overhead oven/broiler. If you don't have any baking dishes like that, try using 9-inch glass pie dishes. These make for a great presentation, especially when served hot right to the table, garnished with a sprig of rosemary and a few sliced pimentos on top. Be sure to get the sliced pimentos, not diced. You want long pieces just like those they use at the restaurant.

    Complete the Macaroni Grill experience with a slice of lemon passion cake

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 by Todd Wilbur.

    For a live demonstration of this recipe, check out this video.

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  • Score: 4.87 (votes: 38)
    Romano's Macaroni Grill Chicken Scaloppine

    Menu Description: "Chicken breast, mushrooms, artichokes, capers & smoked prosciutto in lemon butter with pasta."

    Mushrooms, artichoke hearts, and prosciutto in a creamy lemon butter sauce surround sautéed chicken breasts and angel hair pasta for this unique and satisfying take on a traditional dish. This clone ranks in the top three most requested copycat recipes on my hit list from the 227-unit Romano's Macaroni Grill. The successful Italian chain is part of the Brinker group of restaurants that controls several other high-profile casual eateries including Border Mexican Grill, Maggiano's, and Chili's.

    Try my Macaroni Grill Chicken Scaloppine copycat recipe below, and try my Macaroni Grill Lemon Passion Cake recipe for dessert.

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 by Todd Wilbur.

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  • Score: 5.00 (votes: 9)
    Romano's Macaroni Grill Lemon Passion Cake

    Menu Description: "Citrus cake soaked in a sweet cream, topped with lemon mousse and finished off with our fresh Italian whipped cream and caramel."

    When creating this delicious dessert, chefs at Romano's must have been thinking about Tres Leches Cake that is popular throughout Latin America. The traditional Mexican recipe describes a dense vanilla cake soaked with three types of milk: whole milk, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk. This creates a very moist and rich dessert that is an excellent finish to pretty much any meal. Romano's twist on the traditional favorite is the addition of citrus juices to the cake, a creamier soaking liquid, and a tangy lemon topping. 

    I first tried re-creating the cake with boxed mixes, but they all produce cakes that are much too light and moist, and inevitably turn to mush when soaked in the sweet liquid. The final solution is a scratch cake recipe yielding denser, yet still moist citrus cake, that holds up to the eventual drenching. You will want to eat this dessert within a day or two of the soaking, or it may start to fall apart. Store any leftovers in the fridge.

    Try my Romano's Lemon Passion Cake recipe below, and check out my popular recipe for Romano's Macaroni Grill Penne Rustica here.

    Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3 by Todd Wilbur.

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I'm Todd Wilbur, Chronic Food Hacker

For over 30 years I've been deconstructing America's most iconic brand-name foods to make the best original copycat recipes for you to use at home. Welcome to my lab.

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