Before adopting a paleo diet Matt was a huge fan of that Texas-size meal serving, expansive cheesecake selection offering, decadent restaurant The Cheesecake Factory. After all, Matt’s favorite dessert was and still is cheesecake, and he loved their Pasta Da Vinci dish.
They’ve recently added a gluten-free menu (including a flour less Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake) and we got to enjoy the excitement of dining there again for Matt’s birthday! The gluten-free menu options were great, including the kids menu.While our experience was great, and we do greatly appreciate all the restaurants adopting gluten-free options, we like to limit how often we are dining out so that we can 100% control the ingredients we are putting into our bodies. If you’re trying to limit your exposure to gluten-free grains, seed oils, and processed sugar but miss your favorite dishes from this epic and famous restaurant – you’re in luck!
Our renewed love for The Cheesecake Factory got us thinking about the many ways one could paleo-ize their extensive menu, and we couldn’t help but pull together another round-up (our first was for P.F. Chang’s) with our foodie friends, featuring healthier twists on these famous dishes. Below you’ll find a variety of some of your favorite menu options made paleo by your favorite bloggers, so you can recreate your own meal at home! Our recreation of Matt’s old favorite, Pasta Da Vinci, is at the bottom of this post – don’t miss it!
♥♥♥
Avocado Egg Rolls by Predominantly Paleo
Crispy Crab Bites with Spicy Mustard Aioli by Primal Bites
Warm Crab and Artichoke Dip by Paleo Gone Sassy
Portabella Mushroom, Avocado and Zucchini Fries by Thriving on Paleo
Orange Chicken by Eat Your Beets
Crispy Chicken Cotoletta by Paleo Foodie Kitchen
Veggie Saute with Zoodle Ribbons by The Nourishing Home
Chicken Piccata by Gutsy by Nature
Raw Paleo Banana Cream Cheesecake by Merit + Fork
Mango Key Lime Cheesecake by Plaid and Paleo
And our contribution: Pasta Da Vinci!
There’s something irresistible about the combination of chicken, mushrooms, cream and wine and this is a dish that highlights those flavors beautifully!
Ingredients
- Pasta substitute of your choice (Cappello's, spaghetti squash, or Spiralized noodles), about 1.5 pounds equivalent
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 lb. cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cubed
- 3 Tbsp avocado or olive oil
- 1 C red wine (in the original dish, this is the brown, fortified Portuguese Madeira wine, but a different red wine would work as well)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 C full fat, canned coconut milk
- 1/2 C unsweetened, plain coconut milk yogurt or make your own
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 Tbsp ghee
- 1 Tbsp chopped parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- In a large saute pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute until slightly browned, about 8 minutes.
- Add mushrooms and chicken and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until chicken is browned and mushrooms have softened.
- Remove onions, mushrooms and chicken from the pan and set aside. Add wine and deglaze the pan.
- Bring to a soft boil to reduce by half.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and add coconut milk, yogurt, garlic and salt and pepper. Whisk to incorporate.
- Add butter and whisk until melted in.
- Return onions, mushrooms and chicken to the pan and simmer for 10 minutes or until sauce coats the back of a spoon.
- Pour sauce over your noodles and garnish with parsley.
- Return
♥♥♥
We hope you enjoyed this completely paleo-friendly round-up of dishes inspired by The Cheesecake Factory! If you make them, please let the authors know what you think. Perhaps we can convince our friends to take on more restaurant favorites, so tell us – what restaurant can we paleo-ize for you next?
And if you have been craving Chinese food lately be sure to check out our P.F. Chang’s Recipe Recreation Round-Up!
