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Here you can find the original recipe for Chicken Riggies and the stories behind the dish

One of Utica's most famous recipes has a rich history. Today, the dish is copied and reinvented in cities outside of Utica-Rome, such as Manhattan, Boston, Buffalo and Albany.

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Utica's Chicken Riggies is a signature Utica dish known for its hearty and flavorful combination of ingredients. It typically consists of rigatoni pasta served with a creamy tomato sauce flavored with bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, and often hot cherry peppers for a spicy kick. The dish is named for the rigatoni pasta and chicken that form its base. The chicken is typically seared until tender and then mixed with the sauce, allowing the flavors to meld together. Often enjoyed with a sprinkle of shredded cheese on top, Utica's Chicken Riggies is a filling and comforting meal that embodies the culinary spirit of Upstate New York.

The Heavy Cream Controversy

Believe it or not, the original recipe for Chicken Biggie doesn't include cream. Pecorino Romano cheese is the ingredient that makes the dish creamy. Yet, many people today still use cream to make the dish.

Looking for the recipe? The history of the dish? The people who created it? Here's Joe Morelle's version of the original.

Utica's Chicken Riggies dish wasn't invented in Utica? Say that's not true.

The now famous Utica Chicken Riggies recipe has taken on a life of its own. The dish is now known far beyond the Utica-Rome region and is becoming increasingly popular as word spreads throughout the Northeast. Although there are many variations of the dish today, there is still only one original recipe. So who created the first “Riggies” recipe and where did it originate?

Gallery credit: Bill Keeler

Click here to see the Chicken Riggies dish prepared at one of Utica's legendary restaurants, the Chesterfield.

If you want to make Chicken Riggies the easy way, you can purchase a canned version of Chicken Riggies sauce from It's a Utica Thing, which ships Utica products across America.

Mike Schulz. Watch the video below.

Creator of Utica Greens Morelle honored on national television

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