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Homemade Chicken Marsala

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By Kristen Chidsey

4.92 from 23 votes

Updated Apr 08, 2024

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You won't believe just how easy it is to make restaurant-quality Chicken Marsala at home! This simple Italian-American recipe is made with tender, pan-fried chicken, and a rich, creamy, mushroom sauce and comes together in under 30 minutes!

Restaurant-Quality Chicken Marsala in Under 30 Minutes

One of my all-time favorite recipes to order when dining at Italian restaurants is Chicken Marsala. From the tender chicken to the rich, earthy sauce that is kissed with Marsala wine, it is a little bit of heaven.

And while you may think this restaurant favorite is complicated to make at home. Think again!

Like my Chicken Florentine and Chicken Piccata, this recipe comes together in less than 30 minutes and delivers an impressive, flavorful chicken dinner. It feels rich and elegant, yet it is easy enough for any night of the week.

Happy Cooking! xo Kristen

Notes on Ingredients

• Chicken: This recipe calls for boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut and pounded into thin cutlets. If you don't want to slice the chicken yourself, you can buy thinly sliced chicken breast cutlets.
• Marsala Wine: Marsala is a fortified wine that adds nutty, rich, caramelized notes to the sauce. For best results, use dry Marsala wine, not a sweet Marsala, which is used in desserts, or cooking Marsala, which does not create an authentic-tasting Marsala sauce.  
• Mushrooms: For this recipe, you want to use cremini or baby portobello mushrooms, not button mushrooms, for a rich, earthy taste. You can use fresh mushrooms or reconstituted dried mushrooms. 
• Flour: To help thicken the sauce and create a crispy exterior on the chicken, you want to coat your chicken in all-purpose flour before pan-frying. 
• Shallot: Instead of onion or garlic, which can overwhelm the sauce, I suggest using a shallot, which adds a mild onion-and-garlic flavor without overpowering the chicken marsala. If you don't happen to have a shallot on hand, simply omit it. 
• Broth: Use low-sodium beef broth or mushroom broth, not chicken stock, since beef and mushroom pair well with the sauce's earthy flavors.
• Cream: Finishing the Marsala sauce with heavy cream creates a rich, luscious sauce, but it isn't classic for chicken Marsala. If you don't want to use cream, use additional broth for a lighter version. 
• Thyme: A bit of fresh thyme leaves elevates this dish by adding floral, earthy notes to the sauce. While fresh thyme leaves are best, you can use dried thyme leaves instead. Just don't use ground thyme, as it will quickly overpower the sauce.

How to Make Chicken Marsala at Home

The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the ingredient quantities and detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

1. Prepare Chicken Cutlets. Trim off any fat from the chicken breasts and then cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise so you have 4 thinner pieces. Place the cutlets between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet or heavy skillet until the cutlets are even in thickness.

2. Dredge the Chicken Cutlets. In order to help the chicken marsala have restaurant-quality texture, you want to coat them with flour that has been seasoned with salt and pepper. Be sure to brush off excess flour so the chicken doesn't become gummy.
3. Sear the Chicken. When searing the chicken, you may need to work in batches to prevent overcrowding your skillet. I also recommend using both butter and oil to sear the chicken. The butter adds nice caramelized notes to the chicken and sauce, while the oil helps to prevent the butter from burning.

4. Sauté Mushrooms and Shallots. To add depth to the Marsala sauce, sauté the shallots and mushrooms in a bit of butter until softened and golden.
5. Add Marsala Wine. Use caution when adding the Marsala wine to the skillet. Alcohol is flammable, so use caution when cooking on a gas stovetop. I recommend removing the skillet from the pan, adding the wine, and carefully moving the skillet back to the heat.

6. Simmer Sauce. Once the wine has reduced, add the broth, heavy cream, and seasonings, and bring to a simmer. Simmer on low heat until the sauce reduces by half, intensifying the Marsala flavor.
7. Finish Cooking the Chicken. Once the Marsala sauce has reduced, add the chicken back to the pan and simmer, spooning the sauce over the chicken to finish cooking.

What to Serve with Chicken Marsala

I recommend serving Chicken Marsala with something to soak up the creamy, rich sauce, like cooked pasta, Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes, Mashed Red Potatoes, or Instant Pot Rice. 

I also love adding a vegetable side dish like Roasted Asparagus or Roasted Broccoli and/or a Caesar Salad or Copycat Olive Garden Salad.

More Easy Italian-American Recipes

• Chicken Piccata
• Pasta Puttanesca
• Shrimp Scampi Pasta
• Instant Pot Fettuccine Alfredo
• Italian Stuffed Shells

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4.92 from 23 votes

Chicken Marsala

By: Kristen Chidsey

Servings: 4

Prep: 5 minutes mins

Cook: 25 minutes mins

Total: 30 minutes mins

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This Chicken Marsala recipe features tender, pan-fried chicken with a rich, creamy mushroom sauce.

Video

Ingredients 

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• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• ▢ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• ▢ 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or 4 chicken cutlets
• ▢ kosher salt and pepper
• ▢ ½ cup all purpose flour
• ▢ 1 small shallot, minced
• ▢ 8 ounces baby Bella mushrooms, see notes for substitutions
• ▢ ½ cup dry marsala wine
• ▢ 1 cup low-sodium beef broth
• ▢ 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, or ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• ▢ ½ cup heavy cream

Instructions 

• Trim off any fat from the chicken breasts then cut them in half lengthwise. Place the cutlets between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet or heavy skillet until the cutlets are even in thickness. Pay dry.
  
• Combine the four with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper in a small, shallow dish. Dredge each chicken cutlet in the flour mixture, shaking off excess flour. Place the breaded chicken on a plate.
• In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil with 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat until the butter melts. Once melted, add the chicken to the pan, working in batches to prevent overcrowding your skillet. Cook the chicken cutlets for 3 minutes per side, or until golden brown and just barely cooked through. Transfer chicken to a clean plate, tent with foil, and set aside.
  
• Add an additional tablespoon of butter to the skillet and melt over medium-high heat. Add the minced shallots and sliced mushrooms to the pan and sauté for 2-3 minutes, or until they begin to soften.
  
• Carefully add the Marsala wine to the skillet. Cook, scraping off the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the mixture simmer for 1-2 minutes or until reduced by half.
  
• Add the beef broth, heavy cream, thyme leaves, salt, and pepper, then bring to a simmer. Once simmering, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes or until the sauce has reduced by about half, stirring frequently.
  
• Add the chicken back to the pan, along with any juices that accumulated on the plate. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and simmer for 2-3 minutes to warm through and finish cooking. You want it to reach 165℉ (74℃).
  
• Serve immediately topped with fresh minced parsley if desired.
  

Notes

Mushrooms: In place of the baby Bella mushrooms, you can use sliced shitake, or soak 1 ounce of dried wild mushrooms in hot water for 1 hour. You can then opt to use that soaking liquid in place of the beef stock.  

Marsala Wine: Be sure to use dry, not sweet, Marsala, and DO NOT use marsala labeled "cooking Marsala." And while marsala is best, you can use Madiera wine or sherry if you don't have a Marsala on hand. 

Shallot: Feel free to omit the shallot if you don't have one on hand. 

Dairy-Free Modification: In place of the butter, use additional olive oil and instead of finishing the sauce with heavy cream, use additional beef or mushroom broth.

Gluten-Free Chicken Marsala: Use 1:1 Gluten Free Flour Blend in place of the all-purpose flour. 

 

Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. 

Nutrition

Calories: 373kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 17gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 85mgSodium: 236mgPotassium: 684mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 677IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 45mgIron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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