Chicken Marsala
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Chicken Marsala is an Italian-American dish of golden pan-fried chicken cutlets and mushrooms in a rich Marsala wine sauce.
Chicken Marsala is an Italian-American dish of golden pan-fried chicken cutlets and mushrooms in a rich Marsala wine sauce. It’s the most popular chicken recipe on this website, and though it’s a classic restaurant dish, it’s really easy to make at home. With just one pan, you can have it on the dinner table in 45 minutes. The recipe makes a lovely sauce that is delicious over pasta, polenta, rice, or Parmesan smashed potatoes.
If your family loves Italian food like mine does, once you master chicken Marsala, try your hand at other Italian restaurant favorites, such as chicken cacciatore, pasta fagioli, eggplant parmesan, penne alla vodka, and lasagna.
What You’ll Need To Make Chicken Marsala
Marsala is a brandy-fortified wine from Sicily that is 100% worth adding to your pantry, if only to make this dish time and again. It will keep in a cool, dry spot for months.
I buy boneless skinless chicken breasts and pound them thin myself, as opposed to using the ultra-thin sliced cutlets sold at the supermarket, since pounding tenderizes the meat. This adds an extra step but you can save time by using pre-sliced mushrooms. (Or you can skip all this hassle by using chicken tenderloins, which are naturally tender.)
How To Make Chicken Marsala
If your chicken breasts are large, like the ones in the photo above, it’s best to first cut them in half horizontally. (If you pound them without first halving them, they’ll be ginormous and oddly shaped.)
Once you’ve got four flat filets, pound them each to an even 1/4-inch thickness.
Place the flour, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a ziplock bag.
Add the chicken to the bag; seal the bag tightly and shake to coat chicken evenly. Set aside.
Heat the oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. (Use a stainless steel pan for the best browning. Nonstick will work too, but you won’t get that nice golden color on the chicken.) Place the flour-dusted chicken in the pan, shaking off any excess first.
Cook, turning once, until the chicken is golden and just barely cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes total. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the pan. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms begin to brown, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the shallots, garlic, and ¼ teaspoon of salt.
Cook for 1 to 2 minutes more.
Add the broth, wine, heavy cream, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper; use a wooden spoon to scrape any brown bits from the pan into the liquid. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium.
Gently boil, uncovered, until the sauce is reduced by about half, slightly thickened, and darkened in color, 10 to 15 minutes (you’re going for a thin cream sauce; it won’t start to thicken until the very end of the cooking time).
Add the chicken back to the pan, along with any juices that accumulated on the plate. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the chicken is warmed through and the sauce thickens a bit more, 2 to 3 minutes.
Sprinkle with parsley, if using, and serve.
Video Tutorial
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Chicken Marsala
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded ¼-in (6-mm) thick (see note), or chicken tenderloins
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 (8-oz) package pre-sliced bella or button mushrooms
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots, from 1 medium shallot
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ⅔ cup chicken broth
- ⅔ cup dry Marsala wine
- ⅔ cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Place the flour, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in a ziplock bag. Add the chicken to the bag; seal bag tightly and shake to coat chicken evenly. Set aside.
- Heat the oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. (Use a stainless steel pan for the best browning. Nonstick will work too, but you won’t get that nice golden color on the chicken.) Place the flour-dusted chicken in the pan, shaking off any excess first, and cook, turning once, until the chicken is golden and just barely cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes total. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the pan. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms begin to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the shallots, garlic, and ¼ teaspoon of salt; cook for 1 to 2 minutes more. Add the broth, Marsala, heavy cream, thyme, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon of pepper; use a wooden spoon to scrape any brown bits from the pan into the liquid. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and gently boil, uncovered, until the sauce is reduced by about half, slightly thickened, and darkened in color, 10 to 15 minutes (you’re going for a thin cream sauce; it won’t start to thicken until the very end of the cooking time). Add the chicken back to the pan, along with any juices that accumulated on the plate. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the chicken is warmed through and the sauce thickens a bit more, 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley, if using, and serve.
Notes
Pair with
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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This is fabulous. For some reason I haven’t made it in a while, but I will definitely make it more often now that I remember how delicious it is. My house smells divine too.
Thanks, Jenn, your recipes never disappoint.
Loved this! Better than in a restaurant!
I’ve made Chicken Marsala for years, but it was quite putzy – started on the stove, then finished in the oven. I tried this technique tonight and the only thing I did differently was that I used thighs instead of breasts. O.M.G. I’m tossing my old recipe and making this forever! It was so flavorful and wonderful and easy to make! I’m so glad I found this site. I will be exploring more of your ideas!
I’ve made this exactly as written several times. My kids (5,7,8) eat literally nothing. But somehow the lightening struck and they CANNOT GET ENOUGH of this Marsala chicken.
Mind you, they completely ignore the mushrooms but they drink down the sauce. My daughter is celiac so I use a gf flour and it comes out perfectly. We serve over roasted potatoes and it’s divine. Thank you thank you for this!
I don’t have any marsala wine. Would dry sherry be an acceptable substitute?
Hi Penny, it will taste a bit different, but a number of people have commented that they’ve used dry sherry and have been happy with the results. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
I love your recipes. Can I make chicken marsala or chicken piccatta a day ahead for a dinner party and then reheat? Would it taste just as good or would you have another suggestion that would make it taste as if it was just cooked?
So glad you like the recipes! Both of these dishes are definitely best if served right after they’re prepared. For the chicken Marsala, one reader commented that she made this ahead, stored the sauce & chicken separately, and reheated it briefly before serving.
And for the chicken piccata, the chicken won’t be quite as crispy as when it’s just cooked, but you can reheat it in the oven before serving (and reheat the sauce on the stove). Hope that helps!
Delicious! I didn’t have dry marsala, so I used a medium dry sherry. It worked out just fine.
My husband and I made this recipe to celebrate the New Year. It was so delicious and surpassed my expectations. I would like to make it again for a dinner party for six but would prefer not to be cooking when my guests arrive. Can any parts of this be made ahead? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Sheila, So glad you enjoyed it! This is best right after it’s prepared. That said, if you’d like to give it a try, one reader commented that she made this ahead, stored the sauce & chicken separately, and reheated it briefly before serving. Please LMK how it goes if you try it!
5+ star recipe! I usually make changes depending on what I like or have on hand, and I used air-dried shallots instead of fresh, I added a LOT more mushrooms, and doubled the sauce part of the recipe. This recipe could be hard to stop eating.
First off, this came out great; my rather picky wife loved it and went back for seconds! Second, the timing of the steps was spot on. I did this “by the clock” to hit a specific serving time and nailed it (1:05:00 from prep to table). Third,thanks for the short cut suggestion of tenderloins, it helped cut the time down. Lastly, thanks for not making scroll through 8 pages describing how much your family loves it, how everyone that has tried it loves it, how great it is, how you developed it etc. You directions and pictures were clear and to the point. This is the first recipe site I will actually be subscribing to