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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I like Chicken Marsala, but this took it to a whole new level. I accidentally used fresh rosemary instead of thyme and it tasted better than any other Marsala I have ever had. I will cherish this recipe!
I was wondering if anyone has used boneless chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts?
Hi Cindy, I wouldn’t recommend chicken thighs; I think they would make the sauce too rich/greasy. Sorry!
I made this with boneless, skinless chicken thighs and now it’s the only way I make it! So tender, everyone has loved it. My go to dish for guests. Superb!
Made this for dinner tonight. I love chicken Marsala in restaurants but I’ve never found a recipe that I loved. This is it! I made no deviations other than I halved it because it’s just two of us. My husband kept saying he wanted to lick the plate. I only found your site yesterday. I have already made four of your recipes! And EVERY one was amazing!! I consider myself a pretty good cook but now I feel like I need to do my own version of Julie & Julia. Sharon and Jenn. I think it’ll be a hit. LOL
😂
Delicious!!
Made this recipe to a T. Maybe it has to do with the type of wine I used, I don’t know. But it turned out generally bland and not that flavorful. Not bad, but I wouldn’t make this recipe again.
I feel the same way! This is my first stop when I’m menu planning for the week. Lately I’ve had at least two recipes from this site in my weekly menu. Sometimes they are a new find and other times they are a tried and true favorite.
Just made this for dinner- it’s very good, but next time I’ll double the amount of Marsala wine.
I added 1/2 cooking sherry as well. Great recipe.
I made it according to recipe. Although I had high hopes, utilizing 20+ minutes of reduction time still led to a watery sauce without a classic maroon marsala color. The addition of cream really “american-ized” it and although it tasted good, it shouldn’t be called chicken marsala
I tend to agree-it’s very good, but my preference is to use beef stock and marsala, but no cream. To each his/her own.
Superb recipe..have made this over 20 times…
Jenn, I modified your recipe slightly and made a chicken marsala pizza with it. It was to die for! Thanks for the recipe!
I cut the chicken into bite size pieces, made extra sauce and reduced it until it was very thick. I spread the marsala over the pizza crust, then generously sprinkled shredded mozzarella on top. Baked it on the bottom rack ~ 15 minutes at 525°. Grated fresh parm on top. YUM!! It is our new favorite nontraditional pizza.
— LISA ON FEBRUARY 23, 2022
Absolutely delicious and easy to make!
I am in love with this recipe. The taste is so good. I made it when I had guests over for dinner. Everyone loved it and asked for the recipe.
The best chicken Marsala I’ve ever made. And EASY!! Gave this recipe to my son and his wife raved about it.
Wow, this recipe was SOOO good! I made it for my girlfriend and I over Valentine’s Day weekend and I can honestly say it was better than any restaurant-made chicken marsala I have had before. I mostly followed the recipe exactly except for the last part where I let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes and then added the chicken in and let it go for another 5-7 minutes. The sauce was creamy and delicious, and the chicken was tender and perfectly cooked. Highly recommend this recipe – I will for sure be making it again 🙂
I’m a pretty good cook and I really like this recipe and it’s fairly simple with ingredients you would normally have around. We served it plain with a side salad to try to cut the calories a little. I’m going to make a larger batch today and try freezing it – hope it freezes well.