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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Hi Jenn! Quick question – I made this recipe and it was super yummy! But at the end the sauce looked like it might have curdled a bit, do you think this is possible? Do you have any suggestions on what might cause that so I don’t make the same mistake again? Thank you for a great recipe!
Glad you liked it but sorry to hear the sauce curdled. Did you use heavy cream?
Great recipe. And simple.
Would sherry be ok in this dish?
Hi Chris, it will taste a little different, but several readers 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!
We love Chicken Marsala and I’ve tried many recipes over the years. Last night I made this recipe for the first time. I was tempted to double the sauce portion of the recipe as we like a lot of sauce, but I always like to make a recipe for the first time as it’s written so that’s what I did. This is an excellent Chicken Marsala recipe that is very easy to follow that will now be my go to recipe when I make Chicken Marsala. However, next time I will double the sauce!😉
Thank you for posting this recipe!! Chicken Marsala has always been a favorite of mine. This recipe is amazing! Although – I tend to double the sauce (my family loves the Marsala sauce). It’s SO good
First, I must say that I love chicken marsalla. I’ve tried at least 5 different recipes before trying this one. All I can say is WOW! The flavor is amazing and the instructions are so clear. I’m an experienced cook, but this dish always left me disappointed until I tried yours. It’s amazing and the flavors are spot on. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe. It will be the only one I make from this point forward.
Made this recipe to serve to guests…WOW! It was a hit everyone loved the sauce, thank God I had doubled it ! A hit will make it again for sure!
I made this recipe, WOW! It is the best I have ever made, I doubled the sauce and I’m happy I did, our guests totally lovedit
I’ve been a chef for over 30 years and just came across this recipe. I turned your 5 star recipe into a 6 star and here’s the adds.
I added Sofrita to the chicken stock and added 1/3 cup of sherry.
Really nice work on this simple classic. Bravo..
Thanks Josh. I’m not familiar with Sofrita. I googled it and it came up as a spice and also as something like tofu. (Sofrito) What is Sofrita and how much did you add? Thanks a lot!
Hi Susan, sofrito is a sauce that’s typically composed of olive oil, tomatoes, peppers, and aromatics like onions and garlic.
Excellent recipe perfectly proportioned. I have made chicken marsala a few times but never this good. Not a hard recipe for a beginner cook, as directions are well explained. I will look for more from this site.
Hi Jen, I’ve used many of your recipes and have been happy with the results. Your recipes are good for 6. I need a recipe for 8. Do you have recommendations? Thank you
Hi Barbara, So glad you’ve had success with the recipes! For 8, you’d just need to double all the ingredients. (You’ll likely need to brown the chicken in two batches.)
How can I make this recipe ahead?
Hi Irina, this is best right after it’s prepared but if you’d like to give it a try, a few readers have commented that they’ve made this ahead, stored the sauce & chicken separately, and reheated it briefly before serving. Please LMK how it goes if you try it!