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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Delicious! Great dish if you are entertaining.
The family all thought this needed more Marsala.
I always double the Marsala sauce !
The best, easiest recipe I’ve ever tried !
very good recipe ! helpful tips! I swapped the cream for Marscapone. Love the flavor!!
Excellent recipe—Thank you!!💕
If you wanted to make it gluten free, would you use cornstarch or a type of gluten free flour?
I’d go with a gf flour – hope you enjoy!
Everyone loved it!
Loved this recipe! So good!
Hi,
I tried this recipe and absolutely loved it!
Do you think this recipe will work if I make it the day before, (refrigerate then put it in a pan and cover). Then bake it in the oven the next day to heat up?
I want to make it for a large dinner party but want to try and save time by doing it the day before.
Thank you
Glad you liked it! 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 (on the stove) before serving. Please LMK how it goes if you try it!
This turned out perfectly by reheating the next day in the oven. I cooked the chicken fully on the frying pan and made the sauce but stored them both separately overnight in the fridge. The next day I mixed them both together in a baking dish and reheated it up in the oven until hot…. it turned out great (I found it is a bit more liquidy this way but I made a gluten free option so of course there wasn’t any “flour” on the chicken to thicken up the sauce…but I had no complaints since it was so flavorful). I also put another left over tray in the freezer (chicken and sauce mixed together) I just thawed it in the fridge for a few hours and then popped it in the oven until hot and let me tell you I never tasted such moist and flavorful chicken. It was wonderful even after being frozen for over a week. If making this ahead I just suggest making 3-4x the amount of sauce as the chicken will soak it all up. Thanks for such a great recipe!
So glad to hear it, Christine — thanks for reporting back. I’m sure other readers will find it helpful as well. 🙂
i need to make this for 14 people. I am going to brown the chicken and make the sauce, keeping them separate so I can heat later on in the oven. If I let the chicken and sauce come to room temp, how long do you think I should heat it in the oven and at what temp and should I heat it covered?
Help !
Hi Joni, I’d actually reheat both the sauce and the chicken over low heat on the stove. Hope everyone enjoys!
Love this recipe. It is my go to for chicken Marsala. If I want to make it for a large party … can multiply the ingredients ? Will it reduce the same or will the sauce be too thin?
Hi Ana, you can multiply the recipe — the sauce will reduce — it will just take longer so leave yourself some extra time. 🙂
This is definitely a keeper! So flavorful and easy to make. 10/10! I doubled the sauce, as well.
this is the only recipe i use for chicken marsala everybody that has tasted it loves it
Hello Jenn,or your
Love your recipes. I am making the chicken marsala during the holidays for a group of 12 people. I looked at the grean beans recipe with shallots but I want something easier. It has to be a vegetable in the oven but not the carrots.
Thank you or or your suggestions.
Hi Louise, So glad you like the recipes! There are 3 options that I think would work well – roasted cauliflower, roasted broccoli, or roasted asparagus. Hope you enjoy whatever you make!