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 TURNED OUT GREAT WILL DEFFINITLEY BE MAKING AGAIN USED MASHED POTATOES WITH CHEDDAR AS THE BASE
Jenn, you have SO many amazing recipes that I want to try…it makes it hard to make the same dish twice! I must say, this dish is now mon my “twice” list! We served over mashed potatoes this time and it was FANTASTIC!!!! Can’t wait to make it again! Thank you!
This is my all-time favorite dish to make. It’s luxurious and feels fancy, but it doesn’t take crazy amounts of time – and with two littles, who has time for hours in the kitchen? It’s an impressive meal to make for company or a great meal to treat yourself to…and there’s just something so satisfying about making something even better than what you could get in most Italian restaurants for a fraction of the price.
I loved making this recipe. It was wonderfully simple to follow. The only issue I ran into was that I couldn’t find a bottle of marsala wine anywhere near my home. So I followed a recommendation from elsewhere, and bought a dry sherry. An amontillado to be exact. The Chicken ‘Amontillado’ was still delicious and turned out perfectly. I served it with a saffron risotto and sautéed spinach. And of course, a glass of amontillado.
Fabulous!!! Very easy to follow recipe. And the taste was WONDERFUL! This will definitely be a new addition for my family’s meal rotation. Had I known it were this simple, I would have made it a long time ago. (Takes a little longer than the recipe says but not much.)
Another fantastic recipe. I’ve never cooked with Marsala Wine but man did it make this recipe taste good. Very simple to make and the flavor is on point.
One of my favorites of yours. I’ve made it many times and it never disappoints!
I have made this Chicken Marsala several times and it’s absolutely delicious. It’s a great dish to serve picky guests and I get rave reviews about how much better your recipe is compared to high end restaurants. Recently my niece was very ill and I cooked for her family and my family using several of your recipes. They loved everything that I made thanks to You. I love your cookbook and your frequent emails. Tomorrow I’ll be making your ground beef enchiladas. You’re the Best. Thank you and Bless you Jenn.
Glad you like this (and I hope your niece is feeling better)!
We began eating in a lot once my husband and I had kids, and in recent months have stepped up our cooking game. This is another one of Jenn’s fantastic recipes. Yes it is simple and yes there are a million chicken Marsala recipes online but I promise you none will come close to this in flavor and juicy chicken. I bought the real Marsala wine(still very inexpensive) from the liquor store and have made 4 huge servings of this recipe. Make this now and if you have not bought her cookbook do it now it has saved us so much money in eating out, and the food is so much better.
I had never made Chicken Marsala, so when my daughter requested it I turned to this website. As always, the instructions were clear and everyone loved the end result. I’ve always been hesitant to use as much salt as is called for in some recipes, but I trust your recipes and haven’t been disappointed. Another OUAC recipe added to our regular rotation!