This Chicken Marsala is a delicious, surprisingly easy recipe that results in a restaurant quality dish. An impressive meal that only takes about 30 minutes to prepare!
Recipes like this and my Easy Chicken Scallopini are stress-free recipes worthy of a special occasion but quick and easy enough to make any night of the week.
Chicken Marsala is a classic Italian-American recipe that every home cook should have in their collection. It has a short ingredient list, it can be pulled together in a flash, and it’s seriously impressive.
Flour dusted chicken is quickly seared and complemented by a silky Marsala wine sauce studded with mushrooms, shallots and garlic. I love to serve it over a mound of creamy mashed potatoes but it’s also delicious with pasta or rice.
I felt compelled to develop this recipe after a quick vacation Paul and I took to the Sierra Nevada mountains in Northern California about 6 years ago. One night we sat on the deck at Cuccia’s, an Italian restaurant in one of the most peaceful, beautiful settings imaginable. Big trees, gorgeous sky, mountains all around. I ordered the chicken marsala and we shared a bottle of red with my brother Jim and my sweet sister-in-law, Gale, who are blessed to live in this beautiful place.
This meal brought me home inspired to research this dish and develop this Chicken Marsala recipe for home cooks.
Table of contents
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken: Thin-sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts. In order to cook quickly and evenly, it’s important the pieces are about ¼- to ½-inch thick. Slice through the middle of thick breasts to create two thin cutlets or use a meat mallet to pound them as needed. Many times this creates a huge piece so just cut them in half or into smaller portion sized pieces.
- Flour and seasoning: The chicken is seasoned with a little salt and pepper before being dredged in all-purpose flour. The sauce is seasoned with a little fresh thyme leaves or dried thyme.
- Produce: Diced shallots, minced garlic, and cremini mushrooms, stems removed and sliced.
- Marsala: Dry marsala wine is stocked in the liquor section of the grocery store. Marsala is quite inexpensive when compared to other varieties of wine and widely available. See more on this flavorful ingredient below.
- Broth: Low-sodium chicken broth. I always mix up my own with Better Than Boullion.
- For the rest: Olive oil, a pat of butter to richen the sauce and a little fresh parsley to garnish the finished dish.
What is the Best Marsala for Chicken Marsala?
Avoid anything labeled “cooking wine”, usually located in the vinegar section of the store. Instead, look for dry marsala wine stocked near the ports, sherrys and other wines in the liquor section. Marsala is a fortified wine which means that a distilled spirit, like brandy, has been added. The same is true for both Madeira and Sherry. One great thing about fortified wines is their long shelf life. Some like to refrigerate their re-corked, open bottles but I store mine in my cool, dark pantry and it stays well for many months.
How to Make Easy Chicken Marsala
- Dredge the chicken: Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Dredge each piece of seasoned chicken breast into the flour, coating both sides, and transfer to the skillet.
- Cook the chicken: Cook the chicken, in batches, until nicely browned and cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set it aside.
- Shallots and garlic: Add a little additional olive oil to the empty skillet the diced shallot. Cook and stir for a minute or two and then add the garlic. Cook and stir for another minute, until fragrant.
- Mushrooms: Add the mushrooms and sauté the mixture for several minutes to soften mushrooms. Season with the thyme, salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Thickener: Add a little flour to the skillet and toss it to coat all the mushroom mixture.
- Marsala: Add the Marsala to the skillet and increase heat slightly to bring to a boil. Cook and whisk (or stir) for a minute or two at a low boil.
- Broth: Add the chicken broth and continue to cook, stirring, until the sauce is silky and slightly thickened. Add a pat (or two) of butter and allow it to melt into the sauce.
- Finish: Reduce the heat and return the cooked chicken to the skillet, spooning some of the sauce over each piece. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.
Tips for the Best Chicken Marsala
Quality Ingredients: Use fresh and high-quality chicken breasts and real Marsala wine (not cooking wine) for the best flavor.
Thin Chicken Breasts: Slice or pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness. This ensures even cooking and helps the chicken stay tender.
Seasoning: Don’t skip the step of seasoning the chicken with a little salt and pepper before dredging it in flour. This adds a layer of seasoning that is important to the overall flavor of the dish. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper as needed.
Slightly Reduce the Wine: Allow the Marsala wine to cook down a bit before adding the chicken broth. This helps concentrate and intensify it’s unique flavor.
Finish with Butter: Adding a pat or two of butter to the sauce at the end of the cooking time richens the sauce, adds flavor, and a great mouth-feel.
Adding Cream: A lot of recipes out there for Chicken Marsala include a good dose of heavy cream, clearly an easy way to add richness and body to sauce. But, if you check with the experts like Emeril Lagasse, Curtis Stone, and David Lebovitz, you’ll find that their recipes don’t include any cream at all. For a true, authentic mushroom marsala sauce no cream is needed. A combination of chicken broth or stock and marsala wine, richened with a little butter, is all that’s needed to create this lovely sauce.
Storage and Reheating Tips
- Refrigerate: Transfer leftovers to an airtight container and refrigerate promptly for up to 3 to 4 days.
- Reheat: Place the chicken and sauce in a skillet, cover, and warm over low heat just until warmed through. If sauce is too thick, add a small amount of water of broth to thin it as needed. The chicken and sauce can also be warmed in the microwave but be careful not to cook it too long or it can made the chicken tough.
Sign up for my free newsletter for all the latest recipes and join me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for more cooking inspiration!
Chicken Marsala
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts,
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, or as needed
For the Mushroom Marsala Sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ cup diced shallots
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
- 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- 1 heaping teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¾ cup dry Marsala wine
- ¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth or stock
- 1 to 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon minced Italian flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Pound or slice the chicken breasts to ¼- to ½-inch thickness and cut in half or into smaller portion sized pieces. Season both sides with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Add ½ cup flour to a shallow dish or bowl.
Dredge and Cook the Chicken
- Add 3 tablespoons olive oil to a large skillet over MEDIUM-HIGH heat.
- Dredge each piece of seasoned chicken breast into the flour, coating both sides, and place them in the skillet. Cook the chicken in batches, if necessary, to avoid overcrowding the skillet. Add additional olive oil between batches, if needed. Cook for approximately 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until nicely browned and cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set it aside.
Make the Marsala Sauce
- Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet and return it to MEDIUM heat. Add the diced shallot and cook, stirring, for a minute or two to soften. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, and then add the mushrooms. Sauté the mixture for several minutes, or until the mushrooms have softened. Season with thyme, salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste and sprinkle 4 teaspoons flour over the top. Toss the mushroom mixture with the flour and seasonings to combine.
- Add the marsala to the skillet and increase the heat slightly to bring it to a boil. Cook and whisk for a minute or two at a low boil to reduce the marsala just slightly. Add the chicken broth (or stock) and continue to cook and whisk until the sauce is silky and slightly thickened. Add the butter and allow it to melt into the sauce.
- Reduce the heat to LOW and return the cooked chicken to the skillet, spooning some of the sauce over each piece.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
More Italian-Inspired Meals
This post was originally published on August 7, 2017. It has been updated with new text and images.
You can get it AT many llcbo stores.
Very good and straightforward. Thanks for posting!
This recipe is very mouthwatering and also looks very tasty. I would love to try it for weekend dinner. Keep sharing such delicious nonveg recipes.
This is my second time making this it is so good! I crave it all the time lol
Do I have to use Marsala or can I just use cooking white wine from the super market?
Marsala has a totally different flavor, more like brandy.
I just tried this recipe tonight after saving it from a page on Facebook! I doubled the recipe so let’s see how it turns out! I used Holland House Marsala wine which I bought from Walmart lol
Do you have a good Marsala wine brand you can recommend please? The ones I’ve tried tasted horrible.
Check the other comments in this thread for some recommendations 🙂
I have never seen Marsala wine here in Canada can we use another kind of wine. Thanks
Hi Carole. Marsala has a very distinctive taste so although you could replace it, you’d end up with a completely different dish. That being said, you could try using a dry white wine with a splash of brandy.
It is available here in Canada – LCBO liquor stores. They have both the sweet and dry. Definitely go with dry with this recipe. The dry I used was ‘Sperone’ Fine I.P. Dry. 750mL bottle.
There is, without doubt, Marsala wine in Canada. Any LCBO should carry it.
I add sliced green pepper,or red.
This recipe looks awesome. However, for personal reasons, we don’t drink or cook with any type of alcohol. How would this recipe be using all chicken broth or stock? Or what could we replace the marsala with that would give us a similar taste? Thank you.
Did you ever get an answer to your question. I don’t cook with wine either so I would like to know what to substitute for the wine.
The main flavor component in Chicken Marsala is the Marsala wine so I wouldn’t recommend omitting or replacing it all with chicken broth. I think the outcome would be very bland. Instead I’d be inclined to suggest a different recipe like maybe a Chicken Picatta or something similar that does not involve alcohol.
Oh yes, I went through that phase as well. Sunroof and all! The best part of having adult children is sharing great food and wine with them! Then, comes the first grand baby! Your chicken Marsala is beautiful.
Right there with you enjoying life with grown children! Did you use dry or sweet Marsala? The sweet is usually used in desserts but some recipes call for it in chicken Marsala. Looks delicious!
Hi Karen! I believe most recipes call for dry Marsala although I’ve seen them with sweet as well. I use Gambarelli & Davitto Private Stock which is the brand available at my local grocery store. It is not labeled as either sweet or dry. It’s very affordable and I’ve had really good results with it. If I had to choose though, I’d most likely go with a dry Marsala for this recipe.