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 e fagioli, eggplant parmesan, penne alla vodka, and lasagna.
Table of Contents
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
Chicken Marsala is an Italian-American dish of golden pan-fried chicken cutlets and mushrooms in a rich Marsala wine sauce.
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded ¼-inch 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.
- Note: If your chicken breasts are large (like the ones in the photos that are about ¾ lb. each), it’s best to first cut them horizontally to form four flat fillets, then pound them to an even ¼-inch thickness. If you pound large chicken breasts without first halving them, they’ll be huge. Of course, you could also pound them thin first and then cut them in half vertically; the only drawback is that they’ll lose their natural shape (which, admittedly, is not a big deal!).
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Calories: 537
- Fat: 32 g
- Saturated fat: 16 g
- Carbohydrates: 12 g
- Sugar: 4 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 43 g
- Sodium: 877 mg
- Cholesterol: 203 mg
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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Comments
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The first time I made this I found that there was too strong a taste of the marsala wine. That may have been because I did not use the cream. Instead of using cream, I stir in a tsp of corn starch mixed with water. The second time I made this I reduced the wine to 1/2 cup and increased the chicken broth to 1 cup. It was absolutely delicious.
I haven’t made your Chicken Marsala and my mouth is watering! I will be making two batches of your recipe for a party of 12. Any special instructions to make and refrigerate the dish a day ahead of the party? Happy Thanksgiving.
Hi Cecilia, Honestly, this dish is best served right after it’s prepared. That said, if you’d like to give it a try, one reviewer commented that she prepared this ahead and stored the sauce and chicken separately. Please LMK how it goes if you try it
A home run dish! Didn’t have Marsala wine so substituted 2/3 sherry to 1/3 Chianti red wine. Made fresh gremalata for garnish instead of parsley. Added chicken stock powder with no water. After reducing liquid added cooked mushrooms and shallots then poured over the chicken and finished baking the chicken in oven (they were thicker slices pieces as we forgot to pound them down)
I made this meal tonight and we thought it was very good. My only issue was the sauce, the sauce was very creamy and not like a usual marsala sauce. I followed the directions exactly as the recipe, let the sauce simmer for 10 mins. I used a store-bought marsala wine and not marsala wine from a liquor store could that have anything to do with the turn out of the sauce?
Hi Rose, the sauce should be slightly but not overly creamy but if the taste was a bit “off,” I suspect it was due to the store-bought marsala wine. That really does make a big difference!
We loved this recipe! I made it with gluten free flour and used chicken stock concentrate and water in place of chicken broth. Turned out incredible and I will definitely be cooking it again!
I love making this meal for my wife on special occasions. But instead of heavy cream, I go with a light cream. Only because I make a side of Knorr 4 cheese risotto. It pairs well together
Thank you Once Upon A Chef
VERY EASY AND TASTY-
I made this for the first time last night AND served it to company. It was DELICIOUS! Will definitely make it again. My grocery store sells thin sliced chicken breasts which saved me the pounding step. Once Upon a Chef has been my go-to place to find new recipes for a couple of years now. 🙂
Jenn,
I made your Chicken Marsala tonight, and served it on top of buttered egg noodles; followed the recipe to a T, it was AMAZING! My husband nearly licked his plate LOL. I recently found your website, and have made the Turkey meatloaf (to die for, and it’s turkey!), Parmesan mashed potatoes (so good & no milk!!), and your Beef Stew. The stew received five star reviews from my daughter. I am a good cook, but these recipes taste like we are sitting in an upscale restaurant. THANK YOU. I’m so happy I found your website!…BTW, I also ordered your cookbook after I made the turkey meatloaf. Can’t wait to try every recipe in there!
❤️ So glad you’ve had success with the recipes and thanks for your support with the cookbook!
Made this tonight for me and my husband and it was sooooo tasty! I’m not a huge chicken person but I love an Italian dish and any sauce-challenge. The chicken was juicy and the flour amount was spot on! Here are the adjustments I made:
– Pinot Noir instead of Marsala wine / grape juice mixture because that’s what I was drinking! ha.
– Unfortunately, I didn’t have shallots or onion but will definitely be adding this next time
– I also used half-and-half which messed with the consistency but still tasty. Definitely recommend sticking to the heavy cream.
– Added Sun-dried tomatoes which was just delicious
Thanks for this!!!
I used 1/2 & 1/2 too, and it made the sauce look curdled, however after stirring it around for awhile it got better. This dish is fantastic. I love the recipe! It’s so delicious that I’m thinking you might not even need the cream. I served it on fettuccini.
The sauce is amazingggg. I increased the amounts of sauce ingredients as suggested since I wanted extra and it was perfect. Thanks so much