Chicken Marsala
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
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
You May Also Like
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
Powered by 
- 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.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Another WINNER!!!
Easy, not expensive ingredients and VERY GOOD!!!
I probably should have used more fresh thyme tho….I had some in my fridge wasn’t THAT fresh…but still usable. I only had maybe 1.5 teaspoons instead of 2. 😕 Next time👍🏾
The best dinner I’ve made in a very long time! Followed the directions exactly. Flavor was amazing. Served over egg noodles.
My question is we needed more sauce. Once it’s reduced by half there isn’t enough sauce.
How do I double the sauce? Do I just double all the liquids?
Can’t wait to try another recipe! Honestly, you are the first chef I have ever left a comment to.
Thanks so much for all the hard work you do!
Glad you liked this! You can double the sauce, but keep in mind that the color will be different (you’ll have fewer pan drippings to contribute to the darker color of the sauce). Hope that helps!
When I double sauce for Marsala I start the chicken with a little extra olive oil and butter. Then double the liquids and reduce as usual. But before you put the chicken back in, add just a little flour and boil until it thickens a tad more (it gets a bit tougher to reduce to desired thickness with extra oil). Turns out wonderfully!!
Hey! While I haven’t tried this yet, I really want to. The only question I have is if there is an alternative to the wine. I know it’s a long shot but for various reasons alcohol is a no go and I don’t even want to put it in cooking.
Hi Tseng, Unfortunately, in this recipe there is no good alternative to the wine. I’m sorry!
Not sure if I reviewed this in the past, but I finally made it with Marsala. Wow!!! Amazing! Definitely go get the Marsala, and make it. Next level good!! I usually put in a little fresh rosemary too since it is growing outside my kitchen.
I went out and got the marsala and made it enough to send home with my son for his family. Since then I made it again and again – so delish for such an easy dish. Marti Molwitz
This has entered into our weekly rotation now for the past 2 or 3 months… It’s absolutely delicious. But it every time I make it it takes at minimum double the amount of time called for to reduce the sauce. My significant other can confirm, follow the recipe to a T. We always end up giving up and resorting to corn starch slurry at the end, still turns out delicious. The only difference we can pin point is we use cast iron. We don’t find ourselves running into this problem with other recipes. Any feedback? We seriously feel we can’t be the only ones facing this issue.
Hi Matthew, So glad you enjoy this! I know you said you follow the recipe to a T, but any chance you are doubling the sauce? What size is your cast iron pan?
FYI, I usually end up thickening the sauce a bit too. Also use cast iron.
I just followed your recipe to the letter. FANTASTIC! My husband said it was the best marsala he’s ever had and I agree! Restaurant quality. I served it with roasted garlic and parmesan green beans. Nothing left over for the kids.
This recipe turned out delicious. I followed it pretty closely. Just added more broth and thickener because i like the sauce so much. Did not have a chicken tenderizer so i used a hammer and paper bag..worked ok.
Chicken Marsala recipe is the best. Yum from all of us! Thank you Jenn
Hi Jenn!
I’m a huge mushroom fan, But unfortunately no one else in my house with eat them. There are so many recipes that I end up not making because of the addition of mushrooms. I think if I could hide them somehow that the family would enjoy most of the dishes, but the second they see them it would be over. Any suggestions for dishes like this amazing Marsala that I’ve been dying to make? is it possible to maybe add liquid to a food processor before adding the chicken back into the pan to blend the mushrooms into the sauce? Any advice you can give me would be wonderful and so very appreciated.
Hi Kia, You could try making the recipe as is, and then puréeing the sauce and mushrooms in a blender, but I think the flavor of the mushrooms will be noticeable. Maybe just omit the mushrooms?
Thanks for the suggestion Jenn! I am going to definitely try putting the sauce in the food processor.
I have guests that I have cooked this dish for that despise mushrooms. After sautéing the mushrooms I remove them
From the pan with a slotted spoon, and put them in a separate bowl covered with foil… and serve them as a side. Anyone that wants mushrooms can add them to their dish.
I have several other cooking type alcohols and I hate to buy another one. Instead of Marsala, could I use vermouth, Madeira, Brandy, or dry sherry?
Hi Maxine, I’d go with the Madeira – it should work well. 🙂