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Chicken marsala is a one pan meal made with tender chicken breasts in a savory mushroom marsala sauce, and it’s ready in 35 minutes.
Holly’s Recipe Highlights
Chicken Marsala is an Italian-American classic, made with chicken, mushrooms, and seasonings cooked in a creamy Marsala wine sauce. The chicken marsala wine sauce makes it feel fancy, but it is easy to make in about 30 minutes.
- Flavor: The sauce is rich and slightly earthy from the mushrooms and a hint of sweetness from the Marsala wine.
- Time-Saving Tips: Swap the chicken breasts for 8 thin chicken cutlets and purchase pre-sliced mushrooms.
- Serving Suggestions: We love to serve this Chicken Marsala recipe with either pasta or garlic mashed potatoes.
Ingredient Tips for Chicken Marsala
- Chicken: Use boneless chicken breasts, boneless chicken thighs, or cutlets.
- Marsala Wine: Marsala is a fortified wine from Sicily. Be sure to choose a dry Marsala wine and not the sweet variety, which is best used for making Italian desserts. It can be replaced with sherry, port, or Madeira.
- Sauce: This marsala sauce has chicken broth, butter, shallots, and thyme thickened with flour.
- Mushrooms: Use any variety of mushrooms. I love baby Bella (aka cremini mushrooms), but white mushrooms or portobellos are also great options.
Variations
- Flavor: Add garlic along with the mushrooms. You can replace shallots with red or white onions.
- Creamy: While it’s not traditional, whisk in about ¼ cup of heavy whipping cream for a creamier sauce at the end of Step 2.
- Vegetables: Add chopped asparagus, spinach, or peas for more texture and color.
Garnish with parsley and serve as desired.
Storage and Leftovers
Keep leftover chicken marsala in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat.
Freeze cooled portions in zippered bags for up to four months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
What to Serve with Chicken Marsala
Did you make this Chicken Marsala? Leave a rating and comment below!
Chicken Marsala
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts 5 to 6 oz each
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
For the Sauce
- ¾ cup chicken stock or chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 1 small shallot diced, or onion
- 8 ounces mushrooms white or brown, sliced
- 1 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup dry Marsala wine
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or chives for garnish
Instructions
- Cover the chicken breasts with plastic wrap and use the flat side of a meat mallet or a rolling pin to pound to ¼-inch thick. Season with salt and pepper and dredge in flour.
- In a large skillet, preheat the olive oil over medium high heat. Cook the chicken in batches, 3-4 minutes per side or until cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
To Make the Sauce
- In the same pan, add 2 tablespoons butter, thyme, and shallot and cook over medium heat until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until juices are released, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 ½ tablespoons flour and cook for 1 minute more.
- Pour in the Marsala wine and stock or broth and simmer until thick and bubbly, about 3 minutes.
- Add chicken back into the pan and simmer for 2-3 minutes or until heated through.
- Garnish and serve over pasta.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Chicken, Dinner, Entree, Main Course
Cuisine American, Italian© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
My husband raved about this dish. He said that I should put it in the keeper file. I served it with the watermelon salad. It was a perfect summer meal.
My mom has celiac. Have you tried this with a gluten free flour blend, or can it be made with cornstarch. I’m afraid it may clump with cornstarch if it continues to cook once added.
I have never tried but I think a gluten-free 1:1 all purpose blend would work well in this recipe.
what type of liquid can I use instead of marmalade wine.
You can substitute it for additional chicken broth if you prefer.
Just got done making the recipe for chicken marsala. It came out very good very tender. Very tasty. I did use chicken thighs. The only thing I would change the next time is to take all my ingredients out ahead of time because I didn’t make a mess, but then I am a messy cook. Yes this recipe is easy to make, and doesn’t take much time to make it.
If I wanted to add spinach do I cook it with the mushrooms?
I would add it to the sauce along with the chicken, fresh spinach only needs a couple of minute to wilt.
My husband loves Chicken Marsala and I can’t wait to try it! We have a freezer full of bone-in chicken thighs. Would they work?
They would work but would require a longer cooking time. I might suggest baking the chicken thighs (method here) and preparing the sauce separately.