Make restaurant-worthy Chicken Marsala at home.
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.
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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!
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.
This looks delicious however I’m allergic to mushrooms. Any suggestions for substitutes?
You could leave them out or try replacing with fennel, eggplant, or roasted cauliflower for a similar flavor Angela.
Very easy recipe, great taste, Thanks.
We will want more sauce. Should I just double the recipe?
Yes, that should work just fine, you may need to add a few minutes to the cook time.
My husband kept telling me that it was the best meal I’d ever made and he’s not even that fond of chicken! He also said that it was “restaurant quality” and to “hold on to this recipe”. When I do make this again, I will increase the amount of sauce I make with it. It “probably” would have been enough without the pasta, but if serving serving with pasta, you will definitely want more sauce. Also, I did not have the Marsala wine. Using the dry white and brandy combination was perfect for us. Thank you, Holly!
Yay! That is great to hear Ronald!
Every bite my husband said….”this is so good”. Used half the amount of chicken breast but full amount of sauce. He told me to tell you!
So glad he enjoyed it Joan!
Great recipe!!
Every thing was as advertised. My restaurant go to for Chicken Marsala closed over a year ago. This is every bit as good and takes no time. Thank you!
Glad to hear you enjoyed it Candace!
Hi Holly,
I prepared your Marsala Chicken for supper this evening and it was delicious! I would definitely double the sauce the next time I make this and increase the wine a little. Thank you for sharing your lovely delicious recipes. I really appreciate and love all your recipes.
Barb
So glad you loved it Barb!
Such flavor and oh so good. Made it for my husband who is Italian. He loved it.
Thanks for the recipe.
So yummy and easy as written. I really wanted more mushrooms and sauce so next time I am doubling that. Thanks for a great and clearly written recipe!
I made this tonite and it was delicious and easy. Thank you!
I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe Van!
This was a very flavorful recipe. I will make this again. I also only used 2 chicken breasts with the required mushrooms; I used 4 stalks of fresh thyme but it was not enough. Also, used 3/4c masala and 1/2 chicken broth. Also, next time, I will not add the 1 1/2T of flour. It made the sauce too thick once it was cooked down the 5 minutes. This is definitely a keeper!
I am thrilled that you enjoyed the marsala recipe Dee Dee!
Love this recipe! We like a lot of sauce so even though we only had 3 breasts we made the sauce as if we had 4. This recipe is a keeper!
So glad to hear that Cindy! Personally I think the sauce is the best part – having extra of that is perfect!
Love your recipe
So glad you love it Cindy!
Made chicken marsala for lunch today…awesome ….thank you!
I am so glad you liked the recipe Lucy!
Great recipe
Thanks Naty!!
I love all your resepis
Thanks Connie!
I love Marsala! Yours sound delicious!
Thank you so much Gina, I hope you love it!
Do you use sweet marsala wine? Thanks!
We use dry marsala for this recipe.
thank you so much for all the delicious and easy recipes. i’ve made so many of them and all have been a hit with the family. love what you’re doing.
Thanks Irene! We are so happy to hear that!
Goodmoring Holly I see that you have recipes in e-book but I would rather have it in an actual book. Not good with computers. So can you send me the book on it instead. Thank you for your time.
I don’t have a book available at this time Gloria. Please enjoy my recipes on Spend With Pennies!