Chicken marsala is a one pot, 30 minute meal made with golden brown chicken cutlets, savory mushrooms and a rich marsala wine sauce that is every bit as tasty as an restaurant version!
EASY CHICKEN MARSALA (30 MINUTE MEAL)
Looking for other great one pot recipes? Try my chicken stroganoff, chicken parmesan pasta, chicken and dirty rice, or cheesesteak pasta!
How many of you have ordered chicken Marsala from a restaurant before? The chicken is thin, crispy around the edges, and coated in a luxuriously flavorful sauce. And of course, the mushrooms!! Mmmm, the mushrooms. While the basics of the recipe are very similar across all versions, the sauce can vary from creamy to dark. For this version, I chose to keep the sauce dark and rich, but feel free to add a splash of cream to lighten it up if you’d like!
It’s noooooo secret that mushrooms and I go wayyyy back. I LOVE them. From slow cooked, boldly roasted, or stuffed… I can’t seem to get enough!
I love that chicken Marsala is a one-pot dish… easy cleanup!!
USE THE RIGHT MARSALA WINE
Marsala wine is a fortified wine that can be found in grocery stores. There are two main kinds; sweet and dry. Since chicken marsala is a savory dish, dry is definitely recommended. If you’ve never had marsala wine before, it’s very deep in flavor, and won’t disappoint in this dish!
SUBSTITUTION OPTIONS FOR MARSALA WINE
If you don’t have or can’t find marsala wine, my favorite substitution is Madeira wine, or even a nice dry white wine. However, if you don’t want to use any alcohol at all, you can use an equal amount of beef broth or stock, but bear in mind, this won’t have the same classic flavor.
Asparagus isn’t a traditional part of the dish, but since it’s in season right now, I couldn’t resist grabbing some when I was at the store. It looked so vibrant! I like to blanch mine in boiling water for a few minutes, then shock it in an ice bath. Then I just chopped it and tossed it right into the pan with the chicken Marsala for some great flavor, not to mention great color 🙂
HOW TO MAKE RESTAURANT-QUALITY CHICKEN MARSALA
- Use quality ingredients! This recipe doesn’t have a long ingredient list, so each ingredient needs to be amazing. Remember, quality doesn’t have to equal expensive.
- Either slice chicken breasts in half (horizontally) into thinner pieces, or pound them until they are about 1/2 inch thick. Not only does this help make this a 30 minute meal by allowing the chicken to cook through quickly, but it also ensures that each bite isn’t all chicken and nothing else.
- Don’t be afraid of those browned bits on the bottom of your pan after cooking the chicken. Those bits = TONS of flavor. Just use a wooden spoon to gently scrape the bottom of the pan as the mushrooms and onion are cooking.
While it may look fancy, this is a meal that’s perfect for a busy weeknight! Just 30 minutes is all it takes, and you could be sitting down to this amazing meal.
GREAT SIDE DISH OPTIONS FOR CHICKEN MARSALA
- Crockpot (no boil) Mashed Potatoes
- Cheesy Roasted Broccoli
- Semi-Homemade Garlic Bread
- Bourbon Glazed Carrots
- Caesar Salad (with homemade dressing – it’s so easy, I promise!)
PRO TIPS FOR MAKING CHICKEN MARSALA:
- The flour used is for not only making the chicken nice and crispy, but for thickening the sauce as it cooks.
- Use a combination of olive oil and butter when cooking the chicken. The olive oil ensures the butter doesn’t burn, and the butter lends amazing richness and flavor to the dish.
- To save yourself some time, some grocery stores offer “thin cut” chicken, or chicken cutlets. These are a great option since they don’t need any slicing or pounding to be nice and thin.
- Use any combination of mushrooms you like. I’ve used all cremini (or baby portobello), all white button, and a combination of both.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts sliced horizontally or pounded until 1/2" thick (so you have 4 thin pieces of chicken)
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 5 Tbsp olive oil , divided
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter , divided
- 8 oz white button mushrooms sliced
- 8 oz cremini mushrooms sliced
- 2 Tbsp shallots (or your favorite onion) minced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2/3 cup dry Marsala wine
- 2/3 cup beef stock
- sprig of fresh thyme (optional)
- Fresh parsley minced, for garnish
Instructions
- To a large pan or skillet, add 2 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter and heat over MED-HIGH heat.
- Sprinkle pounded chicken with salt and pepper on both sides, then lightly dredge in the 1/3 cup flour. Shake off excess flour and add chicken to hot pan. Work in batches if needed, as over-crowding the pan will prevent the chicken from crisping up.
- Cook chicken about 3-4 minutes per side, until golden.
- Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Add 2 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter to the pan and add mushrooms.
- Saute about 5-8 minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper about half-way through cooking.
- Remove mushrooms to plate with the chicken and set aside.
- Add remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil, then add shallots and garlic. Saute about 1 minute, until soft and fragrant.
- Sprinkle in the 1 Tbsp flour and stir to coat. Cook for a minute to get the flour taste out.
- Pour in Marsala wine and beef stock, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
- Cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes, or until sauce is slightly thickened.
- Slide chicken and mushrooms back into the pan, making sure to get all the juices from the plate into the pan - that's pure flavor there!
- Add 1 Tbsp butter to the center of the pan, toss a sprig of thyme in there if desired, then cover the pan and let cook about 2 minutes.
- Stir and spoon sauce over chicken.
- Garnish with parsley if desired and serve.
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Chef Tips
2. Can be served over pasta, mashed potatoes, rice, quinoa, veggies, whatever you'd like. 3. If you want asparagus in your recipe, like in my photos, here are those instructions:
- Blanch asparagus in boiling water for about 2 minutes, then shock them in a bowl of ice water.
- Dry asparagus on paper towels, then add them to the pan when you cover it and cook it the last two minutes.
Video
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Shirley says
This was totally delicious! I had to use chicken broth and will buy beef next time for deeper flavor. I threw the mushrooms and onions in together and used garlic oil for the garlic flavor. I never took the mushrooms out and it worked out great!
Carrie Thornton says
Excellent recipe…made it for my family. Now I’m making it for neighbor’s that need meals. Easy and delicious!
Ginger Beane says
This was so delicious!! My husband loved it!! Never thought of using 2 types of mushrooms and beef broth! Definitely a keeper!😀
kara says
this recipe was quick and easy to follow,the suggestions was spot on .most of the instructions
were also easy to follow . when you are employed and have to come home to a family
and cook the greatest feelings is when the recipe is quick and easy ,and turns out delicious .
Sandy says
Could this recipe be made with canned mushrooms. If so, should I change anything ? Thanks
The Chunky Chef says
Canned mushrooms definitely have a different texture than fresh, but if that’s what you have on hand, you could try it. Without testing it myself I can’t say for certain, but I would drain them and pat them dry. They also won’t need as long in the pan, maybe 3-4 minutes.
Brian says
Love this recipe. I adapted it a bit, used dried porcini (my fresh shrooms had gone bad), and put the broth from rehydrating them instead of beef stock. Huge flavor addition!
Nikhil babu Bayya says
Awww…… very Delicious tasty combination ever i cooked for my wife on her birthday… she was very surprised thanks for sharing…….!!
Chris Y says
Need at least double the sauce. I used 1 cup each of broth and wine for 2 chicken breasts. I doubled the garlic. My husband and i loved it. I had to use Marsala cooking wine. I didn’t salt chicken and used low sodium broth because cooking wine contains salt.
Nicole K. says
This is delish!! I used red onion only because I did not have shallots. I had to use garlic powder so I added that to the broth and marsla wine mix, which ended up being Hennessy and Stella rose red wine! But the flavor was amazing!! thank you for the recipe and when I go shopping I will be sure to have the exact ingredients as I am sure the flavor will be even more awesome!! the directions were so easy!
Summer says
I made this today and everybody absolutely loved it. Came out amazing, Only thing is I didn’t have marsala wine so subbed it with balsamic vinegar instead and you wouldn’t even notice the difference. Amazing recipe
Sachin Diwakar says
This is one of the most incredible recipes and most delicious as I am a big fan of chicken…I can’t wait to try it…Thanks for sharing…!
Chrissy says
YES! This recipe is so savory and flavorful, I wouldn’t change a thing. It makes a perfect amount of sauce to drench your chicken and pasta in. Thank you Chunky Chef for a new go to recipe!!
Ali Davis says
This was absolutely delicious. So easy, tasty and very minimal clean up (like 5 min max clean up). My fiance is a very picky eater and very particular with his preferences. I stumbled upon your website and this is the first recipe I made from it, and he absolutely loved it. I think I hit the jackpot with your flavors. I didn’t have beef stock nor marsala wine so I substituted white wine, a little brown sugar, dry beef au jus mix (2 tbs) and bourbon instead. I followed everything else in your recipe and I turned out superb. thank you!
Becky says
LOL!! So you made a totally different recipe, basically? I made this exact recipe, and it is delicious. I have made marsala many times, but the standout is the idea of using beef, rather than chicken broth here. Also, it’s not technically chicken marsala without marsala wine. Beautiful blend of flavors. I made it for a family of four, and everyone loved it. The only thing I would do differently is double the yummy sauce next time. We served it over angel hair. Great recipe as it is written. Thank you!
Rahul kamble says
I think should try this recipe all the recipe item are easily available for me thanks Amanda this wonderful recipe.
Jennifer says
This was the first time I ever made chicken marsala it was fantastic.
Ed says
First time making this dish and I gotta say, it turned out wonderful. The instructions were easy to read and easy to follow. I used a store bought Marsala “wine” and the dish still turned out good. I will definitely do this again, next time with a better Marsala.
MJ says
Hi! I loved it. Could I use veal or other meat instead as a change? Thanks!
The Chunky Chef says
Glad you loved it! Yes, I think veal or thinly pounded pork chops would work well.
Bruce Noel says
This recipe is highly recommended.
Ok I am a budding Chef. I made this recipe as a test for a large Christmas dinner. It was awesome according to my family. We live in an area with lmany Italian restaurants so they had lots to compare. They also said it was the best they ever had and they are not prone to over compliment. Of course I also ate it and it was delicious.
Two modifications: I use Baby Bella mushrooms and vegetarian bullion (tastes like beef bullion)
Fallon says
I just wanted to say that i love your recipes. Your roasted garlic cream sauce and jalepeno mac and cheese are amazing!
I want to make this chicken Marsala but i want to make sure there is a lot of sauce to serve this with a box of linguine. Should I double/ triple all the ingredients ( besides the chicken) or are there some ingredients I should not triple the measurements for?
Thanks!
The Chunky Chef says
I’m so glad you enjoy the recipes! I would double or triple all the ingredients except for chicken, salt and pepper, and flour. You might want to taste the sauce to see if it needs a pinch of salt or pepper, since the proportions will be different 🙂
John McDonald says
So easy to follow and execution was spot on. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to get into Italian comfort food. We served it over a bed of fettuccine tossed in olive oil and sea salt and it was a big hit. Thanks so much.