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Chicken Marsala is an Italian-American dish. It is named after the breaded protein and the Marsala wine used in the sauce. The chicken and sauce are typically served alongside or over mashed potatoes or pasta. I recommend serving over Mashed Potatoes for Two.
Sometimes I don’t leave myself enough time to make this light and flavorful recipe. And then it ends up on the table later than I anticipated. This is why it’s good to pay attention to preparation and total times. And to set yourself up as best as possible. With this in mind, I try to accurately reflect those times in my recipes and set up reminders in my notes below to help you, and my future self.
Jump to:
- Getting Started
- Ingredient Recommendations
- Ingredient Alternatives
- Finishing Touches
- Pairings
- Leftovers
- Recipe
Getting Started
If you’re serving over mashed potatoes or pasta, get those started first. Then begin step 1 of the recipe. Gather all ingredients and measuring devices before, or while, the chicken cooks. The sauce comes together quickly so having the chicken marsala sauce ingredients prepped and pre-measured helps.
To pound out the chicken, I use the flat side of a meat mallet. And I place the chicken between paper towels. This pats the chicken dry while reducing raw meat cross-contamination.
Be sure to practice meat safety while handling the raw chicken. Between pounding out, seasoning, and breading the chicken, it’s important to be aware of and minimize cross-contamination. Always be mindful of what the raw chicken has come into contact with and wash your hands, and any other contaminated items, after touching raw meat and before touching anything else including other ingredients, pots, pans, faucet and cabinet handles, and more. Also, before serving, use a meat thermometer to be sure the chicken is at least 165F.
Chicken Marsala Ingredient Recommendations
Mushrooms
For this recipe, you can use canned or fresh mushrooms. I recommend store-brand, pre-sliced mushrooms. Simply drain the mushrooms, and then, when ready, add them to the pan.
If you’re using fresh mushrooms, pre-sliced will save time not having to slice whole mushrooms yourself. Whether using whole or pre-sliced fresh mushrooms, always wash them first. And then pat them dry. This will add to your prep time.
I have made this recipe both ways and I find the taste the same with either canned or fresh mushrooms. So I opt for the convenience of canned, pre-sliced mushrooms.
Marsala Wine
Generally, any brand of Marsala wine will do. If there was a store brand, which I have yet to see, I would buy that to use. That is how much I do not pay attention or put stock in my Marsala wine selection.
Chicken Broth
Store-brand, low-sodium boxed chicken broth is my go-to here. If there is a sale I may consider another option.
You will most likely have leftover broth. In this case, be sure to jot the open date on the container, refrigerate and use, or discard, within two weeks.
Parsley
For convenience, using dried parsley is the way to go. Comparatively, I think it tastes the same as using fresh. So using dried parsley saves time for me. If using fresh, be sure to allot extra prep time to wash and chop it.
Chicken Marsala Ingredient Alternatives
Gluten-Free
Every ingredient in this recipe is gluten-free except for the flour. Simply swap for gluten-free flour. Technically, the flour for breading the chicken could be omitted if you’d like but you will still need flour for the chicken marsala sauce.
Vegetarian
While I haven’t tried it myself, and it is quite a derivation from the recipe, I am inclined to suggest a vegetarian version of Chicken Marsala. Obviously, this would be omitting the chicken (or using a plant-based alternative) and swapping the chicken broth for vegetable broth. In other words, for vegetarians, I would suggest making the marsala sauce with vegetable broth and serving it over pasta.
Chicken Marsala Finishing Touches
When ready, serve in a warmed pasta dish over Mashed Potatoes for Two (recipe coming soon) or pasta. Pasta recommendations include fettuccine or linguine. Top with parsley flakes.
Chicken Marsala Pairings
This dish is great to make on the weekends. At least for me, mainly due to my aforementioned timing challenges. And any leftovers are great on weeknights. If you have the time, pair it with a tossed salad. Roasted carrots make a great accompaniment to Chicken Marsala as well.
Chicken Marsala Leftovers
Use any leftovers within a couple of days. Chicken Marsala reheats well in the microwave or baked in the oven.
Chicken Marsala
Ingredients
Chicken
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast cutlets
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ c all-purpose flour
- ½ tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp olive oil
Sauce
- ½ tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ c finely chopped shallots
- 8 oz sliced mushrooms, canned or fresh
- 1 tsp all-purpose flour
- ⅓ c Marsala wine
- ½ c chicken broth
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley or 2 tsp dried parsley
Instructions
Chicken
- Preheat oven to 200 °F.
- Lightly pound out cutlets to ¼" thick. Season with a pinch each of salt and pepper.
- Place flour in in a shallow dish and lightly dredge the chicken cutlets in the flour shaking off the excess.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter and olive oil to the pan. Swirl until butter has melted. Add the chicken, in batches to prevent overcrowding, and cook until slightly golden on both sides, ~3 minutes per side. Transfer to a baking dish and keep warm in the oven.
Sauce
- Once all of the chicken has been cooked, use the same skillet and add the remaining butter and olive oil. Add the garlic and shallots and cook until soft and golden, ~2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, season with a small pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, ~5 minutes. Sprinkle in the 1 tsp of flour and cook, stirring, for ~30 seconds. Add the Marsala wine, chicken broth and parsley.
- Cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, until thickened, ~2 minutes.
- Return the chicken to the skillet with the mushrooms, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer in the sauce to let the flavors blend, ~4-5 minutes.
- To serve, put a piece of chicken on each of 4 serving plates. Spoon the mushrooms and sauce evenly over top and serve hot.