Homemade chicken marsala is a weeknight-friendly dinner that comes together in just 35 minutes. The sauce is silky smooth despite being made without heavy cream!
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“I made this dish for the first time last night. It was so good and very easy to make!!!” -Jen, FoodieCrush reader
An Easy Italian Classic Made in One Skillet!
Head to your favorite Italian restaurant and you’ll likely find chicken marsala on the menu, nestled between other favorites like Caesar salad, pasta primavera, and the beloved chicken parmesan.
But just like those other mentioned recipes above, chicken marsala isn’t technically Italian. This presumed Italian classic is an American recipe that got slightly lost in translation once the chicken was used instead of veal.
Sweet Italian marsala wine makes up the lush, silky, creamy sauce without using any cream. But no matter where its passport gets stamped, all you need to know is this is the best chicken marsala recipe.
Enjoy!
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
Avoid “Marsala cooking wine.” You’ll find good Italian marsala wine in the liquor area of your local grocery store, near the sherry and vermouth. “Cooking wine” has salt and sugar added to it — which preserves its shelf life, but that’s about the only good thing I can say about it.
Want to keep this recipe alcohol-free? When reduced, the alcohol evaporates so all that’s left is its delicious flavor. But, if you want a non-alcoholic substitute for marsala wine, try white grape juice or this combination of grape juice, vanilla, and sherry vinegar.
Take care not to reduce the sauce too much where it can evaporate and disappear! Taste the sauce as it reduces by half, where the wine flavor will mellow and the sauce will thicken.
What’s in This Recipe?
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts — We’ll butterfly the chicken instead of pounding it to get the ideal thickness.
- All-purpose flour — The chicken isn’t breaded, but the flour is used here to lightly coat our chicken breasts and help them develop a nice fond on the pan for the sauce.
- Canola oil — For lightly frying the chicken (I like canola oil here because of its higher smoke point, but you can use extra-virgin olive oil)
- Butter — Use it at the beginning and end of this recipe.
- Shallot— Lends such a yummy flavor to the marsala sauce.
- Mushrooms — Button, brown, shiitake, porcini, cremini mushrooms, or a combination all add their savory flavor.
- Dry Marsala wine — This dry, yet sweet Italian fortified wine is totally unique tasting, so If you don’t have marsala, you can try brandy, sherry, Madeira wine, or even dry white wine but know that the taste will be different.
- Chicken stock — This is the base of the marsala sauce.
- Parsley — A garnish of flat-leaf Italian parsley or curly parsley add sprinkles of freshness and color.
How to Make Chicken Marsala Without Any Cream
- Slice the chicken instead of pounding it out. While many chicken marsala recipes include pounding the chicken breasts thin, I skip that step. Instead, I slice the chicken breasts in half lengthwise to achieve that thinner effect.
- Simply season. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper, then dredge lightly in flour, tapping off the extra.
Heidi’s Tip: Dredging the chicken in flour not only adds a browning effect but also thickens the sauce when the chicken finishes cooking near the end of the recipe. This is how we’re able to make this easy chicken marsala recipe without cream!
- Pan fry the chicken. Use a 12-inch stainless steel skillet or 12-inch cast iron skillet for maximum browning ability and room to brown the chicken cutlets. Avoid crowding the pan and cook the chicken in batches. If needed, add an extra swirl of oil for the second batch.
- Sauté the mushrooms and shallots in the same skillet. Sautéing the shallot and mushroom in melted butter adds fat, and that adds flavor. Use half of the butter here, and save the rest.
- Marsala makes things sweet. Some recipes suggest adding the marsala wine first to cook down with the mushrooms, then adding in the chicken broth. I’ve followed that technique before, but after forgetting to do it in two steps, I discovered it didn’t matter. Now I add the marsala and chicken broth to the mushroom and shallots at the same time, where I found doing so infuses deepens the sauce’s flavor even more as it reduces.
- The last touch — more butter! Adding butter while reducing the sauce at the end, a classic technique gives the sauce its body and gloss. It thickens the sauce and adds another layer of lush creaminess.
Heidi’s Tip: If you love chicken marsala, then you’ve got to make a batch of chicken marsala gnocchi next!
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below, leave a comment to tell us what you think, and tag me on Instagram @foodiecrush.
Easy Chicken Marsala Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt , divided
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper , divided
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 6 tablespoons butter , divided
- 2 cups brown mushrooms , quartered
- 2 tablespoons shallots , finely chopped
- ¾ cup marsala wine
- ¾ cup chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons parsley , finely chopped
Instructions
- Prep the chicken breasts. Trim any excess fat from the chicken breasts and slice them in half lengthwise. Season both sides of the chicken breasts evenly with ½ teaspoon kosher salt and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, then dredge each breast in the flour, shaking off any excess.
- Cook the chicken. Heat 2 tablespoons of the canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 4 pieces of the chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter or sheet pan and cover with foil. Continue with the remaining chicken (add another tablespoon of oil if needed) and add the cooked chicken to the platter when done.
- Sauté the veggies. Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in the skillet and add the mushrooms and shallot. Sauté over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are wilted and the water from the mushrooms has evaporated (about 10 minutes).
- Finish the dish. Add the marsala wine and the chicken stock. Bring to a boil and season with remaining ½ teaspoons of kosher salt and black pepper. Stir in the remaining butter and cook over medium heat until reduced by half. Add the chicken and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Garnish and serve. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with egg noodles, pasta, polenta, mashed potatoes, or over rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Storage Tips
Leftover chicken marsala will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and can be frozen in a freezer-safe, airtight container for up to 3 months.
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Bonnie Danner
Superb; I added a small amount of minced garlic.
I’m so glad you liked it Bonnie! Thanks so much for the 5-star rating and the garlic tip!
Dennis Creaghan
Good recipe but a little confusing in the reference to ” Dry yet sweet Marsala wine” in the Notes. There are two types of Marsala wine: there is dry and there is sweet there is no “dry sweet”. I think this recipe is best with the Dry type.
Thanks for the clarification Dennis! Hope you enjoyed the recipe.
Jen
I made this dish for the first time last night. It was so good and very easy to make!!!
Glad you liked it Jen!
Melissa
I truly love this recipe. Don’t mistake easy for dull and boring, because this dish is full of fascinating flavor. My family and I look forward to eating this dish a couple of times a month if not more.
Peggy
Sounds delicious! Did you use dry or sweet marsala wine?
You can use either one.
Sabrina
great dish, al of these ingredients (except the flour, but can substitute almond flour for a,p.) work well with my diet, and haven’t had marsala in a long time, so thank you for this recipe!
JanET Bradley
Stupid question, can I make this recipe without the mushrooms …….I know I know. But I hate them, but love everything about this recipe.
Yes you can Janet. Simply leave them out of the sauté and continue with the rest of the recipe :) I think you’ll still love it!