This Chicken Marsala is an Italian-American classic. A quick and easy recipe of pan-fried chicken cutlets in a mushroom and Marsala wine sauce. Packed full of delicious flavors, my version includes shiitake mushrooms, smoky prosciutto, golden pan-fried chicken in a creamy Marsala wine sauce.
Easy Chicken Marsala Recipe
You’ve probably ordered chicken Marsala at a restaurant, once or twice before. But did you know it’s incredibly easy to make at home and it’s ready in just 30 minutes. That’s a lot faster than driving out to a restaurant and ordering it. Not only is this dish super satisfying, but it’s packed full of earthy mushrooms, perfectly crisp chicken, and some cured prosciutto, it all comes complete in a creamy Marsala sauce.
This Americanized Italian recipe is so good, it’s addictive. The best thing about this chicken marsala is how quick it is to put together and how well it pairs with just about anything! I love to throw this over some perfectly al dente pasta, mashed potatoes, or some rice.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Chicken
- Chicken – Today we’re using chicken breasts, boneless and skinless. You can either pound them thin, or simply cut them in half horizontally. This will work if the breasts you’re working with are quite larger, if they’re on the smaller size, it’s better to pound them with a meat mallet.
- Flour – All purpose flour to dredge our chicken in and to thicken our sauce.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper.
- Olive oil and butter – We’re going to brown the butter. The olive oil will increase the smoke point and prevent the butter from burning.
Mushroom Marsala Sauce
- Mushrooms – Shiitake mushrooms for their earthy and meaty flavor, however you can use regular white or cremini mushrooms.
- Garlic – Use as much or little as you like.
- Prosciutto – Prosciutto is a dry-cured ham that is usually thinly sliced and served uncooked. If you don’t have prosciutto you could use bacon as well or just skip it completely.
- Wine – Marsala wine or another dry red wine, but to be traditional stick with a dry Marsala.
- Broth – Chicken broth, low sodium to control the salt content of our dish.
- Oregano – I love to add a little bit of dried oregano to our mushroom sauce, but feel free to sub it with your favorite herb.
- Heavy Cream – You can skip this ingredient, if you’re not looking for a creamy sauce. I’ve made this both ways, and both versions are delicious.
- Parsley – Fresh and chopped up fine to be sprinkled over top as garnish.
How To Make Chicken Marsala
Chicken
- Prepare the chicken: If you’re using 2 large chicken breasts, cut them in half lengthwise, no need to pound them thinner. If using smaller breasts, place the chicken breasts in between plastic wrap and pound them with a meat mallet so that they’re about 1/2 inch in thickness. Make sure not to break the meat.
- Dredge the chicken: Add the cup of flour to a shallow plate, add salt, pepper, and mix well. Dredge each piece of chicken breast through flour and set aside.
- Cook the chicken: In a large skillet heat 1 tbsp of olive oil with 1 tbsp butter. Add the chicken to the skillet, and cook until they starts to brown, about 3 minutes per side. It’s ok if it’s not cooked through completely.
Mushroom Marsala Sauce
- Form the base of the sauce: In the same skillet add the other tbsp of olive oil. Add garlic and prosciutto and cook for about a minute. Add mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes or until they start to brown slightly.
- Finish the sauce: Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of flour over the mushrooms and stir. Add the wine, chicken broth, oregano to the skillet and stir and make sure you scrape the bottom of the pan. Stir in the heavy cream, if using. Taste the sauce and adjust with salt and pepper as needed. Let the sauce simmer for about 3 minutes. The sauce will start to thicken a little.
- Complete the dish: Add the cooked chicken back to skillet and cook for another 5 minutes until sauce reduces and thickens a bit more. Garnish with parsley and serve.
What Is Chicken Marsala?
This classic Italian-American dish features perfectly crisp and light chicken breast in a mushroom Marsala wine sauce. It’s a popular restaurant dish, but can be made at home in just 30 minutes.
Can I Use Chicken Thighs
You can actually make this chicken marsala with boneless skinless chicken thighs as well. But I would still go through the process of pounding the thighs between two pieces of parchment paper so that they’re all the same thickness. This will ensure even cooking.
Can I Use Sweet Marsala Wine?
I don’t recommend using sweet Marsala since it would sweeten the sauce quite a bit. This dish is best with a dry Marsala wine.
Expert Tips
- While the recipe mentions the use of Marsala wine to obtain the delicious sweet taste for your chicken, there are quite a few substitutes you can use for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic dietary needs. The alcoholic drinks you can sub your Marsala wine with are: Madeira, fortified wine, dry Sherry, Port or Pinot Noir, while the non-alcoholic drinks you ca use instead of Marsala are: white grape juice, figs-rosemary-sage puree, red grape juice/cranberry juice, or prunes/figs/plums with balsamic vinegar. Just keep in mind if you don’t use dry Marsala wine, this dish won’t be Chicken Marsala.
- After adding the Marsala wine, make sure you allow it enough time to cook off the strong alcohol flavor, so that it doesn’t overpower the dish.
- Keep the chicken warm while making the sauce by covering it with foil, or if your oven has a warming drawer, use that.
- Always opt for a low sodium chicken broth, this way you can control how salty your dish is.
Leftovers
Fridge
If you end up having any leftovers, you can store your chicken marsala in an airtight container once it cooled down to room temperature and keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freezer
If you decide to freeze the chicken, make sure it is cooled down completely before you store it in a freezer friendly zipper bag or airtight container. It keeps well in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Other Delicious Chicken Recipes To Try
Looking for more recipes? Follow on… My Newsletter Pinterest Facebook Instagram
Chicken Marsala
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breasts boneless and skinless
- 1 cup all-purpose flour for dredging chicken
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 4 slices Prosciutto chopped
- 4 ounce shiitake mushrooms sliced
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup Marsala wine
- ½ cup chicken broth low sodium
- ¾ cup heavy cream optional
- parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken: If you're using 2 large chicken breasts, cut them in half lengthwise, no need to pound them thinner. If using smaller breasts, place the chicken breasts in between plastic wrap and pound them with a meat mallet so that they're about 1/2 inch in thickness. Make sure not to break the meat.
- Dredge the chicken: Add the cup of flour to a shallow plate, add salt, pepper, and mix well. Dredge each piece of chicken breast through flour and set aside.
- Cook the chicken: In a large skillet heat 1 tbsp of olive oil with 1 tbsp butter. Add the chicken to the skillet, and cook until they starts to brown, about 3 minutes per side. It's ok if it's not cooked through completely.
- Form the base of the sauce: In the same skillet add the other tbsp of olive oil. Add garlic and prosciutto and cook for about a minute. Add mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes or until they start to brown slightly.
- Finish the sauce: Sprinkle 1 tbsp of flour over the mushrooms and stir. Add the wine, chicken broth and oregano to the skillet and stir and make sure you scrape the bottom of the pan. Stir in the heavy cream, if using. Taste the sauce and adjust with salt and pepper as needed. Let the sauce simmer for about 3 minutes. The sauce will start to thicken a little.
- Complete the dish: Add the cooked chicken back to skillet and cook for another 5 minutes until sauce reduces and thickens a bit more. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Video
Recipe Notes
- While the recipe mentions the use of Marsala wine to obtain the delicious sweet taste for your chicken, there are quite a few substitutes you can use for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic dietary needs. The alcoholic drinks you can sub your Marsala wine with are: Madeira, fortified wine, dry Sherry, Port or Pinot Noir, while the non-alcoholic drinks you ca use instead of Marsala are: white grape juice, figs-rosemary-sage puree, red grape juice/cranberry juice, or prunes/figs/plums with balsamic vinegar. Just keep in mind if you don’t use dry Marsala wine, this dish won’t be Chicken Marsala.
- After adding the Marsala wine, make sure you allow it enough time to cook off the strong alcohol flavor, so that it doesn’t overpower the dish.
- Keep the chicken warm while making the sauce by covering it with foil, or if your oven has a warming drawer, use that.
- Always opt for a low sodium chicken broth, this way you can control how salty your dish is.
- Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen in an air tight container for up to 3 months.
Jo,
This was a spectacular success. I’m a butcher, not a chef, and your recipe is so clear and easy to follow, I couldn’t go wrong. I love your recipes and try a lot of them out, and they’ve never let me down yet. Keep up the good work!
Thanks, Dave!!
Delicious! I added scallions to mine and a little more butter!
this is a KEEPER
Made this last night big hit so easy so delicious.
Glad you liked it!
Can I use butter flavored olive oil instead of butter in the picCata and Marsala recipes?
You can! The only thing about olive oil vs butter is that is won’t mix into the sauce quite as well.
Can I use dried shiitake mushrooms?
You can, but you’d have to soak them in water first.
I loved this recipe. Once again Jo you out done yourself. The favors are amazing! Your our six for six:)
Awesome, glad you liked the recipes!
loved loved loved this recipe, particularly with the prosciutto and oregano! Added 8 oz of button mushrooms and doubled the broth and flour as my husband likes extra gravy and mushrooms. Looking forward to trying chicken piccata next. I wished though I could see the print better when I print recipes… Too light.
Glad you liked it Carol. Will look into the print button.
Wonderful recipe….. I made this last night for dinner and we have a new family favorite!
That’s great, glad you guys liked it. 🙂
Jo its really a awesome dish I love to cook chicken anytime, but your recipe has really attracted me and forced to me cook same as your way so seriously sexy dish by sexy lady plz don’t mind haan.plz keep posting more authentic chicken and lamb dishes
I love prosciutto!!! Love that you combined all these amazing flavors together. Can’t wait to try it out, PINNED!
Thanks Senika, hope you try it, it was yummy and gone in no time. LOL
Wow that looks a-may-zing!!!! Looks so savory and perfect for a quick weeknight meal! Cant wait to try.