Creamy Chicken Marsala Pasta
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This Creamy Chicken Marsala Pasta takes a classic Italian-American comfort food and transforms it into a complete dinner that’s ridiculously easy to make and will have your family begging for seconds! Tender, juicy chicken thighs with lots of mushrooms in a creamy marsala sauce with your pasta of choice, all cooked in one pot and ready on your dinner table in under 45 minutes, start to finish.
Creamy Chicken Marsala Pasta Recipe
If you love a good Chicken Marsala, you’re going to love this pasta version. The flavors are the same but now you can make this all in one pot, complete with a creamy marsala pasta. A complete dinner, that’s incredibly easy to make and super satisfying.
This recipe features tender and juicy chicken thighs, lots of earthy mushrooms, all cooked together with the pasta of your choice in an incredible creamy marsala sauce. It’s the perfect cozy comfort food, packed with tons of flavor, that’s perfect for a busy weeknight or a Sunday supper.
Why We Love This Recipe
- All In One Pot. Which makes for easy cleanup.
- Best Comfort Food. Chicken and pasta in a creamy, cheesy Marsala sauce, what can be better?
- Incredibly Creamy and Saucy. You won’t be having any dry pasta here, lots of creamy, cheesy sauce in this dish!
- Chicken – I chose boneless skinless chicken thighs in this recipe to get the most tender and juicy chicken, but skinless chicken breast works just as well.
- Mushrooms – You’ll need a pound of white button mushrooms, sliced. You can sub with cremini mushrooms.
- Pasta – Use any small shaped pasta like penne, rotini, elbow macaroni, mafalda, mini shells, etc.
- Marsala Wine – You’ll need a dry Marsala wine which is a fortified wine. Check out the “expert tips” for other wine substitutes and non alcoholic options.
- Onion and Garlic – Essential to flavor our sauce.
- Parmesan Cheese – I recommend freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
- Liquids – We’ll need lots of chicken broth, low sodium preferred, and heavy cream to add lots of creaminess to our sauce.
- Olive oil – Use a good quality olive oil. You can also replace this with 2 tablespoons of butter.
- Cook the chicken. Pat the chicken thigh pieces dry with a paper towel. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or braiser over medium-high heat. Add the chicken thighs to the pot and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for about 5 minutes until the chicken is no longer pink. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Cook the onion and mushrooms. In the same Dutch oven add the mushrooms and onion and cook until the onions are soft and translucent and the mushrooms have browned. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds until aromatic.
- Deglaze with Marsala wine. Add the Marsala wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Transfer the chicken back to the pan and cook for 3 minutes or until the wine starts to reduce a little.
- Add remaining ingredients. Add the pasta, chicken broth, heavy cream to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the Dutch oven and cook for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is cooked al dente.
- Finish the dish. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and cook for another minute. Garnish with parsley and serve.
How To Make Creamy Chicken Marsala In The Instant Pot
This recipe is easily adaptable for your beloved Instant Pot. Here’s how you’ll make it:
- Set your IP to the Sauté mode. Add the olive oil and chicken and cook until no longer pink, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the onion, mushrooms, garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes until onion is tender and translucent.
- Add the marsala wine, pasta, chicken broth, heavy cream to the Instant Pot; stir to combine.
- Press the cancel button, close and lock the lid and seal the valve. Press the manual button and set the time to 5 minutes (high pressure).
- Quick release the pressure according to the manufacturer’s directions. Unlock and open the lid. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and garnish with parsley.
What Is Marsala Wine?
Marsala wine is a fortified wine from Sicily that’s commonly used in cooking to create incredible caramelized sauces. It usually comes as dry or sweet, but for this recipe I recommend using a dry Marsala. Sweet Marsala would sweeten the sauce too much.
Serve This With
Easy Tossed Salad
Skillet Green Beans
Brussels Sprouts Salad
Broccoli Salad
Expert Tips
- While the pasta is cooking, make sure to stir every 5 minutes or so to avoid the sauce sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Incorporate some veggies into the dish, such as peas, broccoli, green beans, etc.
- Be careful with adding additional salt to the dish. Taste after adding the Parmesan cheese, and adjust as necessary.
- While the recipe is best with a dry Marsala wine to get that unique chicken Marsala taste we know and love, 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. 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.
Leftovers
This creamy chicken marsala pasta is just as delicious the next day. Store leftovers in an airtight container or freezer bag in the fridge for up to 3 – 4 days.
Freezing
If you want to freeze your leftovers, let the chicken and pasta cool completely then freeze in an airtight container. Your chicken marsala pasta will stay fresh for up to 3 months in the freezer, if stored properly.
More Delicious Pasta Recipes
- Instant Pot Creamy Ranch Chicken
- Tomato Spinach Chicken Pasta
- Rotini Fiorentina
- Aglio e Olio
- Creamy Carbonara
- Bucatini all’Amatriciana
- Easy Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta
- Creamy Ravioli
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Creamy Chicken Marsala Pasta
Video
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound chicken thighs (boneless and skinless, cut into bite size pieces)
- salt and pepper (to taste)
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 1 pound white mushrooms (quartered or sliced)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 cup marsala wine
- 3 cups chicken broth (low sodium)
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 12 ounces penne pasta (or other small shaped pasta like mafalda)
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
- 1 tablespoon parsley (for garnish)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Cook the chicken. Pat the chicken thigh pieces dry with a paper towel. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or braiser over medium-high heat. Add the chicken thighs to the pot and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for about 5 minutes until the chicken is no longer pink. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Cook the onion and mushrooms. In the same Dutch oven add the mushrooms and onion and cook until the onions are soft and translucent and the mushrooms have browned. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds until aromatic.
- Deglaze with Marsala wine. Add the Marsala wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Transfer the chicken back to the pan and cook for 3 minutes or until the wine starts to reduce a little.
- Add remaining ingredients. Add the pasta, chicken broth, heavy cream to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the Dutch oven and cook for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is cooked al dente.
- Finish the dish. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and cook for another minute. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Equipment
Notes
- While the pasta is cooking, make sure to stir every 5 minutes or so to avoid the sauce sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Incorporate some veggies into the dish, such as peas, broccoli, green beans, etc.
- Be careful with adding additional salt to the dish. Taste after adding the Parmesan cheese, and adjust as necessary.
- While the recipe is best with a dry Marsala wine to get that unique chicken Marsala taste we know and love, 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. 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.
- This creamy chicken marsala pasta is just as delicious the next day. Store leftovers in an airtight container or freezer bag in the fridge for up to 3 – 4 days.
- If you want to freeze your leftovers, let the chicken and pasta cool completely then freeze in an airtight container. Your chicken marsala pasta will stay fresh for up to 3 months in the freezer, if stored properly.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Woweeeee! This was absolutely incredible!
I tenderised chicken breast instead of thigh, and cut into small stir fry sized strips, and added broccoli.
So so good!
So glad you liked it!
Made this last night, as an attempt to recreate a similar dish I love at a restaurant, This chicken Marsala pasta was so delicious & easy to make, the whole family, teens included, loved it. Thank you.
Can this receipe be done in a crockpot?
I haven’t tried it myself, but I don’t see why not! I would not add the pasta until the last half hour though, it might get really mushy otherwise.
It’s delicious but I had a slight technical issue when making it in the instant pot. When I did the quick release, sauce sprayed everywhere. Any idea what happened or how to prevent this?
It’s best to read the manual but what I usually do when I do quick release, I put a towel around the valve, not too tight, you still want to allow the pressure to release, but it keeps it from making a mess or burning yourself.
I got this in your weekly email and made it tonight! I cannot stress how easy it was to make! My partner already has asked that this be put in our regular recipe rotation!
Im a long time subscriber and this is yet another phenomenal recipe by you Jo!
Thank you!! I’m so glad you guys love this recipe. 🙂
I made this on the stovetop and we really enjoyed it. I will make it my Instant Pot next time but noticed there was nothing in the instructions about when to add the pasta. Should the pasta be added in step 2? I have used many of your one pot Instant Pot meals and appreciate you sharing them!
Yes, it’s in step 2, thanks for catching that. Fixed it.