This easy chicken marsala recipe features golden brown, tender chicken breasts with mushrooms and shallots in a lush, sweet, and savory marsala wine sauce making this chicken marsala THE BEST easy, 30-minute classic chicken skillet dinner.
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 actually an American recipe that got slightly lost in translation once the chicken was used instead of veal. The sweet Italian marsala wine that makes up its glitzy, glazey sauce probably added to its identity crisis. Oh bella!
But no matter where its passport gets stamped, all that really matters is chicken marsala is a certified family favorite chicken dinner that can be made in 30 minutes or less. It’s just another great reason food tastes better when borders mingle.
What is Chicken Marsala Sauce Made of?
With all the flavor loaded in this dish, the big surprise is its short ingredient list.
Here’s what’s in chicken marsala:
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- All-purpose flour
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Canola oil—for frying the chicken (I like canola oil here because of its higher smoke point, but you can totally use extra-virgin olive oil)
- Butter—use it at the beginning and end of this recipe
- Shallot
- Mushrooms—button, brown, shiitake, porcini, or cremini mushrooms, or a combination all add their savory flavor
- Dry Marsala wine—(all of the alcohol evaporates), but make sure you get Marsala wine (in the liquor area, near sherry and vermouth), not “Marsala cooking wine.”
- Chicken stock
- Parsley—a garnish of flat-leaf Italian parsley or curly parsley add sprinkles of freshness and color
How to Make the Chicken Marsala Sauce
Butter adds flavor first. 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.
TIP: Don’t 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.
Also, don’t mistake the sauce for gravy. It should still be glossy, light, and easy to drizzle.
How to Prepare the Chicken Breasts
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are probably the most popular cut for skillet recipes like this. Here’s how to prepare them for cooking.
Slice instead of pounding it out. While many chicken marsala recipe instructions 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.
Flour power. 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.
Select your skillet. Use an aluminum or cast iron 12-inch 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.
What Can You Use in Place of Marsala Wine?
This dry, yet sweet Italian fortified wine is totally unique tasting, so If you don’t have marsala, you can definitely try brandy, sherry, Madeira wine, or even dry white wine but know that the taste will be different.
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.
The Best Easy Chicken Marsala
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
- Trim any excess fat from the chicken breasts and slice 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.
- 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.
- 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). 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. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with egg noodles, pasta, polenta, mashed potatoes, or over rice.
