Name: Easy Chicken Marsala Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Ingredients: 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts (pounded); salt and pepper (to taste); 1/2 cup flour; 2 tablespoons avocado oil; 3 tablespoons butter; 16 ounces mushrooms (sliced); 1/2 cup onion (finely chopped); 1 clove garlic (finely chopped); 3/4 cup marsala wine; 3/4 cup chicken broth; 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream; parsley or dill for garnish

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Chicken Marsala Recipe Easy - easy to make, impressive, and out of this world delicious! Made from pan-seared cutlets and sliced mushrooms that are cooked in a creamy Marsala sauce. This Easy Chicken Marsala Recipe tastes amazing with Homemade Mashed Potatoes.

This easy recipe for chicken marsala takes what is normally considered something you’d order off of a restaurant menu and makes it easy enough for all of us home cooks to make any time we want! It’s so easy and so flavorful, you’ll be making this again and again!

Chicken Marsala is made with tenderized chicken cutlets that are pan-fried until golden to lock in the juices then it’s cooked with sliced mushrooms in a creamy marsala sauce that is so good it’ll have you licking your plate clean. This Italian-inspired dish is loaded with authentic flavors that you’ll want to savor in every bite.

It’s classy and comforting all at the same time. This entire dish can be ready in just under 1 hour, so it’s perfect for any night of the week!

When YOU make this Marsala Chicken Recipe, take a picture & tag your Food Creation on Instagram @MunchkinTimeBlog , we would love to see your creation!

What is Chicken Marsala?

This is a dish more often found in the US than it is in Italy and definitely has an American thumbprint on it. It’s made with Sicilian Marsala wine which draws inspiration from the Italian culture.

Made with thin chicken cutlets, otherwise known as scallopini, that are cooked in a skillet and then simmered in a creamy sauce made with savory Marsala wine. Marsala can also be sweet, but for this recipe, we’re sticking with dry wine.

Ingredients Needed

Chicken breasts: Boneless and skinless breasts pounded into cutlets. I recommend pounding them yourself to tenderize them, rather than buying them already thinly sliced.
Salt & pepper: To season the chicken and the flour before adding the pieces to the skillet to brown.
Flour: Providing a coating on the chicken helps to create a lovely seared exterior with a golden, almost crispy outside to the juicy inside.
Oil: As always, I prefer avocado oil but you can use what you like.
Butter: Using butter with the oil to cook the chicken adds a ton of flavor and also helps the chicken to brown nicely without burning.
Sliced mushrooms: These are pretty flexible. Slice your own or buy them pre-sliced. I use cremini mushrooms (baby Bellas) but there’s no right or wrong choice here!
Onion & garlic: As always the perfect combination of flavors to start off the sauce.
Marsala cooking wine: It’s a fortified wine that can be found at your local grocery store.
Chicken broth: If you have a bit of extra time I suggest using homemade chicken broth whenever possible. Store-bought is fine too!
Heavy whipping cream: Needed to give the sauce its signature creamy consistency.
Garnish: A pop of fresh herbs like parsley or dill is the perfect way to finish off this dish!

How to Make Chicken Marsala Easy at Home:

Step 1: Place chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap and use a meat pounder, or rolling pin if you don’t have one, to pound the chicken to ¼ inch thickness. Season on both sides.

Step 2: In a mixing bowl, mix the flour, salt, and pepper, and coat the chicken with the flour on both sides.

Step 3: Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear 2 chicken breasts and cook for 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Transfer the chicken to a plate and cover with a lid or foil to keep them warm. Repeat with remaining cutlets.

Step 4: To the same skillet, add butter, mushrooms, and onion to sauté for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally and then add the garlic to cook for another 1 minute.

Step 5: Pour in the Marsala wine and chicken broth and deglaze the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. This means you’ll be scraping the bottom of the pan lifting the brown bits into the liquid for added flavor. Simmer until reduced by half and season to taste, if needed.

Step 6: Stir in the cream and back in the chicken, making sure the sauce is covering the chicken. Cook for about 2 minutes until the chicken is heated through, then garnish with fresh dill and serve over mashed potatoes or pasta.

Tips for Chicken Marsala Recipe

Slice large chicken breasts first. If you are using large chicken breasts that are very plump, before tenderizing them, slice them in half horizontally first. This way it will be much easier to pound them down to ¼” thick.
The flour from the chicken helps to thicken the sauce. Do not worry if your sauce isn’t quite thick enough, it will happen eventually. Just be sure not to skip dredging the chicken in the flour.
Add the cream in slowly, to avoid curdling. You also want to make sure not to bring your sauce to a rapid boil.
Give the wine time to evaporate. Marsala wine can have a strong alcoholic taste, so patience is key. It will eventually cook off and leave behind the residual deliciousness, but it takes a bit of time to simmer. I know it's tempting to hurry it up, but it's important to leave it alone!

What to Serve with Chicken Marsala

I have a few potato recipes including cheesy mashed potatoes with caramelized onion, or scalloped potatoes that would be great.

I’m a sucker for simplicity sometimes and my kids just adore old-fashioned Instant Pot mashed potatoes, so that’s what we normally have.

Can I Replace Marsala Wine?

Normally I would encourage you to replace the wine in a cream sauce with more broth, or even a different type of wine, but for this recipe, I’m going to say no. It wouldn’t be Marsala chicken without the Marsala wine!

If you’re looking for a similar recipe that is a bit more flexible, you’ll love this creamy chicken mushroom recipe.

Can I Make Chicken Marsala Using Chicken Thighs?

Certainly! Chicken breasts are easy to turn into cutlets and cook faster, but if you want to try boneless chicken thighs, go ahead. They’re sure to turn out just as juicy with maybe even more flavor. Let me know how that goes.

How to Tell When My Chicken is Cooked?

If you have one, use a thermometer to know exactly when it’s ready. It should read 165 degrees F. Anything over that, you run the risk of overcooking the chicken, and that’s easy to do with chicken breasts. Just monitor and follow the timing in the instructions. You should have no problem!