Easy Chicken Marsala

This easy chicken marsala recipe is an Italian-American classic! Juicy pan-fried chicken is smothered in a marsala cream sauce. This restaurant-quality dish can be on your dinner table in under 30 minutes!

Many restaurants have chicken marsala on their menus, but why not make it at home? It's actually really simple to do. Tender, juicy chicken. Flavorful mushrooms. Marsala wine. Cream. What's not to like?

You may also like my Easy Creamy Pork Marsala.

What is marsala?

Marsala is a fortified wine. I recommend using either semi-secco (semi-sweet) or secco (dry) marsala for this recipe. I used Cantine Pellegrino Fine I.P. Marsala for this recipe. Obviously since this is chicken marsala, you probably don't want to substitute the marsala for anything, but if you're in a pinch, sherry will work.

Chicken marsala ingredients:

• Boneless/skinless chicken breasts
• Cremini mushrooms
• Butter
• Olive oil
• Garlic powder
• Flour 
• Fresh garlic 
• Marsala wine
• Heavy cream 

How to make chicken marsala (overview):

Prep and season your chicken then sear it on both sides until golden and transfer it to a plate. Fry the mushrooms in the remaining butter, then add the garlic and marsala wine, and let the sauce reduce for a couple of minutes. Stir in the cream and add the chicken back into the pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened. (Full ingredients and instructions are in the recipe card below)

What to serve with chicken marsala:

Creamy chicken marsala is delicious served over pasta, mashed potatoes, or rice. You can also serve it with veggies (try my maple roasted beets and carrots) or a side salad. 

A few recipe notes:

• If you prefer, you can pound the chicken so it's thinner vs. cutting it in half lengthwise like I suggest (you may then want to use four chicken breasts and sear the chicken in batches). I like to thin the chicken out so it cooks faster and remains nice and tender.
• This particular version of chicken marsala is meant to be cooked at a fairly high temperature throughout. To get the nice sear on the chicken and to quickly brown the mushrooms, it's necessary that the pan is nice and hot. Only turn the heat down if it's splattering like crazy or you're using copper or cast iron cookware (they conduct heat much more than the regular stuff most of us use on a daily basis). Also, be careful not to overcook the chicken. If you're in doubt, chicken is safe to eat at 165F as indicated by a meat thermometer.
• I don't recommend substituting the heavy cream with anything else; results may vary if you do. Half-and-half or milk will yield a thinner sauce. You may need to add more flour or cornstarch to thicken it up effectively. With that said, some readers have replaced the cream with extra chicken broth and had good results.

I hope you'll love this dish. I think it's the absolute best chicken marsala recipe, but I'm biased. 😉

More creamy chicken recipes you may like:

• Creamy Chicken in White Wine Sauce
• Creamy Bacon Chicken
• Creamy Garlic Chicken
• Creamy Mushroom Chicken
• Creamy Tuscan Chicken
• Creamy Honey Mustard Chicken

Do you ever make chicken marsala at home? Questions? Let me know! 

Easy Chicken Marsala

This easy chicken marsala recipe is an Italian-American classic! Juicy pan-fried chicken is smothered in a marsala cream sauce. Restaurant-quality in under 30 minutes!

4.98 from 37 votes

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Total Time 30 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 4

Calories 428 kcal

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Ingredients

 

• 2 large chicken breasts cut in half lengthwise
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Flour for dredging
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoons butter divided
• 7 ounces cremini mushrooms sliced fairly thin
• 1 large clove garlic minced
• 3/4 cup marsala wine
• 1/2 cup heavy/whipping cream

Instructions

 

• Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise and trim off any remaining fat. Season the chicken with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Coat each piece in flour.
• Heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the chicken and sear it for 4 minutes/side or until golden. Take the chicken out of the pan and set aside.
• Meanwhile, slice the mushrooms into fairly thin pieces (or you can prep them prior to starting cooking... I like to multi-task to save time).
• Add the remaining butter and mushrooms to the skillet and cook them for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned.
• Add the minced garlic and marsala wine to the skillet and let it bubble for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the cream to the skillet, and then add the chicken back in. Cook for another 4-5 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened up a bit. Season with extra salt & pepper if needed. I added a little bit of chopped parsley to finish it off (optional).

Notes

• If you have smaller chicken breasts, there's no need to cut them in half lengthwise, but you will need to cook them a bit longer.
• This is the copper skillet pictured in the photos if you're curious (you can use any skillet to make this recipe).
• Chicken is safe to eat when it's reached an internal temperature of 165F. Use an instant read thermometer to test for doneness. 
• Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.

Nutrition

Calories: 428kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 26gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 136mgSodium: 225mgPotassium: 704mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 734IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 40mgIron: 1mg

Keyword creamy chicken marsala, easy chicken marsala recipe, recipe for chicken marsala

Author Natasha Bull

This post was originally published on December 9, 2015. I periodically go through older blog posts and update the content, photos, and recipes (to make them simpler and more delicious!).