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Chicken Marsala is delicious and decadent, but also easy to make once you track down the right wine. You’ll love the tender cutlets, piles of mushrooms, and the rich, succulent Marsala sauce tying it all together.
If you’re a mushroom lover like I am, Chicken Marsala is one of the best ways around to celebrate your favorite fungi.
Start with thin, quick-cooking chicken breast cutlets lightly dusted with flour. Fry in a mixture of butter and olive oil (butter for the flavor, olive oil for the higher smoking point). Cook a giant pile of mushrooms in the same manner.
Then sauté a winning combination of shallots and garlic, thicken with flour, and deglaze with Marsala wine (a white wine fortified with brandy) and chicken broth. Finally, stir in butter for richness and shine (this is known as monter au beurre, or “mount with butter,” which I never tire of saying).
The thick, glossy sauce with mushrooms is so delicious with the chicken. Serve with mashed potatoes, buttery egg noodles, or other cooked pasta, cooked white rice, or even Classic Risotto.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Chicken breast cutlets: Most grocery stores stock chicken cutlets, but if you can’t find them, set the chicken breasts flat on a cutting board. Working with one breast at a time, place your palm on top of the breast and slice it in half horizontally, cutting all the way through. Repeat with remaining chicken.
- Marsala wine: Marsala wine comes in both dry and sweet varieties, and you are looking for the dry version here. When shopping for Marsala wine, look for the section with fortified wines such as Port, Sherry, and Madeira (these, like Marsala, are fortified by adding a distilled spirit to them).
Step-by-step instructions
- Cover a cutting board completely with a piece of plastic wrap. Add chicken breast cutlets and cover with a second piece of plastic wrap. Pound cutlets using a meat tenderizer or rolling pin to 1/4-inch thickness. Remove plastic wrap and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- In a shallow dish, add flour. Working with one cutlet at a time, dredge in flour and shake off excess. Transfer to a large plate and repeat with remaining cutlets.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. When the foaming subsides, add chicken in a single layer (you may have to work in batches). Fry until the chicken is golden brown on both sides and reaches 160 degrees on an internal thermometer, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate, tent with foil, and repeat with remaining chicken.
- To the empty skillet, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Add the mushrooms and salt to taste (I like ½ teaspoon). Cook until lightly browned, stirring occasionally, about 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to the plate with the chicken.
- To the empty skillet, add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, shallots, and garlic and cook until softened, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon flour and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in Marsala wine and chicken broth and cook, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the sauce has thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining 3 tablespoons butter until melted and season to taste with salt and pepper (I like ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper).
- Return the chicken and mushrooms to the pan with the sauce and toss to coat.
- Serve on a large platter family-style or plate smaller portions individually.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This Chicken Marsala recipe makes 4 servings. I’m assuming 2 cutlets per person from the 1 ½ pounds chicken total but it depends on the size of your cutlets.
- Storage: Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: The cutlets can be pounded out and stored covered in the refrigerator one day in advance.
- PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) status: Like Champagne must come from the Champagne region of France and Gorgonzola must hail from a specific region of Northern Italy, true Marsala wine must be produced in the Marsala region of Sicily.
- More quick chicken dinners: If you’re always on the hunt for more ways to transform chicken breast, you might enjoy Chicken Milanese, Chicken Scallopini, Chicken Piccata, and Chicken Vesuvio.
- More Italian favorites: Round out your Italian Feast with an Antipasto Platter or Bruschetta, baskets of Garlic Bread, and maybe a Caesar Salad. Sip on Marsala wine or White Sangria and enjoy some Cherry Almond Biscotti or Tiramisu for dessert.
Recipe FAQs
Fortified wine is a wine that has a distilled spirit added to it. In the case of Marsala wine, it is usually brandy. Port, sherry, and madeira are other examples of fortified wines.
Marsala wine is fortified with brandy and then typically blended with white grapes (but it could also be blended with red grapes).
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Chicken Marsala
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast cutlets pounded to 1/4-inch thick (see note 1)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour divided
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon olive oil divided
- 8 ounces white button mushrooms sliced
- 2 tablespoons minced shallots
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/3 cup dry Marsala wine (see note 2)
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Cover a cutting board completely with a piece of plastic wrap. Add chicken breast cutlets and cover with a second piece of plastic wrap. Pound cutlets to 1/4-inch thickness. Remove plastic wrap and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- In a shallow dish, add flour. Working with one cutlet at a time, dredge in flour and shake off excess. Transfer to a large plate and repeat with remaining cutlets.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. When the foaming subsides, add chicken in a single layer (you may have to work in batches). Fry until the chicken is golden brown on both sides and reaches 160 degrees on an internal thermometer, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate, tent with foil, and repeat with remaining chicken.
- To the empty skillet, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Add the mushrooms and salt to taste (I like ½ teaspoon). Cook until lightly browned, stirring occasionally, about 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to the plate with the chicken.
- To the empty skillet, add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, shallots, and garlic and cook until softened, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon flour and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in Marsala wine and chicken broth and cook, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the sauce has thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining 3 tablespoons butter until melted and season to taste with salt and pepper (I like ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper).
- Return the chicken and mushrooms to the pan with the sauce and toss to coat. Serve on a large platter family-style or plate smaller portions individually.
Notes
- Chicken breast cutlets: Most grocery stores stock chicken cutlets, but if you can’t find them, set the chicken breasts flat on a cutting board. Working with one breast at a time, place your palm on top of the breast and slice it in half horizontally, cutting all the way through. Repeat with remaining chicken.
- Marsala wine: Marsala wine comes in both dry and sweet varieties, and you are looking for the dry version here. When shopping for Marsala wine, look for the section with fortified wines such as Port, Sherry, and Madeira (these, like Marsala, are fortified by adding a distilled spirit to them).
- Yield: This Chicken Marsala recipe makes 4 servings. I’m assuming 2 cutlets per person from the 1 ½ pounds chicken total but it depends on the size of your cutlets.
- Storage: Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: The cutlets can be pounded out and stored covered in the refrigerator one day in advance.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
