Everything we love about classic chicken marsala with a few twists to make it even better. Our recipe for a delicious Marsala wine and mushroom sauce is simple and made in one pan for easy cleanup.
Chicken Marsala is a classic for a reason, and this recipe is my absolute favorite way to make it. Although you’ll often see it with chicken breasts, it’s the chicken thighs that make this Italian-American dish so special. They stay incredibly juicy and tender, which I love. I actually use chicken thighs for most of ours chicken recipes.
I love to serve this Chicken Marsala with a simple side salad or on the side of a bed buttered noodles. It’s also incredible creamy polenta or Fettuccine Alfredo (The ultimate comfort food combo if you ask me!) I’m sure it will become a new favorite and I can’t wait for you to try it!
How to make the best chicken marsala
We do two things a little differently when we make chicken marsala. first, we like to use chicken thighs instead of the more traditional chicken breasts. They taste incredible and we recently found them to be on sale for a lot cheaper than buying skinless chicken breasts.
Whether you use chicken thighs or chicken breasts, The best chicken Marsala trick is to pound the chicken thinly, then dredge it in flour. You don’t need a lot of flour at all, the chicken is a thin coating.When the chicken is added to the hot oil, the flour helps the chicken to brown, and the batter you did earlier results in perfectly tender chicken.
After the chicken is cooked (which takes about 10 minutes), you can move on to the sauce, which is made in the same pan you cooked the chicken in.
The sauce is simple: mushrooms, onions (that’s the second thing we do a little differently), garlic, Marsala wine, chicken stock, and a little butter. It’s not that common to see onions in this dish, or in our case, pearls onions: We really like to add them though.
We also like to add a handful of fresh cherry tomatoes to the pan right at the end. As they begin to heat up, they leave a slight acidity on the dish. Plus, the pop of color in such a brown dish is really nice.
Choosing Marsala wine, storing it and what to do with it
In our recipe, we call for dry Marsala wine, but if you already have it on hand, sweet will work. We like to buy mid-priced Marsala wine from the $5 or less options you can sometimes find at the grocery store is
If you’re worried about buying a whole bottle of wine just for one recipe, here are two recipes you might like that will help you use up the bottle: Our recipe for tiramisuthis Spaghetti with spinach pesto and turkey meatballs. Or, save it just for this recipe. The good thing about Marsala wine is that it will last a long time (we’ve left it open for months with no problems). Either keep it in the fridge or in a cooler, darker area of your kitchen.This also applies to other fortified wines, think Madeira.
Our favorite chicken marsala
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TOTALLY
Chicken Marsala is a classic for a reason, and our version offers a few tasty twists.We use tender, flavorful chicken thighs instead (although our recipe works great with breast, too). pearl onions and juicy cherry tomatoes to our Marsala sauce. These simple twists make the best chicken Marsala I’ve ever made. We know you’ll love it.
4 servings
You will need it
1 ½ pounds (680 g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs or chicken breasts
1/3 cup (43 g) all-purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
8 oz (226 g) cremini mushrooms, sliced, about 3 cups
1 cup (150 g) frozen pearl onions, thawed, as desired
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 cup (120 ml) dry Marsala wine
1/2 cup (120 mL) low sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon of butter
1 cup (150 g) cherry tomatoes, halved
Directions:
1:Place the chicken pieces side by side on a cutting board and cover with plastic wrap. Gently pound the chicken with a mallet or rolling pin until they are about 1/4 inch thick. Season with salt and pepper.
2:Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
3:While the oil is heating, sift the flour into a shallow dish, then dredge both sides of the chopped chicken pieces in the flour, shaking off any excess.
4:When the oil is hot and shimmering, slide the chicken into the pan and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer the cooked chicken in a single layer to a large plate.
5:00Reduce the heat to medium-low, then add the mushrooms to the pan used to cook the chicken (add a little more oil if the pan is dry.) Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and the moisture has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
6:00Add the pearl onions and garlic. Season with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper, then cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to brown, about 5 minutes.
7:00Pour the wine into the pan and simmer until reduced by half, about 1 minute. Scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen any bits of cooking chicken and mushrooms. Stir, then simmer for another minute until the sauce thickens slightly.
8 o’clockReduce the heat to low, stir in the butter, then return the chicken to the pan. Taste the sauce for seasoning, then add salt and pepper as needed.
9:00Scatter the tomatoes over the top and cook until the chicken is heated through, about 5 minutes.
Advice from Adam and Joan
- Marsala wine. You can find two types of Marsala wine in the store: dry and sweet of choice, go for something you’d consider drinking; we usually go for the mid-range bottle instead of the sub-$5 options.
- The nutrition facts below are estimates.
Nutrition per serving
Serving size
1/4 of the recipe
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Calories
393
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Total fat
17.3 g
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Saturated fats
4.8 g
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Cholesterol
167.4 mg
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Sodium
323.3 mg
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Carbohydrate
16.7 g
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Dietary fiber
1.7 g
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Total sugars
3.7 g
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Proteins
37.3 g
