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Just because you don’t have a lot of time to cook dinner doesn’t mean you have to settle for package food, carry-out, or the same old spaghetti. With only five minutes of prep, this easy Chicken Marsala Recipe is on the table in just about 20 minutes! It’s the perfect 20-minute meal for a busy weeknight. Chicken marsala is a restaurant-quality dish with minimal effort – the best of both worlds!

Homemade chicken marsala in a stainless steel frying pan. Thin chicken breasts cook in a hearty marsala wine sauce with sautéed mushrooms and parsley.
Table of Contents
  1. An Italian-American Classic Marsala Recipe
  2. Ingredients for Easy Chicken Marsala
  3. How to Make Easy Homemade Chicken Marsala
  4. What to Serve with Easy Chicken Marsala
  5. Tips for Making Delicious Chicken Marsala at Home
  6. More Easy Chicken Recipes to Try
  7. 20-Minute Easy Chicken Marsala Recipe

Chicken marsala is one of those fancy dishes that you only order when you’re at Italian restaurants. Until recently, I just assumed that the fancy-sounding name implied a difficult, intimidating dish. But oh, I was so wrong!

An Italian-American Classic Marsala Recipe

Creamy chicken marsala is an Italian-American dish that you’ll almost always see on the menu at an Italian restaurant. But that doesn’t mean you can make your own version at home! Homemade chicken marsala is a super simple dish made with thin chicken cutlets and mushrooms cooked in a hearty marsala sauce. Its rich, earthy, and umami flavors pair perfectly with angel hair pasta or creamy mashed potatoes – a starch to soak up all that delicious sauce.

The rich marsala wine sauce is made with dry marsala wine, a fortified Italian wine from Sicily. It comes in both dry and sweet varieties, either of which can be used to make homemade chicken marsala. Personally, I think a dry marsala wine pairs better with the savory flavors of chicken and mushrooms.

Ingredients for Easy Chicken Marsala

You only need a few simple ingredients to pull off this delicious chicken dinner, and you probably have most of them in your kitchen already. The pan-fried chicken is swimming in a buttery, creamy mushroom sauce, which gives the dish an incredibly rich flavor without any extra effort. Here’s what you need to make chicken marsala at home. As always, you can find the complete ingredients and step-by-step directions in the printable recipe card below.

  • Thinly Sliced Chicken Breasts: it’s best to use skinless chicken breasts cut into thin chicken cutlets, but you could also use chicken thighs or chicken tenders.
  • All-Purpose Flour: to dredge the chicken cutlets for pan-frying.
  • Mushrooms: I buy pre-sliced mushrooms to save on time.
  • Marsala Wine: the key ingredient in the savory marsala wine sauce.
  • Chicken Broth: this optional ingredient helps dilute the flavor of the wine.
  • Garlic: adds savory flavor to the sauce.
  • Butter: helps emulsify the creamy sauce.
  • Parsley: for garnish.
An overhead image of three marsala chicken breasts cooked with mushrooms in a stainless steel skillet.

Cooking With Marsala Wine

I made this easy chicken marsala recipe kid-friendly for my own family by diluting the wine with an equal amount of chicken broth. And don’t worry — the alcohol cooks off as you simmer the sauce!

If you prefer a stronger wine flavor for your chicken marsala, feel free to use 1 full cup of wine and omit the broth entirely. Just make sure that you’re using a good quality marsala wine for this meal since it’s the prominent flavor in the sauce. You don’t want to buy the cheaper cooking wine because it doesn’t taste nearly as good.

What is a substitute for marsala wine in chicken marsala?

Marsala wine is fairly easy to find at your local grocery store or liquor store. If you can’t find it, there are some appropriate substitutes. The closest is a dry madeira wine, which is another type of Sicilian fortified wine. You could also use port wine, dry sherry, brandy, or a dry white wine. The alcohol cooks off, but if you’d prefer not to cook with liquor, you can use chicken stock or broth instead.

How to Make Easy Homemade Chicken Marsala

This classic dish is much more low effort than you may believe. Making chicken marsala at home is the perfect way to cook a restaurant-quality dish for an easy weeknight meal the whole family will enjoy.

  • Cut the chicken boneless chicken breasts into thin chicken cutlets and tenderize with a meat mallet.
  • Dredge the chicken in a seasoned flour mixture.
  • Pan-fry the chicken cutlets in a large skillet with olive oil until golden brown on both sides.
  • Sauté the mushrooms until tender.
  • Deglaze the skillet with the marsala wine and chicken broth.
  • Add garlic and butter and simmer the marsala wine sauce until slightly thickened.
  • Place the chicken back into the skillet, cover with the sauce, and serve.

What to Serve with Easy Chicken Marsala

Homemade chicken marsala is perfect when served with pasta, mashed potatoes, or crusty bread to soak up the broth; or you can go the low-carb route and opt for zucchini noodles or cauliflower rice instead. If you want to serve dinner with some tasty side dishes, here are some quick and easy options.

A closeup image of homemade chicken marsala in a skillet. This easy chicken marsala recipe has sauteed mushrooms and thin chicken cutlets cooked in a savory marsala wine sauce.

Tips for Making Delicious Chicken Marsala at Home

  • To make a creamy chicken marsala, simply add a splash of cream to the sauce after adding the garlic and butter. How much is up to you, but to keep the marsala flavor prominent, I’d go for around 2 tbsp of cream.
  • Thin-sliced chicken breasts are a nice shortcut to save you a step in the preparation process. If you can’t find thin-sliced chicken breasts at your grocery store, just buy regular chicken breasts and cut them in half horizontally or place them between wax paper and pound them flat with a wooden mallet.
  • If you use chicken thighs or chicken tenders instead of breasts, you should still tenderize and thin them out so they cook evenly and quickly.
  • Cooking for Two? I would suggest using just 1/2 lb. of chicken while keeping the rest of the ingredients the same. You can never have too much of the delicious wine sauce!
  • Leftover chicken marsala should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. This is freezer-friendly as well. The sauce freezes well

Enjoy the comfort of your family around the table while you wind down and reconnect. This 20-minute chicken marsala recipe is a simple, fresh, and delicious way to end a busy day — without any added stress!

More Easy Chicken Recipes to Try

20-Minute Easy Chicken Marsala

4.25 from 4 votes
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 364 kcal
A classic and easy chicken marsala made in only 20 minutes all in one skillet. This is a dish full of flavor that can be served with vegetables or pasta!

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb. boneless skinless thin-sliced chicken breasts
  • 1/2 cup All-purpose flour for dredging
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
  • ½ cup dry or sweet Marsala wine
  • ½ cup chicken broth
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • Fresh parsley for serving

Instructions

  • Place about ½ cup of flour in a shallow bowl. Add salt and pepper; stir to combine.
    1/2 cup All-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • Dredge the chicken through the flour mixture until coated on all sides. Shake off any excess flour. Set chicken aside.
    1 lb. boneless skinless thin-sliced chicken breasts
  • Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to the skillet and cook until lightly browned on both sides (about 3-5 minutes per side).
    ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • Remove chicken from the skillet and set aside.
  • Lower heat to medium. Place mushrooms in the skillet, stirring and cooking until tender (about 5-7 minutes).
    8 ounces sliced mushrooms
  • Take the skillet off of the heat; add the wine and the chicken broth. Place the skillet back on medium heat, and stir to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pan (this gives the sauce so much flavor!).
    ½ cup dry or sweet Marsala wine, ½ cup chicken broth
  • Add garlic and butter to the skillet. Simmer the sauce for about 5 minutes to allow it to reduce and thicken. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add chicken back to the skillet and serve immediately. Garnish with fresh parsley.
    1 tablespoon minced garlic, 2 tablespoons butter, Fresh parsley

Notes

  • To make a creamy chicken marsala, simply add a splash of cream to the sauce after adding the garlic and butter. How much is up to you, but to keep the marsala flavor prominent, I’d go for around 2 tbsp of cream.
  • Thin-sliced chicken breasts are a nice shortcut to save you a step in the preparation process. If you can’t find thin-sliced chicken breasts at your grocery store, just buy regular chicken breasts and cut them in half horizontally or place them between wax paper and pound them flat with a wooden mallet.
  • If you use chicken thighs or chicken tenders instead of breasts, you should still tenderize and thin them out so they cook evenly and quickly.
  • Cooking for Two? I would suggest using just 1/2 lb. of chicken while keeping the rest of the ingredients the same. You can never have too much of the delicious wine sauce!
  • Leftover chicken marsala should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. This is freezer-friendly as well. The sauce freezes well

Nutrition

Calories: 364kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 26gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 87mgSodium: 585mgPotassium: 650mgSugar: 3gVitamin A: 210IUVitamin C: 5.2mgCalcium: 9mgIron: 0.9mg
Keyword: Chicken Marsala, Chicken Marsala Sauce, Marsala Mushroom Sauce
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Author: Blair Lonergan
blair

Hey, I’m Blair!

Welcome to my farmhouse kitchen in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Inspired by local traditions and seasonal fare, you’ll find plenty of easy, comforting recipes that bring your family together around the table. It’s down-home, country-style cooking!

Read More

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Comments

  1. 20 minutes for chicken marsala?! Sign me up! This is one of my husband’s favorite dishes, so I love how easy this is to prepare. Perfect for when I don’t want to stand over a stove for hours!

  2. This looks amazing Blair! I have a whole thing of mushrooms I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with. Time to make this!

  3. 5 stars
    Love this recipe Blair. It’s healthy, seasonal, full of wonderful flavours and super easy to make. Perfect for busy families. Mushrooms are now totally in season, so I can’t wait to try this recipe.

      1. Hi Sandi,
        If your sauce is not thickening, you can let it simmer longer. Or, create a slurry by combining 1 tsp of cornstarch and 1 tsp of water at a time in a bowl and stirring it into the sauce.

  4. 3 stars
    I just left the store and they were all out of Marsala wine…is there another wine to substitute? (I know it takes away from “Marsala” and the whole recipe title$

    1. Hey, Amanda! Do you have brandy available? Marsala is a brandy-fortified wine, so you can try this substitute: mix together 1/2 cup of white wine + 2 teaspoons of brandy. Use that mixture in place of the marsala. If you don’t have brandy, then I would go with a white wine…but it will obviously change the taste of the dish. 🙂 Enjoy!

          1. Yes! I would just substitute with an equal amount of chicken broth instead. 🙂

  5. Do I have to make more sauce if put over pasta or will there be enough sauce in this recipe to coat the pasta?

  6. I tried it tonight, it’s so delicious! And my whole family loved it.
    I paired it with homemade mashed potato and steamed green beans and carrots. ???? Thank you!

  7. I made it last night. It was delicious. Do you know if can make this dish the day before and still be good? Will the sauce still be good?

  8. 5 stars
    I made it last night. It was delicious. A+++ Do you know if I can make this dish the day before and still be good? Will the sauce still be good?

    1. Hi, Didi! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it! I think that you can definitely make it the day before and reheat it. It will be like restaurant leftovers — it will still taste good, but it probably won’t be quite as good as when it’s fresh and hot from the skillet. Just be careful that you don’t overcook the chicken and dry it out when you’re reheating it. 🙂