In Italy, you probably won't find Chicken Marsala on the menu of a restaurant, but it's a very popular dish here in the US because it's plain delicious. Just think of all the incredible ingredients: mushrooms, onions or shallots, seasonings, and a fortified Sicilian wine, Marsala, all coming together to form a tasty sauce that blankets the sautéed chicken breasts. It can't get any better than that!!
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Easy one stove top dinner
The beauty of this easy dinner is that it only takes one pan. It comes together quickly, easily and the dish is not excessively rich.
The first step is to place chicken on a cutting board and with a meat mallet pounding the breast into thin chicken cutlets. This makes them cook quickly, evenly and terrifically juicy and tender.
Expanding the chicken surface, you see, also means that there is more area to absorb the beautiful golden rich Marsala wine sauce.
Putting it together
It's so simple to make. You season the breast with salt and freshly ground pepper, then in a shallow pan you dredge the meat in Wondra flour.
Now if you don't have Wondra flour that's okay, you can use all purpose. I like using Wondra flour in this type of dish because it's very fine and it doesn't cake onto the meat -- just a light dusting.
First you heat oil and sauté the breasts up in a big skillet until they're a golden brown. Then you transfer them to a large platter -- their friends the mushrooms will join them soon.
Next toss the mushrooms into the same pan that you used for the chicken and sauté them in a tablespoon of olive oil and butter.
The magical sauce
Oh, the aroma is squisito {delicious}! Once the sauté mushrooms are done, you spoon them onto the platter to join the chicken breasts.
Now that magical delicious sauce happens.
The onions and garlic go into the pan for a quick sauté. A little bit of chicken stock and a hefty pour of Marsala into the pan to combine the brown bits of juicy pan flavor and that's it.
Grape Vineyards in Marsala, Sicily
Use dry Marsala
This is an aside --when you go to the grocery store, make sure the Marsala you use is labeled dry and NOT sweet Marsala wine.
One time I made Chicken Marsala and it smelled heavenly but it wasn't until I'd plated the Chicken Marsala and my Honey took his first bite that I found out what I'd done.
"What the heck is in this sauce!!?" His look told me he wasn't heavenly transported by the taste.
"Marsala?" I replied and went over to take a good look at the bottle. Oops!! There, on the back of the bottle -- serve as dessert wine. Perhaps I should do as Julia Child -- take a swig of the wine I'm using, then I'd know it was the right wine 😉
We did eat the chicken but it was with less enthusiasm than if I had made with regular dry Marsala.
And another caveat -- don't ever purchase cooking wine for anything. That stuff is rot gut!! Yes! I did taste it once and it isn't fit to strip paint.
Putting the finishing touch
Now, back to the one pan chicken recipe.
Once the sauce reduces it just takes a sprinkle of parsley and a bit of butter and the Chicken Marsala is ready to serve. This time I didn't make the wide pasta to go with the Chicken Marsala, instead we used up some of our thin pasta to serve with the beautiful white asparagus we bought the day before.
If you want to find out how to roast asparagus you can find it here. Normally I serve our Chicken Marsala with wide homemade egg pasta but angel hair pasta would be delicious too.
Honestly, whatever you serve this classic Italian-American dish with -- I know you'll be pleased.
Next time try this delicious chicken dinner that is one of the best Italian classics.
Here are more chicken recipes we know you'll enjoy
Chicken Francese -- is an Italian American dish that features chicken cutlets in a rich lemon-butter wine sauce.
Chicken Milanese -- A variation of the usual Chicken Francese recipe using Italian seasoned panko crumbs and dipping it in buttermilk.
Chicken Vesuvio - A one-pan chicken meal with garlic, potatoes, and peas. Delicious and satisfying.
This is just a sample of all the fantastic chicken recipes here.
Tutti a tavola è pronto!
Un caro saluto e alla prossima
📖 Recipe
Easy Chicken Marsala Recipe an Italian-American Classic
Equipment Needed
Ingredients
- 24 oz. boneless chicken breasts skinless chicken breasts (about 1 ½ pounds 680g) pounded until ¼" thick.
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- ⅓ cup 50 g Wondra flour (can substitute all-purpose flour)
- 5 Tbsp. olive oil
- 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 8 to 10 ounces 230-280g white button mushrooms
- 2 - 3 large cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 2 Tbsp. minced shallots
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ⅔ cup dry Marsala wine
- ⅓ cup chicken stock
- 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
Instructions
- It is easiest to pound the chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap, or in a study zip-top freezer bag. Spritz the chicken with a little water to prevent the meat from tearing. Season the breasts with salt and pepper and dredge in the flour. Shake off the excess flour -- add more flour if needed.
- In a 12" skillet heat 2 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tbsp. butter over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the pan but don't crowd then. Cook chicken breasts, turning them over midway during cooking, until they are browned on each side. They don't have to be completely cooked through at this point. When browned, transfer the chicken to a large platter and set aside.
- Add 2 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter to the skillet over high heat until the butter starts to sizzle. Add the sliced mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are a golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. Transfer the mushrooms to the platter with the chicken.
- Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in the skillet, add shallots and garlic; sauté, stirring, until soft, about 1-2 minutes. Stir the cornstarch into the chicken stock until it is completely dissolved, then mix it with the Marsala. Add the liquid to the skillet; cook, stirring and scraping bottom of pan until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and the chicken to the skillet and cook the the sauce over medium heat, turning the chicken over occasionally, to make sure the breasts are well-basted about 4 - 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 3 Tablespoons butter and chopped parsley. Taste the sauce to make sure it is well seasoned with salt and pepper. Enjoy the rich flavor in the chicken and sauce served with your choice of pasta or egg noodles.
Notes
- Be sure to use dry Marsala and not sweet.
- Spritz a little water in the plastic bag or on the plastic wrap before pounding the chicken. This will prevent it from sticking or tearing the meat.
Nutrition
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We'll never share your email or send you spam. PromiseOriginally published March 4, 2016. Updated August 25, 2021. The update is to improve on readability and reader experience.
