Chicken Marsala is a rich and savory Italian-American dish made with lightly floured chicken breasts sautéed and simmered in a flavorful sauce of Marsala wine, mushrooms, and butter. The wine adds a subtle sweetness that balances the earthiness of the mushrooms and the tender, golden-brown chicken. Often served with pasta or mashed potatoes, it's a comforting and elegant meal perfect for any occasion.
As with all of my recipes, I encourage you to cook with intention and personal taste in mind. The quantities provided serve as a solid foundation, offering a starting point for you to build upon. Feel free to adjust seasonings or spice levels to suit your preferences—each dish is an opportunity for creative expression, and I often find myself making small tweaks each time I cook.
Ingredients
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts | 4 large
- Seasoned Meat Tenderizer | 2 tablespoons
- Butter | 8 - 10 tablespoons
- Olive Oil | 2 - 4 tablespoons
- Button Mushrooms | 12 - 18 medium
- Marsala Wine | 3/4 cup
- White Onion | 1 small, finely chopped
- Chicken Broth | 1 cup +/-
- Heavy Whipping Cream | 1 cup +/-
- Fresh Parsley | for garnish
- Grated Parmesan Cheese | for garnish
Dredge
- All-purpose Flour | 1 1/2 cups | for dredge
- Garlic Powder | 2 tablespoons | for dredge
- Onion Powder | 2 tablespoons | for dredge
- Dried Oregano | 2 tablespoons | for dredge
- Dried Basil | 2 tablespoons | for dredge
- MSG | 1 teaspoon | for dredge
- Salt & Pepper | to taste | for dredge
Instructions
- Butterfly the chicken breasts to make 8 thinner cutlets. Trim off any fat. Use a hammer to pound out the chicken to 1/4" or less. Season the chicken generously with meat tenderizer. Place into a bag and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
- Assemble dredge into a zip lock bag or shallow baking dish for easy access to coating chicken.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 - 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan to coat fully.
- Dredge individual chicken cutlets fully through the dredge mixture and then cook in the pan for 4 - 5 minutes per side, until they are golden. Remove cooked chicken from pan to a plate. As you are cooking the chicken, add additional butter and olive oil as needed to keep the pan lubricated.
- Add additional butter and onion to the pan and saute until soft. Add mushrooms and cook down until the liquid has cooked off.
- Add chicken broth, Marsala wine and 2 more tablespoons of butter and scrape up all of the browned bits.
- Gently sprinkle in 1 - 2 tablespoons of dredge flour, mixing thoroughly as you add it to prevent clumping.
- Once the sauce is bubbling, let simmer to reduce for 5 - 7 minutes. If the sauce thickens up too much during this time, just add more chicken broth and wine at around a 3/1 or 4/1 ratio. When you add the wine, be sure to cook for at least 5 minutes to remove the alcohol flavor.
- Add in cream slowly, mixing and incorporating as you go. Use more or less to get to the desired color (see picture above for reference).
- Replace chicken back into the pan and let it warm back up in the sauce.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and parmesan cheese if desired.
