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Classic Chicken Marsala

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Classic Chicken Marsala ~ tender chicken breasts are seasoned and sautéed, then simmered in a Marsala wine sauce with shallots, prosciutto, and plenty of earthy mushrooms.  Your guests never have to know how easy this is to make! savingdessert.com #chickenmarsala #chickendish #chicken #chickenmushrooms #marsala

Classic Chicken Marsala ~ tender chicken breasts are seasoned and sautéed, then simmered in a Marsala wine sauce with shallots, prosciutto, and plenty of earthy mushrooms.  Your guests never have to know how easy this is to make!

Chicken Marsala is one of the first dishes I posted on the blog almost 7 years ago.  Since then, I’ve made some minor tweaks and updates to the recipe, and of course, took a few new photos. All that to say, it was a good excuse to make this amazing dish again, just for us!  (Yeah leftovers!)  It’s hard to take photos when company is coming over.  Nobody wants to wait when dinner is ready to serve.
Classic Chicken Marsala ~ tender chicken breasts are seasoned and sautéed, then simmered in a Marsala wine sauce with shallots, prosciutto, and plenty of earthy mushrooms.  Your guests never have to know how easy this is to make! savingdessert.com #chickenmarsala #chickendish #chicken #chickenmushrooms #marsala

Chicken Marsala has Italian roots, and is an American favorite in many popular franchise restaurants.

Just because you can order this is a restaurant, doesn’t mean you can’t make it at home.  It’s a totally satisfying dish, especially when served with creamy garlic mashed potatoes.  I may, or may not have licked my plate clean!  Good thing no one was around to see that – haha.
Classic Chicken Marsala ~ tender chicken breasts are seasoned and sautéed, then simmered in a Marsala wine sauce with shallots, prosciutto, and plenty of earthy mushrooms.  Your guests never have to know how easy this is to make! savingdessert.com #chickenmarsala #chickendish #chicken #chickenmushrooms #marsala

Tips for selecting the best mushrooms:

Cremini mushrooms are really just brown or tan mushrooms.  They’re similar in flavor to a small portobello and are from the same family as the button or white mushroom.

When selecting mushrooms make sure they have not bloomed.  Turn the mushroom over and look at the bottom of the cap near the stem.  It should be closed. This is the mushroom you want.  If the gills are exposed when the mushroom is still whole, skip it.  This is not true with all mushrooms, but it is with cremini and porcini varieties.

How do you properly clean mushrooms?

Be sure to clean each mushroom removing any dirt or hard woody stems.  Don’t soak the mushrooms in water as they will absorb the liquid and become mushy.  You want the mushrooms to absorb the sauce in your dish, not tap water.

More often than not, I wash each mushroom with a wet paper towel, knocking off the dirt and wiping it clean.  A bit tedious, but worth the effort.  Clean each mushroom and drain them well, stem side down.  That’s it.  For this Chicken Marsala recipe, I removed the tough stems, sliced the small mushrooms in half and the larger ones into fourths.

Classic Chicken Marsala ~ tender chicken breasts are seasoned and sautéed, then simmered in a Marsala wine sauce with shallots, prosciutto, and plenty of earthy mushrooms.  Your guests never have to know how easy this is to make! savingdessert.com #chickenmarsala #chickendish #chicken #chickenmushrooms #marsala

Flatten your chicken breasts to ensure quick and thorough cooking or use cutlets.

We use full size breasts but you can use cutlets if you can find them in your grocery store.  A cutlet is just a chicken breast sliced to an even thickness to promote quick cooking.  Any extra fat or stray pieces of chicken skin are removed.  You can cut your own cutlets from full size breasts, or pound the breast to an even thickness as I have done here.
We love how it looks so elegant topped with all those mushrooms and a little chopped parsley. This is an easy and delicious dish with a pretty presentation.  Always good enough for a special occasion and easy enough for an anytime meal.

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Classic Chicken Marsala ~ tender chicken breasts are seasoned and sautéed, then simmered in a Marsala wine sauce with shallots, prosciutto, and plenty of earthy mushrooms.   #chickenmarsala #chickendish #chicken #chickenmushrooms #marsala #easydinner

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5 from 2 votes

Classic Chicken Marsala

Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 50 mins
Yield: 6
Course: Main Course
Author: Tricia
PRINT RECIPE
Tender chicken breasts seasoned and sautéed, then simmered in a Marsala wine sauce with shallots, prosciutto, and plenty of earthy mushrooms.  

Ingredients

  • 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or cutlets
  • ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
  • ⅓ cup cornstarch
  • ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup olive oil, divided
  • 4 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced and chopped
  • 16 ounces cremini mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed, halved or quartered
  • 1 cup sweet or dry Marsala wine *
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 4 large shallots (about 1/2 cup finely chopped)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Instructions

  • Place the chicken breasts in a large ziplock bag and flatten to ½-inch even thickness.  
  • Combine the flour, cornstarch, pepper and salt together in a shallow bowl, pie plate or platter.  Set aside.
  • Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil.  Once shimmering, dredge the prepared chicken breasts in the flour mixture shaking off any excess.  Sauté the chicken in (two or three) batches until golden brown on each side taking care not to crowd the pan.  Remove the cooked chicken to a platter or sheet pan in a single layer.  Keep warm.
  • Lower the heat under the skillet to medium and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Add the prosciutto and sauté for a minute or two to render some of the fat.  Add the shallots and garlic and sauté for about 3 minutes or until the garlic is fragrant and the shallots are softening.  Add the mushrooms and cook until their moisture releases, then evaporates.  Season with fresh ground black pepper and add the thyme.
  • Add the wine to the pan with the mushrooms and deglaze (scrape up any crunchy bits off the bottom.)  Bring to a boil and add the chicken broth.  Bring the Marsala sauce to a low simmer and reduce the sauce slightly.  Add the butter and stir until melted.  
  • Return the chicken breasts to the skillet and simmer for a few minutes or until the chicken is heated and cooked through.  Check seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.  Remove to a platter and garnish with parsley to serve.

Recipe Notes

Small brown or tan mushrooms can be substituted for the Cremini.
Recipe originally inspired by one on Food Network by Tyler Florence
 
* Dry Marsala wine is typically used in savory dishes, while sweet Marsala is used in desserts. However either will work in this recipe. The dry wine may have a little more complex flavor.

 

You’ll need a large skillet to make this dish.  And I’ve had a lot of questions about this pretty platter over the years, so click on the photos for more information from my affiliate partner:

            

If you decide to purchase something at Amazon after following my affiliate link, I receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you, which I use to pay for web hosting and services for this blog.

I’ve had a long time love affair with chicken and mushrooms dishes.  Our Skillet Chicken and Mushroom Wine Sauce is another favorite pan of delicious comfort food. And for the mushroom lovers among us, you’ll want to try our Vegetarian French Dip with Mushroom Jus, and this super popular Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup.  We adore this Campanella with Mushroom Sauce for a simple meatless Monday meal, and  this absolutely delicious Wild Rice and Mushroom Pilaf.

Finally, here are a few more delicious chicken and mushroom recipes from some of our favorite bloggers:

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38 Comments

  1. Julie G says

    5 stars
    I was deciding between this recipe and another one that called for heavy cream. Since my husband isn’t a fan of dishes made with heavy cream, I went with this one and was soooo glad I did! It was super easy to put together and I had most of the ingredients on hand. After bringing the wine and broth to a simmer and reducing it, I had a lovely sauce. When I added the butter, oh my gosh, it put it over the top! I’ve been making chicken Marsala for a long time but had wanted to try a new recipe. This was dish-licking good, Tricia. We made roasted baby potatoes and some fried creamed corn on the side. What a terrific meal!

    reply to this comment >

    • Tricia Buice says

      So happy you enjoyed this recipe Julie – you picked a good one to try! This is once of my all-time favorite easy, but elegant, company worthy dishes. The flavors are memorable, and potatoes and corn are perfect on the side – great meal indeed! Thanks for trying the recipe and for letting us know how it turned out for you 🙂 You’re the best!!!

      reply to this comment >

  5. Monica says

    I’d love to eat at your house! Looks mouthwatering. I had a “run” of making chicken marsala years and years back (probably was trying to use up the bottle of marsala!) and stopped. I need to try again and see if I can somehow make it somewhere near as delectable as your version! Have a great Labor Day weekend!!

    reply to this comment >

    • Tricia Buice says

      I hear you Monica – I’ve had a bottle of Grand Marnier for more than a year so I leaned toward desserts that would be great with a splash. But now it’s gone and I’ve moved on to Apple Brandy – haha. Love Chicken Marsala too! Hope you’ll grab a bottle of wine and whip up a batch soon. Thanks so much!

      reply to this comment >

    • Tricia Buice says

      Hi Karen – great question because not everybody loves mushrooms. I know people that are allergic so I think you could substitute eggplant or zucchini in place of the mushrooms. Or, cut the mushrooms in half (instead of quarters) and keep them big enough to pick out easily. Maybe he would eat the chicken as long as he didn’t have mushrooms on his plate. I love the meaty flavor of mushrooms so I think eggplant might be the best substitute. Good luck and I would love to know what you do. I’m sure other readers would be grateful for a substitute too.

      reply to this comment >

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