I have a secret I am going to share with you. Chicken Marsala is actually very easy to make. It's that category of food that looks intimidating because it has a sauce. However, there are only a few ingredients, and it can come together in about 45 minutes. Everyone should know how to make perfect creamy chicken marsala. So here we go!
My Chicken Marsala Food Memory
Once again, I find myself writing about a memorable food experience. Much like chicken parmesan, I was a late bloomer with chicken marsala. It wasn't something I ever thought of ordering when I went out to eat. My mom, on the other hand, almost exclusively orders this when she goes out to eat. For years, I took her to her favorite chicken marsala place on her birthday.
I'd always take a bite of her chicken marsala and wish I'd also ordered it. Then one year I decided to go ahead and order it myself. I was hooked. That amazing recipe is what I modeled this recipe after. The most luxurious, perfect creamy sauce that is somehow savory and a little sweet at the same time. Typically, at restaurants, you can order this dish with a side of pasta or mashed potatoes. For me, I can't imagine this meal without a side of awesome mashed potatoes.
As it happens, we couldn't go to the restaurant one year because they were closed for renovations, so I decided to learn how to make this meal myself and prepare it for my mom's birthday. I tested recipes and soon realized there were only a few steps to the process, and all were pretty straightforward.
The Quest for Perfect Creamy Chicken Marsala
There are decisions you have to make when you prepare this chicken marsala. What kind of mushrooms? Sweet Marsala or Dry Marsala? How much heavy cream? Should I be using shallots? And in short, that would be: baby bellas (aka crimini), sweet, ½ cup and yes, respectively.
A lot of recipes I've seen for chicken marsala use the dry marsala. I think the sweet works fantastic and I do prefer it to the dry. And take note: there is no difference between the cheap marsala and the expensive stuff - so no need to go crazy with the budget.
I've not seen too many recipes that use shallots or onions of any kind, but I think it adds a needed layer of flavor. Apparently, if you're making "traditional" chicken marsala there is no cream added either. Gasp. I couldn't imagine this dish without it.
I tinkered with my recipe over the years and landed on the one I'm sharing here. It checks all the boxes - thin, tender cutlets, creamy savory and sweet sauce, the mushrooms, the marsala wine, the mashed potatoes. All these flavors come together so perfectly and it's a dinner you can make in under an hour.
Just a few simple steps to a delicious creamy chicken marsala
As mentioned, there aren't too many steps.
- Flour the chicken, brown it in a pan with olive oil and butter.
- Use the same pan to cook the mushrooms - add more butter.
- Add the shallots and garlic and mix with mushrooms.
- Add the marsala wine and chicken broth, reduce.
- Stir in the heavy cream at the end and put the chicken back in the pan to thicken the sauce.
- On a back burner, your potatoes are boiling. Once tender, blend with milk, butter, salt and pepper.
This recipe can hold 6-8 thin chicken cutlets and trust me, you'll be loving these leftovers! It microwaves well for lunch the next day, but you can also put the chicken right back in the pan and simmer on low to reheat which is what I usually do.
Need More Fabulous Chicken Recipes? Here's a Jumping Off Point for You:
- How to Make Perfect Chicken Piccata
- Easy Restaurant-Style Chicken Tikka Masala
- One-Pot Chicken w/Carrots & Fennel
- Stove Top Stuffing Chicken Rolls
- Ina Garten's Chicken Marbella
- Crispy Chicken Thighs w/Honey Garlic Sauce
- Stuffed Chicken Pepperoni Pizza Bake
Sometimes we need to slow down in life. I hope that once or twice a day, we can all forget every electronic device we own and just simply exist. And while we are simply existing, let's prepare delicious food for ourselves and our loved ones. Let's talk about our days and share our stories over a delicious, homecooked meal.
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How to Make Perfect Chicken Marsala
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 portions 1x
Description
This awesome creamy chicken marsala with amazing mashed potatoes will be a surefire hit! Super easy to make.
Ingredients
Chicken
- 6-8 thin chicken cutlets
- salt & pepper (light sprinkling both sides)
Flour Dredge
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Cooking the cutlets
- 4 tablespoons butter, divided
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
For the Sauce
- ¼ cup shallot, finely diced
- 3 large garlic cloves, finely diced
- 3-4 tablespoons of butter
- 1 8-ounce package of baby bella mushrooms
- 1 ½ cups of chicken broth
- 1 ¼ cups of sweet Marsala wine
- ½ cup heavy cream
- salt to taste
For the Mashed Potatoes
- 4 large Yukon potatoes
- ¾ cup warm milk
- 3-4 tablespoons of butter
- Salt & pepper to taste
Optional Garnish
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
Instructions
- Finely dice your garlic.
- Finely dice your shallot.
- Peel your potatoes. Cut potatoes into uniform-sized cubes. It’s better if all your potato pieces are the same size so they cook evenly. Put potatoes in a pot of water. You’ll want to turn on your heat to high right around the time you start to cook the chicken. The potatoes will take about 15 minutes to bring to a boil, then another 10-15 minutes until they’re cooked all the way through. Plan your time here.
- Chop parsley to be used for garnish later (this is optional).
- Lightly salt and pepper both side of your chicken cutlets. As mentioned, I use the already-thin-cut cutlets at the grocery store. If you can't find those, slice whole chicken breast, lengthwise, in half and pound down to ¼" thickness - the cutlets need to be thin.
- Don’t forget about your potatoes. Turn on high heat – the whole process until they are done takes about 25-30 minutes.
- The flour dredge. Put your flour on a plate and add garlic powder and salt. Mix with a fork until well combined.
- Coat both sides of all your chicken cutlets in the flour mixture and set aside on a plate.
- Cooking the cutlets. These will be cooked in two batches. The recipe can hold 6-8 chicken cutlets so cook half in each batch. Also, use half the olive oil and half the butter for each batch. Place cutlets in pan on medium heat and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side. Once you put them in the pan – don’t touch them. Let them cook so they can brown. Set all cooked cutlets aside on a plate.
- In the same pan with leftover butter, olive oil and browned bits – add your mushrooms and two tablespoons of butter. Stir well on medium heat and let mushrooms cook a few minutes on their own until slightly browned.
- Add more butter here (1-2 tablespoons) when you add the shallots and garlic. Add shallots first and let them cook for a minute or two. Then add the garlic and cook another minute.
- Add chicken broth and Marsala wine, give it a stir and bring to a boil on high heat. Then reduce heat so it’s at a mild boil, more like a simmer. It needs to cook for about 10 minutes so the sauce can REDUCE BY HALF.
- After the sauce is reduced, add the heavy cream, give it a stir. Taste it here to see if it needs salt. If it does – salt to taste here. I added ½ teaspoon here, but we all have different tastes. Add what works for you.
- Turn heat to low-medium and add the chicken cutlets into the sauce. We cooked them in batches because they can't all lay flat in the pan. When we add them back in to the sauce, it's okay it they are overlapping a little. I like to cook these for 5 minutes or so while I get the mashed potatoes ready. Add a little more butter if you need to thicken the sauce. If your sauce still isn't thickening - see note #4 below.
- The mashed potatoes. Once they are cooked through, drain the water. I keep them in the same pot they were cooked in to mix them. To warm the milk, I microwaved it for one minute. Then add the butter, most of the milk (I add it in as needed and to avoid massive splatter from my hand mixer by adding it all at once), salt and pepper to taste. Also, you may not use all the milk - add it to your preference. I like a smoother mashed potato without a ton of lumps, so I mix until they are well combined and mostly lump-free. Give them a taste, add any additional butter, milk or seasoning you think they might need and serve immediately.
- Enjoy!
Equipment
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Calphalon Pot/Dutch Oven (5 Quart)
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Calphalon Saute Pan with Lid (5QT)
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- About the chicken. I always buy the already-thin-cut chicken cutlets because it’s easier – saves time. If you can’t find those you can buy the whole boneless chicken breast, slice them in half and pound them until they are thin - about ¼" works great.
- Some recipes suggest you put the chicken cutlets on a tray and keep them warm in the oven while you cook the sauce. This is not necessary since we’ll be adding the chicken back to the pan at the end so the sauce can thicken. At that time, the chicken will continue cooking and get nice and hot. Warming the chicken in the oven will likely dry it out even if you only have it on a low temp like 200.
- Why does the sauce thicken after we add the chicken back in? The basic concept goes back to a roux. Flour plus fat (butter) = roux. A roux is used as a thickening agent in sauces. Sooo, with the butter from the pan and the butter the mushrooms have absorbed, plus the chicken cutlets coated in flour… This all means when the cutlets get added back to the sauce – that flour and butter combo is what thickens the sauce.
- In case of emergency or if something inexplicable happens and for some reason your sauce isn’t thickening after you add the chicken back … add a chuck of butter and stir. AND/OR you could add a touch of sifted flour (or Wondra, this is better actually) to the final product, but again…. This is only in case of emergency. It can be tricky to get the flour mixed in enough with the chicken so that it’s not obvious you ADDED flour. Alternatively, to avoid any flour clumps, mix a tiny slurry of 1 tablespoon of flour and one tablespoon of water. Whisk in a bowl and pour into the sauce. But don’t add this freaking flour unless it’s an emergency…
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