Why You’ll Love This this Classic Marsala Chicken
This classic marsala chicken transforms ordinary weeknight ingredients into something that tastes like you ordered it from your favorite Italian restaurant. The tender, flattened chicken breasts cook quickly while those earthy mushrooms melt into a rich, wine-kissed sauce that’ll have you wondering why you ever bothered with jarred gravy. Plus, the whole thing comes together in one skillet, which means fewer dishes to wash – and honestly, isn’t that the kind of win we all need on a Tuesday night?
Ingredients List
You only need six simple ingredients to create this restaurant-quality dish that’ll make your kitchen smell absolutely incredible.
- 6 (4 ounce) boneless skinless chicken breast halves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups thinly sliced mushrooms
- 2/3 cup marsala wine
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Ingredient Considerations:
- This recipe is naturally low-carb and keto-friendly, making it perfect for those watching their carb intake
- The olive oil provides healthy monounsaturated fats, while the chicken delivers lean protein
- Mushrooms add fiber and important nutrients like selenium and potassium without many calories
- Keep in mind that marsala wine does contain alcohol, though most of it cooks off during the reduction process
- If you’re concerned about sodium, this recipe is naturally low in salt, so you control exactly how much seasoning you add
Step by Step Directions
Making this classic chicken marsala is straightforward and takes about 30 minutes from start to finish.
- Prepare the chicken: Place chicken breasts between 2 pieces of waxed paper and flatten to 1/8 inch thickness using a meat mallet or the flat side of a heavy knife.
- Sauté the mushrooms: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot but not smoking, then add mushrooms and cook until softened, about 10 minutes.
- Cook the chicken: Add flattened chicken to the skillet and cook, turning once, until no longer pink, about 6 minutes total.
- Keep chicken warm: Remove cooked chicken to a serving platter and cover with foil.
- Make the sauce: Add marsala wine to the skillet and bring to a boil over medium heat, then simmer until liquid reduces by half, about 5 minutes.
- Finish and serve: Stir chopped parsley and black pepper into the reduced wine sauce, pour over chicken, and serve immediately.
For best results, use a high-quality premium kitchen cookware set that provides even heat distribution throughout the cooking process.
Substitutions and Variations
- Go gluten-free: Skip the flour dusting that some recipes call for, or use a light coating of almond flour if you want that golden crust without the gluten.
- Boost the flavor: A tablespoon of butter whisked into the finished sauce makes everything glossier and more restaurant-worthy, though your arteries might’ve opinions about that.
Additional Things to Serve With This Dish
This dish pairs beautifully with so many sides that you’ll have trouble choosing just one.
- Creamy mashed potatoes – They soak up that gorgeous marsala sauce like little flavor sponges, and honestly, who doesn’t love carbs with their chicken.
- Buttered egg noodles – Classic for a reason, plus they twirl around your fork with the sauce in the most satisfying way.
- Garlic roasted asparagus – Adds a pop of green to your plate and cuts through all that richness with a nice veggie crunch.
- Wild rice pilaf – A bit fancier than plain rice, with nuts and herbs that complement the earthy mushroom flavors.
- Simple arugula salad – Dressed with lemon and olive oil, it’s like a palate cleanser between bites of the rich chicken.
- Crusty Italian bread – Because someone needs to get every last drop of that sauce, and bread is basically an edible spoon.
- Roasted Brussels sprouts – Yes, even the Brussels sprouts haters might come around when they’re caramelized and sitting next to this chicken.
Cooking Tips & Tricks (Chef’s Notes)
Let me share the little secrets that’ll turn your good chicken marsala into absolutely spectacular chicken marsala.
- Pound that chicken like it owes you money – Getting it to an even 1/8-inch thickness means every bite cooks at the same rate, no thick spots that stay pink while the edges turn to leather.
- Don’t crowd the pan – If your skillet looks like a chicken parking lot, cook in batches because overcrowded chicken just steams instead of getting that gorgeous golden color.
- Let the mushrooms actually brown – Resist the urge to stir them every five seconds, they need time to release their moisture and develop those deep, caramelized flavors that make this dish sing.
- Use real marsala wine, not cooking wine – That stuff in the tiny bottles tastes like sadness mixed with salt, spend the extra few dollars on actual marsala from the wine section.
- Don’t skip the sauce reduction – Those five minutes of simmering concentrate all the flavors and give you a sauce that coats the chicken instead of running off like water.
- Keep everything warm – Cold chicken with hot sauce is just wrong, so tent that foil over your cooked chicken while you finish the sauce.
- Taste and adjust – Every marsala wine tastes slightly different, so give that sauce a little taste before serving and add a pinch more pepper if it needs some oomph.
Nutritional Facts
Based on 6 servings, here’s what you’re getting in each portion of this classic dish:
- Calories: 245
- Protein: 35g
- Carbohydrates: 4g
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 1.5g
- Cholesterol: 95mg
- Sodium: 85mg
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Sugar: 2g
- Iron: 1.2mg
- Potassium: 580mg
- Vitamin B6: 0.8mg
- Niacin: 12mg
- Phosphorus: 285mg
Fun “Did You Know?”
Did you know that Chicken Marsala wasn’t actually invented in Italy? I find it fascinating that this beloved dish originated in Italian-American kitchens during the 19th century.
Marsala wine comes from Sicily’s western tip, where it’s been produced since 1773. The wine’s fortification process makes it perfect for cooking since it won’t curdle like regular wine.
Here’s something cool: traditional Italian cooks rarely paired chicken with Marsala. They preferred veal or pork.
American immigrants created this fusion, adapting Old World ingredients to New World tastes. It’s become more popular in America than Italy itself!
