Satisfy your inner Italian with Classic Chicken Marsala, featuring pan-fried chicken in a Marsala reduction sauce. And get this, it’s ready in just 30 minutes!
We seriously can’t get enough Italian food. The bread, the cheese, the everything. Classic Chicken Marsala is a variation on another Italian classic, Chicken Scaloppine. The big difference between the two is the sauce, and the secret to a great Chicken Marsala is the Marsala wine reduction sauce. Don’t even think about grabbing a bottle of grocery store cooking wine, you want the real thing. Marsala is a fortified wine made in Sicily, but can be found in your local liquor store or online.
We’ve all come to associate Italy with pasta, but this dish was not traditionally served with pasta. As dishes change over time and place, this now American-Italian dish can be found in restaurants served with a large helping of spaghetti. We certainly love the added depth to this meal that a good helping of pasta gives, but it is not required. If you do find yourself craving a side of pasta or mashed potatoes, consider doubling your sauce to have plenty of extras for your pasta or potatoes to soak up!
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Can I use chicken cutlets?
Definitely. When making chicken marsala, you want to use a thinner cut breast, which makes a chicken cutlet a great option. Small, already thin chicken breasts work well too. For thick chicken breasts, you will either want to pound your chicken breasts thin, or cut them in half lengthiwse. Or simply use chicken cutlets for fast cooking.
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What is Marsala wine? Where can I find it?
Marsala wine comes from the Marsala region of Sicily in Southern Italy. It is a brandy fortified wine, similar to a Sherry or a Port. You should be able to find this wherever you locally purchase beer and wine. If you have a dedicated wine or liquor store, look in their international section for Italian wines. A less expensive option is to use Marsala cooking wine from your grocery store.
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Non-Alcoholic Marsala Wine Substitutes
Marsala wine is a key ingredient in making Chicken Marsala. If you do not use Marsala wine, you are technically not making Chicken Marsala. But if you need a non-alcoholic substitute, we understand. Use one of the following options:
- 3/4 cup grape juice + 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup chicken broth + 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
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What should I serve with Classic Chicken Marsala?
We love Chicken Marsala on a bed of spaghetti noodles with a high quality crisp salad, roasted whole cloves of garlic, and garlic bread.
If you like this recipe, you may be interested in these other Italian inspired recipes:
- Italian Meat Stromboli
- The Most Amazing Lasagna Recipe
- Italian Stuffed Chicken
- Italian Sheet Pan Steak and Veggies
Watch the video below where Rachel will walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, Facebook Watch, or our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.
Marsala Wine! Sweet or Dry?
Dry Marsala is preferred due to it being more savory.
This recipe was good, but I made a few adjustments. I pounded the breast to make more even instead of slicing in half. Since I was serving over garlic mashed potatoes, I doubled the sauce added 2T of butter to finish the sauce and used a cornstarch slurry to thicken.
I’ve wanted to try this recipe for so long and so happy I finally got around to doing so…..why did I wait so long? This was absolutely delicious, the chicken was moist and tender; the sauce was sweet, sticky and so tasty. A big hit in our household and I will definitely be making this again.
I love Chicken Marsala. It’s I’ve one my go to when we reach out. I love your recipes but this one just didn’t live up to the expectations.
The chicken cooked up very well but the sauce was lacking in flavor and didn’t thicken up much.
I love a creamy sauce but it was quite a bit on the soupy side even though I cooked it down quite a bit.
I don’t know if I should cut down on the chicken broth but if I make this again I’m to try adding a little bit of flour to the pan before I add the chicken broth and marsala.
Also, I assume you just sprinkle it on top but the recipe never tells you what to do with the parsley.
I’m sorry this one didn’t meet your expectations! If the sauce was too thin, cutting back slightly on the chicken broth or adding a bit of flour before the liquid goes in (as you mentioned) can definitely help thicken it up. Another option is whisking in a cornstarch slurry (1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 teaspoon water) toward the end of cooking. And yes, the parsley is meant to be sprinkled on top as a garnish—I’ll make a note that the instructions could be clearer on that! Hope these tweaks help if you give it another try!
I love the recipe. I am from New Orleans. Rice is grown in Louisiana so you will find rice in many dishes.
I made this recipe but served it over rice. I loved it