A sweet Italian sauce can transform your tastebuds and have you dreaming of Tuscany. The rich marsala sauce takes only a few ingredients to make, but blows you away with its depth and flavor. From the stove to your plate in under an hour, the absolute best chicken marsala is a savory dish that will have everyone going back for seconds. Succulent mushrooms and lightly breaded chicken bathe in the marsala sauce to create a delectable meal.
This post is part of our Basic Cooking Skills series. Each week we will be doing a deep-dive into one basic cooking skill and a brand new recipe to accompany it to practice that newfound skill. Check back throughout the series for updates and new posts.
how to: prepare the chicken & Vegetables
Onions, garlic, and mushrooms are the main vegetables in this dish, with accents of parsley at the end.
Slice the mushrooms and onions thinly and dice the garlic.
I pan fry the chicken breasts so they should be thin and breaded heavily before going into the oil. Other methods can be used but I’ve found that the breaded chicken reallyyyy soaks up the flavor of the sauce.
Using the plastic bag trick to prevent splatter, flatten the chicken breasts as much as you can with a meat tenderizer, or slice thinly and use smaller chicken breasts.
Coat with a mixture of breadcrumbs, flour, and Italian seasoning.
They should be completely covered!
how to: cook the chicken
Heat canola oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. There should be enough oil to cover the bottom of the entire pan.
Set the chicken breasts into the oil carefully, and cook until brown, about 5-6 minutes.
Flip chicken breasts and continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F (75 degrees C).
Set aside and marvel at that beautiful color! Let the chicken rest before cutting.
how to: cook the vegetables
In the same pan, cook the onions for about 5 minutes or until they turn translucent. Scrape up the delicious fronds and incorporate into the veggie mixture.
Add the mushrooms for an additional 3-4 minutes.
Then add the garlic for 1-2 minutes.
how to: create the absolute best marsala pan sauce
Next up is the roux — our thickener. With equal parts butter and flour, melt butter and quickly whisk in flour.
The roux will be pretty thick and golden. Stir until combined.
Add a splash of beef broth and the marsala wine. Simmer for about 20 minutes to allow the alcohol to cook off.
Return your chicken to the pan whole, or chop into bite sized pieces before mixing in.
Enjoy your absolute best chicken marsala with a side of mashed potatoes and garlic bread!
Ingredients Needed
Materials Needed
The Absolute Best Chicken Marsala
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts thinly slice or pounded thin
- 1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup flour
- 3 tbsp Italian seasoning mix of basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme
- 1/4 cup canola oil adjust as needed to cover pan
- 1 white onion sliced
- 8 oz mushrooms sliced
- 3-4 garlic cloves diced
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1/4 cup beef broth
- 2/3 cup marsala wine
- 1/4 cup parsley roughly chopped, to garnish
Instructions
- Heat canola oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Mix breadcrumbs, flour, and Italian seasoning and toss the chicken breasts in the mixture to coat.
- Place the chicken breasts in the pan and cook for 6-7 minutes on one side, then flip and continue cooking around 5 minutes or until done. Set aside.
- In the same pan, add onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and continue cooking for 2 minutes. Push the vegetables to the edges of the pan.
- Add butter to the pan and melt, mixing in flour and stirring constantly to form a roux. After thickening into a paste-like texture, mix with the vegetables. Add beef broth and marsala wine to the pan. Simmer 20 minutes.
- Return the chicken to the pan to heat up. Serve over mashed potatoes or pasta with a side of garlic bread.
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This looks really good! I love chicken marsala but have not had it in a while. I’m following a keto diet, so I might try to make this using almond flour for the breading on the chicken. I think I could come up with a roux, too. You’ve inspired me!
That’s a great idea! Let me know if you try it and it works out 🙂
I’ve never heard of this dish before but I’d definitely love it. Just by the ingredients I know I’d love it! I’m very hungry now after reading this!
Oh it is SO good! Marsala wine has a great sweetness to it that goes so well with chicken and mushrooms
This looks so delicious!
Thank you so much!
Chicken marsala is one of my favorite meals. I have never coated the chicken in breadcrumbs before so I am interested in trying that next time and seeing what I think.
I really love the breading because it helps soak up that delicious sauce 🙂
Beautifully detailed with some nice pictures… Looks yummy..
Thank you for reading 🙂
Yum…..feels like I want eat the chicken and mushrooms now. Hehehe. Thank you for sharing another delicious recipe.
Haha thank you so much 🙂
I’ve never heard of this but it looks really delicious!
It’s such a great Italian dish and the marsala wine makes such a dreamy sauce!
It looks truly flavourful! 😊
Thank you for commenting!
This looks and sounds utterly delicious! I will need to give it a try hopefully next week!
Now, this a recipe that I must try!
All looks delicious!
Joseph
Thank you so much! I hope you love it 🙂
Wasn’t familiar with this dish but it looks savory! That’s my favorite flavor of any food x
I would definitely recommend checking out Marsala wine, it’s such a sweet cooking wine!
I love how you broke down the steps, I love this dish but I always thought it was super hard to make. I might actually give this a try and get over my fear of cooking meat lol
Aww that makes me happy to hear 🙂 Thank you for reading!
Love all the pictures & step by step instructions. You make it look too easy! We will have to try it!
Haha thanks so much! Let me know how it turns out for you!😉
This recipe looks insanely amazing! I’ve only had chicken Marsala one time, but I have the feeling I’ll be making this in the fall! This looks so so good!!!!
You’re so sweet, thanks so much!
This looks absolutely delicious! I love chicken and I’m sure I’ll enjoy this meal!
Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
I have yet to make this dish, but it’s definitely on the list. But it looks amazing. You did a great job and thanks for the photo step through.
Thank you, I’m glad to hear the photos are helpful 🙂
What a great recipe! I love Chicken Marsala. But I must admit, I can’t remember the last time I had it (sadly). Covid has thrown everything off.. I prefer my chicken whole but cubed sounds like a simple must try. Thanks for sharing and the Marsala reminder.
It had been such a long time since I had eaten it too! I can’t let it happen again😂
OMG, that looks super yummy 😋😋😋. I have to try this out. The recipes are so simple
Thank you so much, I try to make them easy to understand 🙂
Oh Kalbi, another recipe to add to my list. I’ve never thought of coating the chicken in breadcrumbs. Thanks for sharing, I’ll try this one out and let you know how it goes.
That’s so great to hear!! Please let me know 🙂 🙂
I was surprised to see breadcrumbs in this recipe. The dish looks tasty, I’ll have to share it with my partner
I personally had never breaded chicken for this before but my boyfriend always has, and it reallyyy helps the flavor!
I’ve never heard of this dish before but it sounds absolutely delicious.
Definitely see if your local grocery store carries marsala cooking wine! It has such great taste
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I need to try this recipe.
my go to recipe for marsala . Ive made it twice so far.