One of Lisa’s favorite meals is Chicken Marsala. To her it means comfort food and having spoiled her with my classic version of Chicken Marsala, nothing else will do.
She’s tried ordering out and its never the same and it really only comes down to one reason.
The marsala that most people use does not impart that extra special flavor that makes my Chicken Marsala legendary.
What ingredients do I need to make Chicken Marsala?
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make my Chicken Marsala. In Chef Speak this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place”.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the up cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
How do I make Chicken Marsala?
- Dredge the chicken in flour seasoned with salt and pepper, then add it to a hot sauté pan with enough olive oil to saute the chicken.
- Sauté the chicken for 2-3 minutes on one side, then turn it over to saute the other side. At this time add the sliced mushrooms to the pan.
- Continue to sauté the chicken, turning it as needed and letting the mushrooms cook.
*Add more olive oil if needed.
After the mushrooms look cooked and the chicken is well seared on all sides, add in ¾ of a cup of your Marsala ( reserve 2 ounces to finish the dish).
Let the chicken marsala continue to cook for 1-2 minutes. This will also burn off the alcohol.
Add in the chicken stock, reduce the heat, and allow to simmer on low as the sauce reduces.
Season with granulated onion and black pepper to taste.
When the sauce has reduced by about half of its original liquid, roll 1 tablespoon of butter in flour, getting a good layer of flour embedded into the butter.
Add the floured butter to the sauce, this will help thicken your sauce (this method is called a beurre manie). Mix the beurre manie into the sauce and then add in the remaining Marsala wine.
What Marsala Should I use for Chicken Marsala?
Getting back to the reason my chicken marsala is better than most is the marsala wine I use.
In the mise en place, I have a bottle of Cribari Marsala. My first choice will always be Pelligrino Marsala but it’s hard to find and more than double the price of Cribari.
That being said when I have both on hand, I start with Cribari and finish with Pelligrino. Now I’m not saying you need to buy two brands, it’s just something that I do to make the dish extra special for Lisa.
When I can’t find Pelligrino I use Cribari and the dish comes still comes out better than most Italian restaurants.
There is one other tip on buying marsala wine and that is if there’s a choice between dry and sweet, always buy the sweet.
This will contradict what most chefs will tell you, so you’re going to have to trust me on this one. Believe me, it will make a big difference in the flavor of the dish and it will not make the sauce sweet, it’s just how they differentiate between the two varieties.
Dry Marsala, in theory, should be more flavorful. But either I haven’t found a good dry marsala or it just doesn’t work as well as advertised in my dishes.
After the sauce has thickened and you are happy with the seasoning you can serve the Chicken Marsala to your guests.
More Chicken Recipes You’ll Love!
Classic Chicken Marsala Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 oz boneless skinless chicken breast o or chicken tenders
- 8 oz baby bella mushrooms or regular mushrooms
- extra virgin olive oil to saute chicken and mushrooms
- seasoned flour to dust chicken seasoned with sea salt and black pepper
- 1 tbsp butter
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp granulated onion
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 cup Marsala
- 1 tbsp heavy cream optional
Instructions
- Prepare your chicken by triming away any fat and skin. . If you are using tenders you can just use them as they are.
- dredge the chicken in flour seasoned with salt and pepper, and add it to a hot sauté pan with enough olive oil to saute the chicken.
- Sauté the chicken for 2-3 minutes on one side then turn it over, at this time add your mushrooms to the pan.
- Continue to sauté the chicken, turning it as needed and letting the mushrooms cook.
- After the mushrooms look cooked and the chicken is well seared on all sides, add in ¾ of a cup of your Marsala ( reserve 2 ounces to finish the dish).
- Allow the Marsala to continue cooking for 1-2 minutes
- Add in the chicken stock and heavy cream, reduce the heat, and allow to simmer on low as the sauce reduces. Season wiht granulated onion and black pepper.
- When the sauce has reduced about half of its original liquid, roll 1 tablespoon of butter in flour, getting a good layer of flour embedded into the butter. Now add it to the sauce, this will help thicken your sauce. (this method is called a beurre manie). Add in the remaining Marsala wine to finish the dish.
- After the sauce has thickened and you are happy with the seasoning you can serve the Chicken Marsala to your guests. I love serving mine with mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, rice or egg noodles.
Notes
Nutrition
Connie Pearson
Hi Dennis, I served this to guests last night, and it was a big hit. The flavor is wonderful. I’ll definitely be using this recipe again.
Give my love to Lisa.
Connie
KayKay
Delicious and the sauce was wonderful! I made this recipe last night served with pasta and stuffed zucchini boats. I found it difficult to brown the mushrooms while the chicken was taking up most of the space in the pan. It was difficult to stir the sauce without disturbing the chicken and damaging the flour coating. Could you remove the chicken and continue cooking in the oven while finishing off the sauce? It took me a good 15-20 min to reduce the Marsala and the stock which caused the chicken to be slightly overcooked.
Chef Dennis Littley
yes you can remove the chicken and finish it in the oven. You can also partially cook the chicken and remove it while you cook the sauce and just return it to the pan to finish.
Kathleen
Thanks, you were so helpful .I am Italian but we never had this dish and I wanted to try it out.
arabel
gracias!!!!!
Chef Dennis Littley
you’re welcome!
Henry Higgins
Love this recipe… going to try it tonight. A SUGGESTION : Please try to make your recipes fit on one page , if possible… easier for we old folks !
Donna Welsh-Johnson
“Cream” is mentioned at the top of the recipe and I believe I see a picture of cream in a small glass bowl…but no where is it mentioned in the recipe. So, my question is, how much, when is it added, or should it be omitted from the recipe completely? thanks so much for clarifying!
Chef Dennis Littley
Thanks for noticing that ommission Donna. You would add it at the end of the dish with the marsala. It’s more of an optional add that isn’t a deal breaker but will make the sauce a little richer.