Creamy Chicken Marsala

Chicken Marsala is a classic Italian-American dish that's crowd-pleasing, quick, and irresistible. The slightly sweet and savory sauce made from mushrooms, aromatics, and Marsala wine is straight-up drinkable—all the more so for my not-so-traditional addition of heavy cream. This is such a perfect weeknight dinner (or date night stunner) that I wouldn’t even feel guilty making it three nights in a row. Plus, this dish comes together in just 35 minutes, making it ideal for when you want something special but with very little time or effort required. Sold yet? Read on for all our top tips on making this classic dish.

What People Are Saying:
"Followed the recipe and it was the best chicken marsala I have had in a long time. I would not change a thing." - CyanPuzzle

"Absolutely delicious and easy to make. I haven't had this meal in 25 years. I used to make it all the time and will again." - GoldSushi

How To Make Creamy Chicken Marsala

INGREDIENTS

• Chicken: There’s a reason boneless, skinless chicken breast is standard for this dish. Chicken breast is the perfect canvas for adding tons of flavor, and the lean cut helps to balance the heavy sauce. Butterflying the chicken before panfrying also ensures that it cooks quickly while still yielding a golden brown crust.
• Flour: Dredging the butterflied breasts in flour helps them brown and thickens the pan sauce, so it’s a win-win!
• Mushrooms: The most common choices are cremini or white button mushrooms, which will yield a delicious result every time.
• Marsala: If you can find it, opt for real Marsala wine instead of the wine you might find next to the vinegar and oil at the grocery store. Look for a dry Marsala rather than sweet, so the final sauce is balanced. If you can’t find Marsala, try another dry fortified wine, like vermouth, Madeira, dark sherry, or port.
• Heavy Cream: Traditional Marsala sauce is a silky thing of beauty, but I wanted to experiment with taking it in a creamy direction. With heavy cream in the mix, all the complex flavors of the original sauce are carried over from the original, but buoyed along on a creamy, rather than buttery, medium for a more velvety, indulgent result.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

First order of business: butterflying. You’ll want a sharp chef’s knife for this. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels; removing the excess moisture will help us get a thin, even coating of flour when it comes time to dredge. Turn each breast rounded side down and pull away the tenderloin muscle; reserve for making chicken tenders. With the blade of your knife held parallel to the work surface, slice each breast in half horizontally to form cutlets. Season the cutlets on both sides with the pepper, Italian seasoning, and 1 1/2 tsp. salt. Why go to the trouble of butterflying the breasts? Simple: tenderness and speed of cooking.

Next up: dredging. Pour the flour into a shallow bowl or baking dish; it might seem like a lot of flour, but most of it will wind up getting tossed. Working with one cutlet at a time, dredge the chicken in the flour to coat on both sides. Shake off the excess and transfer the cutlets to a baking sheet.

And now: pan-frying. You’ll want a large (12") skillet for this. Stainless steel or cast-iron are great, nonstick is not. You need some degree of sticking for the super-flavorful browned bits to form on the bottom of the skillet. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in the skillet over medium-high, then swirl in 1 Tbsp. butter. Working in 2 batches and adding another 1 Tbsp. oil between batches, fry the cutlets, turning once, until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a large plate. While the chicken is cooking, gather your Marsala sauce ingredient and have them nearby—things move fast at this point.

Time to turn those pan drippings into a sauce. Reduce the heat to medium and heat another 1 Tbsp. oil in the same skillet. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes; you can accelerate this by adding just a splash of water if you like. Add the shallot and remaining 1 Tbsp. oil and 1/2 tsp. salt. Cook, stirring often, until the shallot is translucent, about 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour in the wine and cook, stirring occasionally and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of pan, until thickened and reduced by half, 4 to 5 minutes. Now, pour in the broth and cream and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened and velvety, about 15 minutes.

Finally, it’s time to bring it all together. Stir the remaining 2 Tbsp. butter into the sauce, then return the chicken to the skillet and cook, spooning the sauce over, just to heat through, 2 to 3 minutes. Top with parsley before serving.

Full list of ingredients and directions can be found in the recipe below.

Recipe Tips

• What kind of wine is Marsala? Hailing from Sicily, Marsala is a type of fortified wine, meaning a wine boosted with a distilled spirit like brandy or cognac added. Fortification lends a deep brown color and a distinct richness and caramelized sweetness to Marsala, making it an ideal match for the umami-rich mushrooms here. It’s that sweet-savory flavor combo gives chicken Marsala much of its charm.
• How to clean mushrooms: Despite what you might have heard, it’s totally okay to clean mushrooms by rinsing them under running water. Will they get wet? Sure. Will they waterlog? Nope.

Storage

Got leftovers? Lucky you! Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, then reheat when ready to serve. Tip: If your sauce is too thick, thin it with a splash of water.