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Creamy Chicken Marsala is a classic Italian dish that is ready in under 30 minutes! Marsala wine is made into a creamy sauce paired with mushrooms for the ultimate savory bite. It’s simple and easy to whip up and sure to be a crowd-pleaser!
I am such a fan of mushrooms with just about everything. They are the perfect companion to pasta, soup, sauces, and pretty much everything else. If you love mushrooms too, then you will love this Creamy Tuscan Garlic Chicken, this delicious Skillet Creamy Chicken Mushroom Florentine, and this simple but oh-so flavorful Creamy Garlic Parmesan Mushroom Chicken.
Marsala Chicken
Do you ever make something and think, DANG! I just made that?! This Creamy Chicken Marsala became an instant favorite with the very first bite. The creamy sauce is made with sweet marsala wine and wow, the flavor is incredible. (Don’t worry because alcohol does burn off during the cooking process and is safe for the kids to eat). All you have to add to it is some heavy cream, garlic, mustard, and voila!
Everything about this meal is SO GOOD. It’s perfect served with roasted root vegetables and a simple Caesar salad. You could also serve it over pasta al limone or your favorite noodles for a filling chicken pasta. My family always requests mashed potatoes, so I know for a fact it’s great with those too! This marsala sauce is perfect over rice too. However you decide to serve it, you are going to love this quick and easy chicken dish!
Ingredients
The key ingredient in this creamy chicken marsala is of course, the Marsala wine! You can find Marsala wine fairly easily and it’s perfect to have in your pantry for more recipes, like this creamy garlic pork marsala. You can find the measurements below in the recipe card.
- Chicken Breast: I prefer to use boneless skinless chicken breast for this recipe. You could also use chicken thighs or chicken cutlets instead.
- Salt and Black Pepper: To season the chicken.
- Olive Oil: I prefer to cook with olive oil, but you can use your favorite cooking oil. You could use butter instead.
- Mushrooms: Thinly sliced as evenly as possible so they all cook at the same rate.
- Marsala Wine: The key ingredient! It adds all the body and flavor to the sauce.
- Chicken Broth: To help make the sauce.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: This is what makes this sauce so thick and creamy!
- Ground Mustard: I prefer to use ground mustard, but you could also use a liquid mustard. Or you could leave it out altogether if your family doesn’t like mustard flavor.
- Garlic Powder: To add to the depth of the sauce.
- Parsley: Fresh, for garnish. You could also add fresh thyme as well.
Creamy Chicken Marsala Recipe
This creamy chicken marsala recipe is pretty much as easy as it gets! Don’t be intimidated by cooking with wine, I kept this recipe so simple that anyone could do it. If you prefer to cook without wine, I share my substitutions below in the tip box.
- Cook Chicken: In a large skillet over medium heat add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Add the chicken and lightly season with salt and pepper. Cook until golden brown and cooked throughout. Remove chicken and set aside on a plate.
- Make Sauce: Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and sauté the mushrooms for 1-2 minutes. Add marsala wine and bring to a boil over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes. This allows the alcohol to burn out. Add the chicken broth, heavy whipping cream, ground mustard, and garlic powder.
- Thicken Sauce and Serve: Bring to a boil and reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or until it starts to thicken. Place the cooked chicken back in the sauce and continue to simmer for about 1-2 minutes.
Tips for Making Creamy Chicken Marsala
This creamy chicken marsala recipe is super easy, but I always like to include a few personal tips that I’ve learned over the years from cooking a lot. Here are a few things to keep in mind when making this recipe.
- Cutting the Breast in Half: I like to slice my chicken breasts in half or buy them thinly sliced so that they cook quickly and easily. Place one chicken breast half on a cutting board, flat/smooth side down. Put the palm of your non-cutting hand on the top of the breast, and, using a very sharp knife, slowly cut horizontally through the breast, starting with cutting into the long, thick side.
- Choosing a Marsala Wine: Marsala is an Italian fortified wine with smoky, deep flavor. When making savory dishes like chicken or veal Marsala, dry Marsala is the classic choice; when making desserts, sweet Marsalis generally used. Marsala wine is a fortified wine from Sicily with a deep flavor and is used in this sauce to create a caramelized rich flavor. When making savory dishes like Chicken Marsala, dry Marsala is the best option.
- Wine Alternative: If you are not interested in using dry marsala wine in this recipe, or don’t want to buy a bottle just for this, I’ve got you covered! Here are some substitutions you could use instead: 1/4 cup of white grape juice, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, or 2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar.
Storing Leftovers
I love having creamy chicken marsala in the fridge as leftovers because the sauce gets more flavorful over time. It’s seriously so good the next day, and makes a perfect lunch. Here is how to store leftovers.
- In the Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
More Creamy Chicken Recipes
I think chicken is absolutely perfect paired with a creamy sauce! I’ve got so many recipes on my blog, I just had to share a few of my favorites with you. You are going to want to try them all!
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Creamy Chicken Marsala
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced or cut in half
- salt and pepper to season
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 1/2 cup Marsala wine or substitute
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- fresh parsley for garnish, chopped
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Add the chicken and lightly season with salt and pepper. Cook until lightly brown and cooked throughout. Remove chicken and set aside on a plate.
- Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and sauté the mushrooms for 1-2 minutes. Add marsala wine and bring to a boil over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes. This allows the alcohol to burn out. Add the chicken broth, heavy whipping cream, ground mustard, and garlic powder.
- Bring to a boil and reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or until it starts to thicken. Place the cooked chicken back in the sauce and continue to simmer for about 1-2 minutes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
salt free or low salt chicken broth?
I’ve made this recipe three time now. Each time it turned out great. Tonight I used a rib eye steak instead of chicken. I also added onions and thyme to the sauce. Cooked it a little longer than suggested and the sauce thickened to a good consistency. Great recipe! ????
I made this last night and while the flavor was good, the sauce was almost completely white – as others have mentioned. The sauce in the photos looks much more appetizing. The only changes I made were: I used 3 cloves of fresh garlic (sautéed with the mushrooms) instead of the garlic powder and only cooked two chicken breasts instead of four. Maybe I didn’t have enough of the juice from the chicken? However, I just watched the video and my sauce looked just like the sauce in the video – which is much whiter than the photos. Any suggestions on making the sauce less white and more appealing?
I made this last night and it was so great! It will be one of my ongoing recipes.
I doubled the mushrooms because we like them, added salt to the sauce as I was cooking (which I assume most cooks would as they’re tasting and cooking) and added a couple tsp of cornstarch slurry to thicken it a bit.
This recipe was so easy and delish that it’s a little ridiculous. Thank you for posting it!
This recipe looks amazing. I was wondering if I can make it the night before and reheat the next day. I having guest for dinner and cooking this along with another entree. Does it reheat well?
made this recipe the other night and my family LOVED IT. my picky daughter wanted it the next day even. I was wondering though in your picture did you put cheese on top? it sorta looked like there was. Thank you for all the recipes they are deff a lot of them on my weekly menus now!
Made this for dinner tonight, for myself and the hubby– it was better than any other restaurant- made Chicken Marsala I’ve ever had. Phenomenal flavor. Made it alongside baked asparagus, and bow tie pasta.
I made this for dinner, but it is super runny and very pale uncool or. I was wondering if it was supposed to be 1 cup of heavy cream or 1/2 cup?
My husband and son loved this. The only complaint they had was that there wasnt enough for leftovers. I used Moscotto wine instead of Marsala. Like a few other people I didnt have heavy whipping cream, so I added 3 tsp of flour to thicken. Mine was a nice brown as in the picture. I think the secret was to cook the sauce in the same pan as the chicken. Deglaze the pan with the wine and add the mushrooms.
This recipe is absolutely incredible! It wasn’t a high maintence dish by any means, but the flavors were amazing!!! This is definitely at the top of our list of favorites!
On this Chicken Marsala recipe do you have to use heavy cream?
Heavy cream sure does make it delicious! 🙂
I made this and it was really delicious, will be making again and thanks for the great recipe
Thankyou for sharing this amazing dish. I couldn’t find Marsala wine so bought Madeira and it was gorgeous but don’t know how it differs. I followed your recipe exactly and had no problems, sauce was brown and as thick as I wanted it. I have passed it on to my friends and they love it too.
Just made this. It was Restaurant quality…..If you put enough salt and pepper in the sauce. Simply Delicious. A KEEPER.
I made this last week, I’m making it again today. Me and my family can’t get enough of this recipe. It’s so easy and delicious. I couldn’t find sweet Marsala wine, I could only find the dry. It was still amazing! Thank you 🙂
Awesome dinner I added more sauce n small potato chuncks, small buttered brussel sprouts and buttered corn. Very easy recipe