Juicy pan-fried chicken in a rich marsala wine sauce with mushrooms and a splash of cream.
In my Chicken Marsala, I like to lightly coat the chicken in a seasoned flour mixture that adds even more flavour to this impressive dish.
I'll also show you what to do if you want a no-alcohol version.
I do so enjoy a good sauce drizzle shot.
I'd like to say that I spooned this sauce on, took the shot and moved on.
But no.
This took about 25 shots to get the one I wanted.
I may photograph many many recipes, but I'm still learning every time, and I still take more bad photos than good photos.
One day I'll make a recipe, take 5 perfect shots and be done.
Nah. That'd be boring.
It's taken me a while to get my chicken masala recipe on the blog. Mine is a little different from your usual chicken masala in that I like to coat the chicken with a light, flavourful coating before frying it off.
It adds SO MUCH more flavour!
All cooked up in the rich creamy masala sauce with a TON of mushrooms (yay! I get to eat all of them because no-one else in my family likes mushrooms) it's a dinner party or date night dinner recipe for sure!
What do we need?
How to make this recipe
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally so you have four breast fillets
- Dip the chicken breasts in a bowl with a lightly whisked egg, then dredge in a mixture of flour, salt, pepper, paprika and garlic salt.
- Fry the chicken breasts in a pan in a little olive oil, then remove from the pan.
- Add butter to the pan and heat on a medium heat, then add sliced onion and soften them.
- Add garlic and mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, then add in marsala wine simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken back to the pan and pour in chicken stock. Simmer for 5 minutes, then stir in a little cream.
Serve topped with a sprinkling of fresh parsley. Tastes great with mashed potato and green veg.
What to serve with Chicken Marsala
- Creamy Mashed Potato
- Garlic Parmesan Green Beans
- Crispy Roast Potatoes
- Simple Boiled Rice
- Homemade Fresh Pasta
If you don't have Marsala wine, you can swap it out for maderia, red vermouth or white wine mixed with 2 tsp brandy.
The alcohol won't completely cook out of this dish as it uses quite a lot of marsala wine.
See tips below if you want an alcohol-free version.
Chicken Marsala without wine
If you don't want to use wine in this dish (I know - it won't exactly be a chicken 'marsala' with no marsala) you can try either of the following options. It won't be exactly the same - since Marsala is a fortified wine, that has flavours of wine with a hint of brandy - but it will still taste great.
- Replace the marsala wine with the same amount of chicken stock (in addition to the stock that's already in there), plus 1 tbsp of lemon juice and ½ tsp Dijon mustard.
- Replace the marsala wine with the same amount of non-alcoholic red or white wine or non-alcoholic red vermouth.
Love a comforting creamy sauce dish?
Try one of these:
- Creamy Chicken in White Wine Sauce
- Tuscan Chicken in Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
- Slow-Cooked Steak Diane Casserole
- Easy Salmon in Creamy White Wine Sauce
- Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Casserole
- Creamy Slow-Cooked Pork Casserole with Pancetta
- Pork and Apple Casserole
- Chicken Paprikash
- Tuscan-style Stuffed Mushrooms in Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Sauce
Watch how to make it
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Chicken Marsala Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts
- 1 large egg
- 3 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- ½ tsp dried paprika
- ¼ tsp garlic salt
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 brown onion - peeled and sliced
- 3 cloves garlic - peeled and minced
- 250 g (8 oz) mushrooms - sliced, I like to use a mixture of chestnut and button mushrooms
- 180 ml (¾ cup) dry Marsala wine
- 300 ml (1 ¼ cups) chicken stock
- 3 tbsp double/heavy cream
- 2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
INSTRUCTIONS
- Slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally so you have four breast fillets2 large chicken breasts
- Whisk the egg lightly in a shallow bowl.1 large egg
- In a separate shallow bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic salt.3 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour, ¼ tsp salt, ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper, ½ tsp dried paprika, ¼ tsp garlic salt
- Dip the chicken breasts in the egg, then dredge in the flour mixture.
- Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan (skillet) on a medium-to-high heat.3 tbsp olive oil
- Place the chicken in the pan and fry on both sides until golden.
- Take the chicken out of the pan and place on a plate whilst you make the sauce
- Add the butter to the pan and heat on a medium heat.1 tbsp unsalted butter
- Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes until it starts to soften.1 brown onion
- Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally until the mushrooms are lightly browned.3 cloves garlic, 250 g (8 oz) mushrooms
- Add the marsala wine. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.180 ml (¾ cup) dry Marsala wine
- Add the chicken back to the pan, and pour in the chicken stock. Bring the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.300 ml (1 ¼ cups) chicken stock
- Stir in the cream, then turn off the heat.3 tbsp double/heavy cream
- Serve topped with a sprinkling of fresh parsley. Tastes great with mashed potato and green veg.2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
Video
✎ Notes
Make the dish, then cool, cover and refrigerate for up to a day. Reheat, covered in the oven at 160C/320F for 20-25 minutes or on the hob (the burner) until the chicken is piping hot throughout. You may need a splash or water/stock/cream to loosen as it will be a little thicker. Will it freeze? Yes, cook the dish then, cool, cover and freeze.
Defrost thoroughly in the refrigerator overnight, then take out of the refrigerator an hour before cooking to take the chill off the chicken breasts. Reheat as per the 'make ahead' instructions above. Ingredient swaps
- If you don't have marsala wine, you can swap it out for maderia, red vermouth or white wine mixed with 2 tsp brandy.
- Don't like mushrooms? swap them out for sliced leeks, green beans or asparagus.
Nutrition
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
Alan says
This is now a home favourite 'go to' recipe. Love it.
Sarah says
I made this tonight in next to no time - we found it a most delightful dinner with so much flavour, thank you.
Graham Temperton says
Only noticed your site recently but i've made 3 of your recipes already , love them love the layout and pics and the way you show the ingredients. Thank you , the gorgonzola pasta one 3 times yum (put a couple of pounds on though ! who cares )
Judy says
I would love to make this recipe, but I have trouble with dairy cream. Can you recommend a substitute? Would coconut milk or almond milk work? Or perhaps lactose-free milk?
Ann says
Once again a delicious meal, thank you Nicky......love all your recipes!
Norma says
OMG! I made this last night and it was so good that I wanted to lick my plate. I will definitely keep this in the rotation of favorites. Thank you so much for your hard work developing these delicious and easy recipes.
Faith Joy Carol Walsh says
Love the layout of the recipe, will be trying it soon. Thank you.
Jonathan Tricklebank says
Makes a beautiful meal, second time I prepared this I added a little more salt and pepper and made sure that I had reduced the stock a little more than my first attempt- before adding the cream. It tastes fabulous, a lovely creamy delicious onion and mushroom sauce with the fried chicken. Recommended
Kaye says
Hi
Do you think this Sauce would work with a gammon? Serving one with lovely buttery mash and wanted to try something different to Parsley.
Sue says
I made this last night. I’ve been wanting to do it since I saw it a couple of weeks ago because it looked so delicious! Great photography! It didn’t disappoint! Absolutely delicious!
I have made loads of your recipes Nicky and they are all really good! I could say they are brilliant! Thank you both so much!
Suz Mac says
Absolutely fabulous, super tasty and yummy. Will definitely be making this again
Irene Long says
Very tasty. I didn’t have Marsala so used Port as suggested and it worked well. The sauce was delicious. I have made quite a lot of Nicky’s recipes and I love them. They are well explained and use ingredients that I really like and which are easily obtainable.
Christine says
This made such a delicious change from our usual Sunday dinner, will definitely be making this again (alcohol version for me😉)