There’s nothing more impressive than tender and juicy Beef Marsala. Made with marsala wine, mushrooms, and filet mignon, this is the perfect steak recipe to delight your dinner guests.
When it comes to making an impressive meal, especially for date night, I always turn to steak!
Whether it’s Steak au Poivre, or this Beef Marsala, there’s something about making a steak for someone that subtly lets them know you care about them.
Similar to chicken marsala, steak marsala gets its flavor from a blend of mushrooms, marsala wine, and shallots and is just wonderful served with a side of pasta, rice, or mashed potatoes.
Table of Contents
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Steak. I used two ~1″ thick filet mignon steaks, each roughly 6-8 ounces. Remove the steaks from the fridge about 1 hour before you plan to cook them so that they warm up a bit. Costco has the best prices on filets and I’ll often use a package and get two meals out of it – Beef Marsala and garlic butter steak bites.
- Mushrooms. I love to use a blend of dried gourmet mushrooms (the best deal is from Costco!) and fresh cremini mushrooms. Feel free to only use fresh mushrooms.
- Shallots and garlic. For great flavor.
- Marsala wine. A must for this recipe, it’s what makes this dish beef Marsala!
- Beef stock. If possible, use homemade beef stock, or use Better Than Bouillon brand beef base to make a stock.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- 1 hour before cooking, remove 2 1-inch thick filet mignon steaks from the fridge and set aside. Preheat your oven to 350f and set the rack to the middle level. Add 1 ounce of dried gourmet mushrooms to a heat-proof bowl and pour enough hot water to cover the mushrooms. (Photo #1)
- Mince 2 large shallots and 3 cloves of garlic. Slice 1/2 pound of cremini mushrooms. Pat the steaks very dry with paper towels and season generously with salt and pepper on both sides. (Photo #2)
- Heat a large pan to medium heat and add two tablespoons of olive oil. Sear the steaks on both sides for 4 minutes per side. If the steaks are very thick, sear along the sides as well by using tongs to prop the steaks up while they sear. (Photo #3)
- Move them to a small baking tray and cook in the oven until they reach an internal temperature of 120f (around 5-6 minutes but the exact time will depend on the thickness of the filets used). When finished, remove the steaks from the oven, lightly tent with foil, and set aside (Photo #4).
- Turn the burner to medium-high and add the reconstituted mushrooms to the pan and cook for 3 minutes, then add the cremini mushrooms and cook until they release their water, about 5-7 minutes. Once they release their water, continue to brown for a few more minutes. (Photo #5)
- Turn the heat in the pan down to medium and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the shallots along with a pinch of salt to aid in water release. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until soft, then add the garlic and cook for another minute. (Photo #6)
- Add 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour to the pan and whisk until no white specks remain (about 30-45 seconds). (Photo #7)
- Add 3/4 cup of dry Marsala wine to the pan and bring to a boil. (Photo #8)
- Scrape the pan with a flat-edge wooden spoon to remove any brown bits. Cook until the wine is reduced by half. (Photo #9)
- Add 1 cup of low-sodium or homemade beef stock and bring to a boil once more. Cook for 2 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken, then reduce the heat to a simmer. (Photo #10)
- Taste the sauce and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Then, add the steaks back to the pan and spoon the sauce on top. Flip the steaks every minute and cook until they reach an internal temperature of 130-135f (medium-rare) or until your desired doneness. (Photo #11)
- Once the steaks are done, remove them to a plate and whisk in the butter and parsley. Pour the sauce over the steaks and serve the beef marsala immediately. (Photo #12) Enjoy!
Top tips
- Remove the steak from the fridge. Do this 1 hour before you plan to start prepping to allow for more even cooking.
- Use homemade beef stock. Whenever possible I recommend using homemade beef stock or homemade chicken stock. Doing so allows you to control sodium levels and homemade stock has a better taste and richer mouth feel than boxed stock. If you don’t have homemade stock, use a low-sodium beef base, such as Better Than Bouillon, to make a stock.
- Use a blend of mushrooms. I find that using a combination of different mushrooms increases the flavor of beef marsala and makes for a beautiful presentation.
- Use a meat thermometer. I highly recommend using an instant-read meat thermometer to ensure your steaks are cooked to your liking.
More delicious beef recipes
Here are a few more of my most popular beef recipes. I hope you enjoy!
- Beef Bourguignon – the classic French stew with beef, carrots, mushrooms, and pearl onions.
- Prime rib – another impressive dish, this roast prime rib is always a winner.
- Peposo – Tuscan black pepper and beef stew that’s as easy as it is impressive.
- Steak pizzaiola – Rustic Italian beef dish with braised chuck steaks in a pizza sauce.
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Beef Marsala
Beef Marsala combines tender filet mignon steaks with a delicious mushroom and Marsala wine sauce. This is the dish to make when you want to impress your guests!
Ingredients
- 2 1" thick filet mignon steaks about 6-8 ounces each, removed from fridge 1 hour prior to cooking
- 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 ounce dried gourmet mushrooms sliced, reconstituted in hot water then drained (optional)
- 1/2 pound cremini mushrooms sliced
- 2 large shallots minced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup dry Marsala wine
- 1 cup low-sodium beef stock
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons flat leaf Italian parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350f and set the rack to the middle level. Pat the steaks dry with paper towels and season generously with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Heat a large pan to medium heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sear the steaks for 4 minutes per side. If the steaks are very thick, sear the sides as well by using tongs to hold them vertically. Place the steaks on a baking tray and cook in the oven until they reach an internal temp of 120f (about 5-6 minutes). When the steaks are finished, tent them lightly with foil.
- Turn the burner to medium-high and add the reconstituted mushrooms to the pan and cook for 3 minutes then add the remaining cremini mushrooms and cook until they release their water (about 5-7 minutes). Once the mushrooms release their water let them brown for a few more minutes.
- Turn the heat down to medium and add the remaining olive oil and shallots to the pan along with a pinch of salt and cook for 2-3 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add the flour to the pan and whisk in until no white specks remain.
- Whisk in the Marsala wine and bring to a boil. Cook until the wine reduces by half then add the beef stock and bring to a boil once more. Cook until the sauce begins to thicken (about 2 minutes) then turn the heat down to a simmer.
- Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the steaks back to the pan and spoon the sauce on top. Flip the steaks every minute and cook until they reach an internal temp of 130-135f or until desired doneness. Once the steaks are done remove the steaks to a plate and whisk the butter and parsley into the sauce. Pour the sauce over the steaks and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can cook the steaks to any temp you like but try to sear them to 15-20f less than how you like your steak. This way they can be finished in the sauce for a few minutes before serving.
- Any type of mushrooms can be used. Gourmet mixed mushrooms make a beautiful presentation and really amp up the wow factor.
- Leftovers can be saved for up to 3 days in the fridge and can be reheated on the stovetop over medium-low heat until warm.
Nutrition
Calories: 819kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 56.4g | Fat: 51.3g | Saturated Fat: 15.6g | Cholesterol: 143mg | Sodium: 363mg | Potassium: 1186mg | Fiber: 1.8g | Sugar: 3.2g | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 8mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Excellent recipe, my husband and I loved it!
I plan to make this on Valentine’s Day. You used Opici Dry Marsala. Is it readily available?
Would you recommend the same Marsala for Chicken Marsala?
Thank you.
I love your recipes!!!
Hi there, Opici is widely available where we live on Long Island, NY, but I can’t say how available it is in other areas. We use the same for chicken marsala as well. Thanks for the comment and hope you enjoy!
This was soooo good. I couldn’t find the cut of meat, so I wound up grilling a rib-eye then finishing it in the sauce. The rib-eye was probably too fatty, so if I can’t find filets next time I may try New York Strip. Anyway, have really enjoyed every one of your recipe’s I’ve made. Thank you from Texas.
Hi Brian, thanks for the comment and we’re so happy you enjoyed!
Chicken Marsala is one of my husband’s favorite dishes so I knew this would probably be a hit, but WOW. So delicious!! And super easy, too! This one is fantastic. We had a lot of leftover sauce so the next day we heated it up and put it over baked potatoes for lunch which was almost excellent. 🙂 Seriously, this recipe is a banger. I’m going to be making it again for Valentine’s Day since it’s my husband’s new favorite.
I didn’t use filet Mignon it’s pricey so I used London broil, lol ,it was a hit ! Thanks. The chicken Marsala is unbelievable too ! Thanks for taking the mystery out of Italian/ American cooking
Hi Kerry, we’re so happy you enjoyed this one and thanks for sharing your substition – that will help others looking to do the same!