Chicken Marsala is a classic Italian dish that combines earthy mushrooms and razor-thin chicken scallopine bathed in a thick, sweet Marsala wine sauce and topped with fresh parsley. It’s easy to make and always a hit!
Chicken Marsala is one of those classic dishes you’ll find on the menu of nearly every Italian-American restaurant alongside other items like Chicken Francese, Chicken Piccata, Shrimp Fra Diavolo, and Chicken Parm.
The Marsala wine sauce is thick and rich and the earthy mushrooms give great flavor and texture.
Chicken Marsala is easy to make, and is perfect with rice, pasta, and sauteed garlic spinach.
If you love the Marsala flavor, try making Beef Marsala as well!
For this recipe, you will need chicken cutlets, white button or crimini mushrooms, dry marsala wine, low-sodium chicken stock, olive oil, butter, flour, parsley, and smoked prosciutto. A bit of cornstarch works well for thickening the sauce.
How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Begin by slicing the mushrooms.
- Make strips of the prosciutto and then dice them into small pieces as shown in pic 2.
- Season the flour with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper. Mix well. Dredge the thin chicken cutlets into the flour and shake off excess. Set the dredged cutlets aside onto a baking pan lined with parchment or wax paper.
- Saute the speck in a large pan over medium heat in 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- Once the prosciutto becomes crispy (about 5 minutes) add the mushrooms and saute until they release their water. Remove the mushrooms and prosciutto and set them aside in a bowl.
- To the pan add a bit of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the chicken in batches.
- After a few minutes flip the chicken.
- When the chicken is brown and cooked through remove it from the pan.
- To the pan add the Marsala wine and chicken stock.
- Turn heat to medium-high and using a wooden spoon scrape the bottom of the pan to remove the flavor bits. Cook for 3 minutes and let the sauce reduce a bit.
- Turn heat to low and add 3 tablespoons of butter. Whisk the butter in and create the sauce. If the sauce is too thin mix 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1-2 ounces of water and add the mixture to the pan. Cook the sauce on medium-high to thicken if using the cornstarch.
- When satisfied with the sauce’s consistency, taste test it. Make final adjustments to salt and pepper then add the chicken, mushrooms, and prosciutto back to the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes to warm it through, then remove from heat. Add parsley and serve.
Top tips
- Chicken – Use thinly sliced chicken cutlets. Cutting them into smaller pieces allows more surface area of the chicken to receive the flour during dredging. This will help thicken the sauce somewhat.
- Dredging – Season the flour with a lot of salt and pepper or the chicken pieces individually before searing. Chicken needs a lot of salt. Also, setting up a dredging station makes the prep process easier. Placing all the cutlets onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper allows you to more efficiently move onto the searing step. The same process works even better when making chicken Milanese.
- Pan – If the pan gets a little brown (you can see mine did in the steps) either clean it midway through cooking or grab another pan.
- Sauce – Cornstarch can thicken the sauce quite easily. 1-2 tablespoons will do the trick with the amount of liquid the recipe calls for.
- Keep the chicken and mushrooms warm – Once these are prepped, just use a foil tent to keep it warm until you’re ready to eat. All you have to do is add them into the sauce and cook for 1-2 minutes more to have a piping hot dish.
Leftovers
Chicken Marsala can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop at medium to medium-low heat. If using the stovetop and the sauce is a bit dry add a bit of water or chicken stock (2-3 ounces) to loosen it right up.
More Italian chicken recipes
- Chicken saltimbocca – Thin cutlets with prosciutto and sage in an easy wine sauce.
- Chicken pizzaiola – Chicken cutlets with peppers, mushrooms, garlic, oregano, and white wine.
- Creamy sun-dried tomato chicken – Spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, white wine, and basil in an easy cream sauce.
- Chicken Sorrentino – Layers of eggplant, fontina cheese, and prosciutto in a Marsala tomato butter sauce.
- Chicken Valdostana – Thin chicken cutlets with melty cheese and prosciutto in a white wine sauce.
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Chicken Marsala
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds chicken cutlets thinly sliced
- 10 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 1/4 pound smoked prosciutto
- 3/4 cup dry Marsala wine
- 3/4 cup low sodium chicken stock
- 1 cup flour
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 5 tablespoons butter divided
- 2 tablespoons parsley minced
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- In a large shallow bowl mix salt and pepper into flour. Dip chicken cutlets into flour and shake off excess. Set coated cutlets on a parchment or wax paper-lined baking sheet.
- In a large pan saute the prosciutto over medium heat for 5 minutes in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook until they release their water (about 5 minutes). Set mushrooms and prosciutto aside in a bowl tented with foil.
- In the same pan add a bit more olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. Cook the chicken in batches (about 3 minutes per side) until browned. Work in batches adding more oil and butter if required. Set all chicken aside in a plate and tent with foil.
- To the pan add the Marsala wine and chicken stock. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to dislodge the flavor bits. Turn heat to medium-high and cook for 3-5 minutes until the sauce is slightly reduced.
- Turn heat to low and add the remaining butter. Swirl it around or whisk to form the sauce. If the sauce is not thick enough add a slurry of 1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with 1 ounce of water. Turn heat to high and stir until thickened (about 1 minute). When satisfied with the sauce's consistency, taste test and make final adjustments to salt and pepper levels.
- Finally, add the chicken, mushrooms, and prosciutto back to the pan and heat through for 1-2 minutes until hot. Top with parsley and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- Chicken – Small, thinly-sliced chicken cutlet pieces, aka scallopine, work best.
- Dredging – Season the flour well with salt and pepper and set aside the dredged chicken pieces for easier cooking.
- Pan – If the pan gets a little brown (you can see mine did in the steps) either clean it midway through cooking or grab another pan.
- Sauce – Use a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce if required. 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1-2 ounces of water will be more than adequate.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
James – I have a question. With all of the Extra Virgin Oils on the market, How do you know which ones you should buy for topping off salads or some of your special dishes? Is it usually the most expensive ones or is there another way to tell?
Also, every recipe I have copied from you has been absolutely delicious!!
Hi Barbara, thanks for the comment and glad you’re enjoying the recipes! I suggest listening to the podcast Jim and I recorded where he discusses all things olive oil. Here’s the link: https://www.sipandfeast.com/podcast-episode-004/
Hi James. I just discovered your website and my mouth is watering! I plan to try a number of your recipes. They sound so yummy! With this recipe are you cutting the cutlets thin? If so, say 1/4 to 3/8 inches? Or can they be pounded out? Which do you recommend?
Hi Susan, you can fillet the cutlets thin and then pound them out to about to roughly 3/8 to 1/2 an inch.I hope that helps!
Hi, I discovered your recipes last year and am really enjoying them. I cannot eat mushrooms, can you suggest a substitution so I can try this recipe?
Hi Jean, you an omit the mushrooms here if you can’t have them.
Good lord, yet another winner.
I have spend nearly half my life trying to learn how to make “good” Italian food. Jim, and his fantastic recipes (and youtube channel) have taught me more in the last year than I have learned in the last 30. I spent nearly a decade traveling to Italy, 40 plus trips, and have always loved the food. I tried and tried to replicate it but never could until I found Jim (i.e. Sipandfeast).
He makes the process one that you feel comfortable with. There is no stress and you understand that mistakes are ok. But if you follow his process you will nail it every time.
This recipe is no different. It is a winner!
Cheers to Sipandfeast!
Reed
Hi Reed, Jim and I are so happy to hear you’re loving the recipes and we really appreciate your comment!
Delicious! It was so good that I was told I can make it every day. All your recipes that I’ve tried are very good. Thank you, Marie Patrizi
Hi Marie, we’re so happy you’re enjoying Jim’s recipes and truly appreciate your comment!
Is speck smoked prosciutto? Thanks for your great recipes!
Speck is a type of smoked prosciutto. Glad you’re enjoying the recipes!
Excellent dish!
Thanks, Brian!
Hi Jim! Just wondering why you didn’t use any garlic in this recipe! I am still trying to gain confidence with my cooking. I love all your teaching videos!!! Thanks! Kathy
Hi Kathleen, I didn’t use garlic for this recipe but if you want to use garlic, shallot, or onion you definitely can. In fact, for my chicken Marsala pasta recipe, I did use garlic. I appreciate your comment and am so happy you’re enjoying the videos!
Can you use sweet masala as opposed to dry.
Hi Lind. You most definitely can, though dry is preferred. In the YouTube video, I used sweet and it was still great.
Hey Jim can I substitute the chicken with shrimp and should I add bread crumb or follow like the chicken (for your Marsala recipe)
Thank you Laurie
Hi Laurie. You can do it with or without breadcrumbs. You can follow this recipe exactly if choosing the no-breadcrumb method.