This restaurant-quality chicken marsala recipe is served with buttered noodles to make a complete meal! Featuring tender pan-fried chicken and a flavorful mushroom marsala sauce, this is sure to become a family favorite… FAST!
Chicken Marsala Recipe
Growing up in an Italian-American family (and working at half a dozen Italian restraints as a teenager), I’m no stranger to chicken marsala. It’s one of the first chicken recipes I learned to cook. And over the years, I’ve tweaked and tinkered with my recipe until it finally felt perfect.
Perfect for me, at least. My perfect version also includes buttered egg noodles. Because if there’s one thing I hope you know about me by know… it’s that I think pasta makes almost any situation a little bit better.
Chicken Marsala Ingredients
- Chicken: Unlike most recipes that call for boneless skinless chicken breasts, I actually use boneless skinless chicken tenders. They cook fast and can easily be broken up with a fork when eating. But you can certainly buy breasts and cut them into tenders. Chicken cutlets will also work, the cook time will just vary by a minute or two.
- Flour:Â All-purpose flour works best here.
- Spices: Garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and salt give our chicken plenty of flavor
- Olive Oil:
- Butter: Use in our marsala sauce as well as in our buttered noodles. I suggest using a quality butter here – unsalted – as it really adds to the overall flavor of the dish.
- Shallots: If you cannot find shallots, a large sweet yellow onion will make a fine substitute.
- Mushrooms: Cremini and shiitake mushrooms give our sauce delicious flavor and texture!
- Cornstarch: Helps the sauce thicken up without becoming gluey. Don’t add more than called for!!! Trust me.
- Chicken Bone Broth: But chicken stock or chicken broth may be used instead. I just personally find bone broth adds a better flavor.
- Garlic: Please, please, PLEASE use fresh garlic here, and not garlic powder.
- Dry Marsala Wine: Marsala is a fortified wine that gives this chicken dish TONS of flavor. I really urge you to use the dry variety over the sweet, unless you know for a fact you prefer your marsala sauce with sweet marsala.
- Parsley: Again, fresh is a must here! Dried parsley won’t add the same pop of fresh flavor or give this dish the vibrant color a handful of fresh parsley does.
- Parmesan: For serving, and for your buttered noodles.
- Egg Noodles: Or any noodle you prefer. You can of course also skip the noodles and serve with mashed potatoes, rice, or anything your little heart desires.
Let’s Make Chicken Marsala
- Prep the chicken: You’ll combine the flour and all spices, then dredge the chicken in the flour until it’s evenly coated with the mixture. This part is important, so be sure to really toss those tenders well!
- Cook the chicken: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until it shimmers. Add in the chicken and cook for 3 minutes on each side. Transfer the pan fried chicken to a clean plate.
- Caramelize the Mushrooms and Onions: Cook the shallots and mushrooms in butter until they’re deeply golden and browned in color, about 20 minutes. Take your time here, as this step really develops flavor. Add the garlic and cook for a minute.
- Make the Wine Sauce: Whisk in the wine and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon and scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Slowly pour in the broth/corn starch mixture and stir well to combine. Slow is key here so it evenly incorporates into the sauce.
- Simmer: Increase the heat to medium-high and simmer, stirring occasionally, JUST until slightly thickened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Don’t over cook or the sauce will become gloppy.
- Add the Chicken: Return the cooked chicken to the pan and gently simmer for 2 more minutes, just to warm the chicken back up. You don’t want to cook longer or you’ll risk drying out the chicken.
- Serve: I like to pour the whole thing over buttered egg noodles, sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve warm, with freshly grated parmesan, white wine, and crusty bread! But you do you, grab what you want to make your perfect meal.
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More Italian Recipes:
- Italian Sausage and Peppers
- Best Ever Baked Ziti
- Italian Wedding Soup
- Crazy Good Classic Stuffed Shells
- The Best Homemade Lasagna
- Italian Sausage Meatballs
Chicken Marsala with Buttered Noodles
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 1 and 1/2 pounds (681g) boneless skinless chicken tenders
- 1/2 cup (113g) all-purpose flour
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the Marsala Sauce:
- 2 Tablespoons (28ml) olive oil
- 4 Tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter
- 3 shallots peeled and thinly sliced
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms sliced
- 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms sliced
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 cup (227ml) chicken bone broth
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup (227ml) dry marsala wine
- 2 Tablespoons (20g) fresh parsley chopped
- grated parmesan cheese for serving, optional
For the Buttered Noodles:
- 1 pound egg noodles
- 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter cubed
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 Tablespoons (20g) fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
For the Chicken:
- In a large bowl combine the flour and all seasonings/spices.
- Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour, making sure each is evenly coated, and shaking off excess flour. Set aside on a clean plate.Â
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until it shimmers. Once the oil is hot, add in the chicken and cook for 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a clean plate. Place pan back on stovetop and continue with sauce below.
For the Marsala Sauce:
- Add the butter to the pan and stir until melted. Add in the shallots and mushrooms and stir well to combine. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms and shallots are deeply caramelized, about 20 minutes.
- In the meantime, in a spouted measuring cup whisk together the cornstarch the chicken bone broth. Set aside until needed.
- Add the garlic to the pan and cook for about 1 minute, or until fragrant but not browned.
- Slowly whisk in the marsala wine, deglazing the pan by scraping up any stuck bits on the bottom and even sides. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.Â
- Slowly pour in the broth/cornstarch mixture and stir well to combine.
- Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the sauce to a simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 5 to 6 minutes.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper, I usually do a teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.Â
- Return the cooked chicken to the pan and gently simmer for 2 more minutes, just to heat the chicken. Remove from heat.
- Â Pour over buttered egg noodles. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve warm.Â
For the Buttered Noodles:
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add in the egg noodles and cook until al dente. Reserve a 1/2 cup of pasta water. Then drain the pasta and pour it into a large mixing bowl.
- Add in the cubed butter, garlic, and pasta water and toss well to combine, mixing until the butter is completely melted.Â
- Sprinkle with parsley and serve at once.Â
Absolutely loved and enjoyed this recipe. We often make just the Buttered noodles.
My family loved it!
So happy this was a hit with your family, Annette!
I use Marsala wine, no gelatin, no chicken broth.
Great recipe. I could not find crimini mushroms, so I substituted white button mushrooms. It took a little while to make but it was worth it. Home run!
I love Chicken Marsala! I use chicken breasts pounded thinly then pat in seasoned( salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano) flour. Then put on a rack in a lipped sheet pan in the fridge for at least 20 minutes. Then caramelize the onions and mushrooms as per recipe.
I flash fry the thin chicken in olive oil then put in oven set at 250. Then proceed just like recipe.
For serving the crispy chicken is put on top of starch of choice then sauce spooned over all. Chicken remains crispy which I prefer.
Gelatin? Not on the ingredients list. Cornstarch is though assume you mean that.
I prefer using sweet Marsala wine in this recipe.
Can you use something besides the wine
Marsala wine is a key ingredient to making Chicken Marsala. However chicken stock will probably work in making a very tasty chicken and mushroom dish 🙂