This recipe has been a favorite of ours for many, many years.
It’s a bold statement, but we truly feel this recipe is better than any Italian restaurant’s version that we’ve ever tried. And we’ve tried so many! We just love the taste of Marsala, and we always go with the sweet variety. The secret to this amazing dish is the brown sauce. Make a double batch and freeze it. You’ll be so glad that you did!
How To Make Chicken Marsala
The ingredients in this dish complement each other perfectly.
The real secret to putting this dish over the top is the Brown Sauce (click for full recipe).
This classic mother sauce can be made up to 1 week in advance, making the preparation of the Chicken Marsala dish fairly quick.
Chicken Marsala is a dish that is loved by folks everywhere.
It’s always a favorite in Italian eateries around the world.
Trust us when we tell you this dish is the real deal.
The ingredients are simple but when prepared correctly, the end result is truly something magical.
We love to use a good quality sweet Marsala wine.
It works beautifully with the rich deep flavor of the Brown Sauce and the woodsy mushroom taste.
Wow, oh wow. This is SO good!
Other Classic Italian Dishes
- Authentic Osso Bucco
- Chicken Piccata
- Pasta Pomodoro
- Rustic Lasagna
- Pasta alla Norma
- Classic Pasta Carbonara
But in the meantime…aren’t you craving this!
Now, let’s make this incredible Authentic Chicken Marsala recipe!
And when you do, be sure to take a photo of it, post it on Instagram, and tag @HowToFeedaLoon and hashtag #HowToFeedaLoon!
Authentic Chicken Marsala
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- salt and pepper
- 2 lbs chicken cutlets pounded to 1/8-inch thickness
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 large shallot chopped
- 8 oz. mushrooms sliced, any variety will do
- 4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce divided
- ½ cup Marsala wine sweet
- 1½ cups Brown Sauce click for recipe
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Prepare the Brown Sauce (this can be done up to 3 or 4 days in advance).
- Place the flour on a large plate. Season the cutlets with salt and pepper.
- Dredge (coat) the cutlets with flour and shake off excess.
- In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
- When oil is hot, add the cutlets, one at a time, and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes per side, until lightly browned all over. Set aside on a plate and cover with foil.
- Discard oil from the pan. Reduce heat to medium and add the butter.
- Once melted, add the shallots and cook, stirring often, for about 2 minutes or until soft and lightly browned.
- Add the mushrooms and 2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce. Cook them for several minutes until they begin to release their liquid.
- Carefully add the wine to the pan (be careful, it may flame) and cook the sauce for 2 minutes until it is bubbling.
- Add the brown sauce and the remaining 2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce and reduce the heat to medium, and then let the sauce simmer for another 3 minutes.
- Taste, and season with more salt and pepper, to your taste. We usually add another ½ tsp of each. ⅛
- Transfer the cutlets to a platter and ladle the sauce over them. Garnish with parsley.
Notes
Nutrition
POST UPDATE: This recipe was originally published in August, 2016, but was updated with improved tweaks to the recipe with all-new tips and photography and a fabulous new video in August, 2021!
I can’t chicken cutlets. Only big filets. Should I leave alone or slice them?
Hi Kelley! You can cut then in half, lengthwise. We do that all the time. It’s often so hard to find chicken breasts that aren’t absolutely massive!!! Let us know if you make the dish and how it turns out! Best, Kris & Wesley
Just made this and this was the marsala recipe I was always looking for. Added 1 minced garlic clove with the shallots. Thanks
Hi William! YES!! We are thrilled you made the marsala recipe and had such great success with it! The addition of garlic and shallots sounds GREAT! Thank you so much for sharing and for the wonderful review. That means the world to us! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Can I replace the vegetable oil with anything?
Hi Alison, you could cut the oil in half, or lightly fry the cutlets in butter. You could replace the vegetable oil with any other type of oil. Coconut oil is healthier than vegetable oil. You could liberally spray the cutlets with cooking spray and then air fry them or even bake them until somewhat crisp and cooked through. Hope this helps! Let us know if you make the dish and how it turns out!
Hi!
This looks delicious! Will try it for Christmas. My daughter in law cannot eat mushrooms, so do you have a substitute?
Hi Deborah! So sorry for the delayed response! You could just omit the mushrooms. It’s really all about the sauce! Hope this helps! Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!
Hello! Do
You have recommendations for how to heat up the brown sauce when it is all congealed? I tried boiling it and it sort of helped but not really. Eventually when I put it in the frying pan with the mushrooms etc it became more liquidy. Should I have just went from defrosted sauce to pan or is there something I could have done differently?
That said. This is an amazing recipe and it’s going to be my go to how to impress someone dish!
Hi Amy! Once it congeals like that, all you really need to do is heat it up in a saucepan. Actually, you could just add it directly into the sauce for the marsala. If frozen, it’s definitely best to thaw first. Sounds like you still handled it like a pro! We are thrilled you enjoyed the recipe and we can’t thank you enough for the wonderful review! That means the world to us! All the very best, Kris & Wesley
Question. If I were to make this w/o wanting to use alcohol would I just use more beef stock? What can I use to replace the Marsala? Thank you.
Hi Lacey! So sorry for the delayed response!! You could use beef stock in place of the marsala, and it will be yummy. It won’t have that classic Marsala taste, but it will still be good. Let us know if you try it and what you think! Best, Kris & Wesley
Question…..Would there be any problem with using chicken thigh filets instead of chicken breast? I really dislike dry chicken!
Hi Jeff!! So so sorry for the delayed response! YES! Chicken thighs would work wonderfully!! We love the taste and texture of chicken thighs! Let us know how it turns out! Kris & Wesley
Your recipe says 2 pounds of chicken but when I print the recipe, the amount of chicken changes to 6 (1 1/2 ounces) of chicken. I’m guessing that 2 pounds is correct?
2 lbs is correct! Thanks for letting us know. We’ll look into what’s going on! We hope you love the dish as much as we do!
6 one and a half oz. chicken cutlets can’t be right. That seems awfully small.
Super good, and easy to make. As good as any restaurant marsala I have had. I also now have the benefit of all of the extra brown sauce in my freezer to use for another culinary adventure. I didn’t strain the brown sauce as I like the little pieces of veggies in it.
Hi Stacy!! That brown sauce is the bomb, right? And we freeze ours and use it in other recipes, too!! And that’s awesome about not straining the sauce! More yummy texture!! Thanks for letting us know about the recipe and for the wonderful review. That means so much to us!! All the best, Kris & Wesley
This recipe is devinely delicious! Restaurant worthy-the sauce is far superior to many I’ve had at various authentic Italian restaurants in Chicago. Next time I will double the sauce as my husband ate 3/4 of it. The base gravy really added depth. I used Florio sweet Marsala. Added a little extra. 🙂 I made the sauce up earlier in the day. Then just made the pasta and chicken and reheated sauce. It was amazing. Thank you for this recipe. You are wonderful and my husband raved about it!
Hi Jennifer! We can’t even begin to tell you how much it fills our hearts with joy to hear this! Sounds like you executed the dish to perfection! And we hear you on the doubling the sauce…it’s all about that sauce! We are so happy you and your hubby loved the chicken marsala. And thank you SO MUCH for letting us know and for the GREAT review! That means the world to us!! All the very best, Kris & Wesley
Stop it, you guys! Yet another delicious recipe loved by the whole family! Served with wide egg noodles and fresh green beans.
Yay, Stacy!! So so happy you were a rock star with the chicken marsala!! Egg noodles and fresh green beans sound amazingly perfect! As always, thanks for letting us and for the GREAT review!! xoxo Kris & Wesley