I love how Chicken Marsala combines lightly floured chicken breasts with mushrooms and a buttery wine sauce. The browned bits left in the skillet give the sauce flavor, so most of the work happens in one pan.

Pound the chicken to an even thickness, keep the pan uncrowded, and check the center with a thermometer. Those small steps help the chicken cook evenly while the flour coating turns golden.

Allow about 45 minutes for one batch, including preparation. Have rice, pasta, or potatoes ready to catch the mushroom sauce, and give yourself extra time if your skillet needs two batches.

About This Chicken Marsala

This is a home-style Chicken Marsala recipe. The formula on this page has not been verified as Ina Garten’s published recipe. It makes a mushroom-and-wine pan sauce without cream.

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup Marsala wine
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Use breasts of similar size and pound each to the thickness in the instructions. Thinly sliced button or cremini mushrooms suit the short cooking time. Measure the butter before starting: 2 tablespoons go into the chicken pan and the remaining 2 tablespoons cook the mushrooms.

Wine note: The recipe contains Marsala wine. A brief simmer does not remove all alcohol, so the finished dish should not be described as alcohol-free.

Prepare the Mushrooms and Sauce Ingredients

Slice the mushrooms to a similar thickness so the pieces soften at roughly the same pace. Very thin slivers can disappear into the sauce, while large uneven chunks may stay firm. Keep them ready in a separate bowl before cooking the chicken. Once the chicken leaves the skillet, the mushroom step can begin without leaving the pan heating while you finish chopping.

Have the measured Marsala and broth in separate cups beside the stove. They enter at different stages, so combining them in advance would make it harder to reduce the wine as directed. Keep the parsley separate until the end, too. Its fresh color is more noticeable when scattered over the finished dish rather than simmered through the sauce.

As the mushrooms cook, spread them across the pan and give them contact with the hot surface between stirs. They may release liquid first, then begin to take on color around the edges. Stirring constantly can make it harder to notice that change. Use the soft texture and browned edges in the method as your guide instead of expecting every slice to look identical.

Kitchen Equipment You Will Need

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• Large skillet
• Meat mallet
• Instant-read thermometer

How to Make Chicken Marsala

Use a large skillet with room for the chicken, a meat mallet to even out the breasts, and an instant-read thermometer to check doneness.

Prepare the Chicken

Pat the chicken dry without rinsing it. Place each breast between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound it to an even thickness of about 1/2 inch. Season both sides with salt and pepper.

Coat Lightly with Flour

Put the flour in a shallow dish. Lightly coat both sides of each breast, then shake off the loose flour. Discard flour that has touched raw chicken.

Cook the Chicken

Heat the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat to medium-high heat. When the butter is foaming but not browning, add the chicken in a single uncrowded layer. Cook for about 5 to 6 minutes per side, adjusting the heat to prevent burning, until the thickest part reaches 165°F (74°C). Transfer to a clean plate and cover loosely. If necessary, cook in batches, dividing the listed oil and these 2 tablespoons of butter between them.

Brown the Mushrooms

Lower the heat to medium. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and the sliced mushrooms to the same skillet. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms soften and brown at the edges.

Add the Marsala

Remove the skillet from the burner before adding the Marsala wine. Return it to medium heat and scrape up the browned bits with a wooden spoon. Simmer for about 2 to 3 minutes, until the wine has reduced by roughly half. Do not pour wine near an open flame.

Reduce the Sauce

Add the chicken broth and bring the sauce to a gentle simmer. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes, until slightly reduced. The sauce should stay spoonable rather than becoming a thick gravy.

Warm the Chicken in the Sauce

Return the fully cooked chicken and its plate juices to the skillet. Spoon sauce over it and simmer gently for about 2 to 3 minutes, just until hot. Avoid a hard boil, which can dry the chicken.

Season and Garnish

Taste the sauce and adjust the salt and pepper as needed. Scatter the chopped parsley over the chicken.

Serve

Serve promptly, spooning the mushrooms and sauce over each breast. Pasta, rice, or mashed potatoes can be served alongside.

Timing and Leftovers

Allow about 15 minutes for preparation and 30 minutes for cooking, or about 45 minutes total for one batch. Extra batches take longer. Refrigerate leftovers in a shallow covered container within 2 hours, or within 1 hour above 90°F (32°C).

Tips for the Pan Sauce

Keep the flour layer thin. Shake off loose flour before the chicken enters the pan. A heavy coating can leave pasty patches in the sauce.

Watch the butter. It should foam gently, not smoke or turn black. Lower the heat if the chicken or browned bits begin to scorch. Burnt bits will make the sauce bitter.

Reduce before returning the chicken. If the sauce is still watery, give it another minute or two by itself. Add the chicken only when the sauce is close to the consistency you want.

Use temperature for doneness. Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of each breast. Cook the chicken to 165°F (74°C); the suggested minutes are only a guide.

Recognizing a Finished Pan Sauce

A spoonful of the finished sauce should flow over the chicken and leave a light coating. You should still be able to see the individual mushrooms. This formula uses a little flour carried in from the chicken, so the sauce will not look as heavy or opaque as a sauce thickened with a separate flour paste.

When scraping the skillet, use the flat edge of a wooden spoon to loosen the golden-brown patches into the liquid. Work around the pan rather than concentrating on one spot. Keep an eye on the level of the sauce as it simmers: a wide skillet exposes more liquid than a narrow one, so the same volume can reduce at a different pace.

Choose a serving plate with a small rim so the sauce stays with the chicken. Divide the mushrooms between the four portions first, then spoon the remaining sauce over and around them. This gives everyone some mushrooms rather than leaving them all beneath the last breast in the skillet.

What to Serve with Chicken Marsala

Spoon the sauce over Garlic Mashed Potatoes for a hearty plate. Add Tomato Cucumber Salad for a fresh side, or serve slices of Homemade Jimmy Johns Bread to mop up the sauce.

Storage and Reheating

Store leftovers at 40°F (4°C) or below and use within 3 to 4 days. Reheat the chicken and sauce gently in a covered skillet, adding a small splash of water if the sauce has thickened. Check that the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C) again before serving.

FAQ

Should I use dry or sweet Marsala?

Dry Marsala gives the sauce a more savory finish; sweet Marsala makes it sweeter. Use the listed 1/2 cup of whichever Marsala you choose. Check salted cooking-wine labels before adding extra salt.

Why did the sauce stay thin?

The mushrooms release moisture, and a smaller or cooler pan reduces liquid more slowly. Let the sauce simmer uncovered until it lightly coats a spoon. It is meant to be a pan sauce, so it will remain lighter than a cream sauce.

Can I skip pounding the chicken?

Very thick breasts need longer and can brown outside before the center is ready. For the timing given here, pound them evenly to about 1/2 inch. Keep checking the internal temperature rather than relying on color.

Can I prepare it ahead?

You can cook it fully, refrigerate it promptly, and reheat it as described above. The chicken may be less tender after reheating, so freshly cooked is the better choice when timing allows.