Baked Chicken Marsala Recipe
This classic Baked Chicken Marsala Recipe never disappoints..it's downright delicious year-round. This is comfort food that's perfect for a special dinner, date night, or just for yourself.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
A tender piece of chicken that's full of flavor and melts in your mouth...folks, that is what this Chicken Marsala Recipe is all about. It's just a classic favorite, and no wonder!
Here's some good reasons to make this delicious thing:
This is a perfect dinner to make if you're having company, or want to impress someone with your cooking.
The flavors are incredible. While we typically don't drink Marsala wine on its own, the alcohol cooks out and leaves behind an incredibly flavorful piece of chicken.
The variety of mushrooms in this recipe adds texture and with the wine and chicken stock makes a flavorful sauce.
For the full instructions and list of ingredients, please scroll down to the recipe card below.
Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are what we need
Lemon: Fresh lemon juice is a perfect balance to these rich flavors
Butter: It makes everything better.
Bacon: This flavors the whole dish in the most delicious way
Shallot: Milder than regular onions, with a little sweetness
Mushrooms: The star of the show are these delicious mushrooms
Marsala Wine: The key ingredient for this recipe...don't worry, the alcohol evaporates out with cooking
For the full recipe and list of instructions, please scroll to the recipe card below.
This recipe has several steps, but all of them are easy to manage. It basically goes like this:
Prep the chicken by pounding it lightly to a 1/2 inch thickness, then dredge it in flour and seasonings and cook it in a skillet until it's brown on both sides.
Make a fabulous mushroom sauce with bacon, three varieties of mushrooms, shallots, garlic, tomato paste and Marsala wine.
Combine the two and cook them together, then finish with a little butter, fresh lemon juice and chopped parsley.
Totally delicious!
When purchasing the chicken breasts, look for two thicker breasts, as they will be sliced in half horizontally to make four thinner breasts.
When cooking the chicken in the skillet, go for a very light golden brown before turning to the other side. The chicken will finish cooking in the oven, and it should be at least 165F degrees with an instant read thermometer by the time you're ready to serve it.
How do I store leftovers?
Use an air-tight food storage container and keep refrigerated for up to 2 days.
What if I can't find all the mushrooms needed for this recipe?
Just use one type then, of the variety you can find. For example, use Crimini mushrooms for the whole recipe if that's all you can find.
Baked Chicken Marsala Recipe
Baked Chicken Marsala is a classic recipe with great flavor for company or date night!
Course: Dinner
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients
▢ 2 Chicken Breasts, skinless, boneless 8-10 ounces each
▢ ½ tsp Salt
▢ ⅓ tsp Pepper, freshly ground
▢ 1 cup Flour, all purpose
▢ 4 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
▢ 3 strips Applewood Smoked Bacon, cut in 1/2" pieces
▢ 2 tbsp Shallot, sliced thinly
▢ 1 cup Crimini Mushrooms, sliced 1/2" thick
▢ 1 cup White Button Mushrooms, sliced 1/2" thick
▢ 1 cup Shitake Mushrooms, sliced 1/2'thick
▢ 1 Garlic clove, minced
▢ 1 teaspoon Tomato Paste
▢ 1 ½ cups Marsala wine
▢ 4 ½ teaspoons Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed
▢ 4 tablespoons Butter, unsalted, cut in small pieces z
▢ 2 tablespoons Italian Parsley, chopped fine
▢ Sunflower oil
Instructions
Heat oven to 325F degrees with the oven rack adjusted to the middle.
PREPARE THE CHICKEN BREASTS
Cut the chicken breasts in half horizontally to make four pieces.
Cover the chicken in wax paper or plastic wrap, and lightly pound the breasts out evenly, about ½ inch thickness. (You can do this with with a meat pounder or the bottom of a flat jar or (heavy) glass.) Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and season each slice with the salt and pepper.
Place the flour on a plate, and dip each chicken breast in the flour, shaking off any excess, then transfer each piece to a separate plate.
Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a 12 inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
Place two chicken pieces in the skillet and cook until golden brown on one side, 3-4 minutes. Turn the chicken over, and continue cooking for 3-6 more minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink inside. Wipe out the skillet, and repeat with the remaining oil and the other two pieces of chicken.
Place all four pieces of chicken on a heatproof platter or pie plate, tented loosely with aluminum foil, and bake in the low warm oven while you make the mushroom sauce.
To make the mushroom sauce, add the cut pieces of bacon into the same skillet you cooked the chicken, turn it up to medium-high heat, then cook the bacon stirring and scraping the pan bits with a wooden spoon until it's crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove bacon and transfer to a paper-towel lined plate.
Add the shallots to the empty pan and cook on medium heat until soft, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, about 3-4 minutes.
Add the sliced mushrooms to the pan and continue cooking on medium heat stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are soft and lightly browned on the edges, 6-8 minutes. Stir in the minced garlic clove, tomato paste and the cooked bacon, continue cooking for one minute, then remove the pan from the heat.
Stir in the Marsala wine, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan with your wooden spoon. Return to the heat, increase heat to medium high, and cook the mixture for about 5 minutes, or until the sauce is slightly thickened, stirring it occasionally.
Turn off heat and stir in the lemon juice and butter, a pinch of salt and pepper, and one tablespoon of fresh parsley. Stir gently to combine together.
Remove chicken from the oven and place on a serving platter, pour warm sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with remaining fresh parsley and serve immediately.
Notes
Use a meat pounder or heavy bottom glass jar to pound the meat to half-inch thickness.