I love when I can make restaurant quality food at home, and make it much healthier. This healthy chicken marsala was an absolute hit! This is the first time I’ve made chicken marsala at home if you can believe it. I’ve ordered it at restaurants numerous times, so I insisted it was time to make it at home, just because its so delicious!
I was also pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t as labor intensive as I thought it would be, and this dish was done in under 30 minutes. As for nutrition, I suspect the restaurant version uses a lot of oil. I took a peek online and saw that most chicken marsala at a restaurant is between 19g – 23g of fat per serving. Yikes! While some fat isn’t bad, that’s an awful lot for 1 dish. You definitely need a little bit of oil to crisp up the light breading, but other than that, all the flavor comes from the marsala and the onions and mushrooms. I do suggest using a non-stick skillet or a very well seasoned cast iron pan so the breading doesn’t stick since we’re trying to not use copious amounts of oil here.
Since I’ve never made marsala before, the first step was going to the liquor store to find the marsala. I ended up in the Italy wine section, and couldn’t find it. After searching longer than I care to disclose, I finally found it over by the bourbon. I guess because its not a red or white wine, they put it in another section? Since I’m clueless about marsala (and about most other alcohol too), I asked their expert about how long it lasts once opened. I was pleased to learn that it stores more like hard liquor than wine, so the remainder would last in my cupboard for at least a few months. Which is perfect, because it will be good to go the next time I make chicken marsala! I will admit that I thought the remainder might be good for drinking, but I do admit that it was not my taste to drink it straight. Definitely no. Haha. For cooking only. I’ll have a glass of regular red or white wine on the side instead.
I’m going to assume that because I used gluten free flour and all the other ingredients are gluten-free, that this indeed is. But, I’m not 100% sure whether the marsala is since there are not ingredients in the bottle and I’m not exactly sure how its processes. So if you’re celiac, keep that in mind.
The flavor of this chicken was incredible, and the chicken was not dry whatsoever. I’ll definitely be making it again very soon, and I hope you do too!
- 4 raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts (5 oz each)
- ½ cup gluten free all purpose flour (or if not gf, use all purpose or whole wheat)
- ¼ tsp of salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano & thyme to season the flour
- 1 Tbsp oil
- 1 tsp butter
- 3 cups sliced mushrooms
- 1 cup chicken stock
- ½ cup onion, chopped
- ¾ cup marsala (I used the Florio 1833 Vecchioflorio Marsala)
- Depending on the size and thickness of your chicken breasts, you might want to pound them out a little to thin them out and make them more uniform in shape. I pounded mine down as they were on the thicker side, but totally optional.
- Place the flour in a shallow dish and season with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano and thyme. Set aside.
- Slice your mushrooms and chop the onions.
- Heat your large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the 1 tsp butter, allow to melt. Add in the mushrooms and onion, saute until onions are translucent and mushrooms are cooked. Remove the mushrooms and onions from the pan. Set aside.
- Next, bread the chicken. Place the raw chicken breasts in the flour and coat, shaking off the access.
- Add the 1 Tbsp of oil to your skillet. Then place in the coated chicken breasts. Cook each chicken breast for about 6 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness. Until they are almost golden brown. They may not be fully cooked yet, and that's ok. Remove them from the pan.
- Next, add in the marsala and chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Add back the chicken breasts and the mushrooms and onions, allowing it all to cook together until the chicken is fully cooked and the sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Serve each chicken breast with some chopped fresh parsley (if desired)