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This Creamy Balsamic Mushroom Chicken Marsala makes for the best any night of the week dinner that feels extra special. Lightly breaded chicken seared until golden with nutty browned butter. The chicken is finished in a simple marsala wine pan sauce with caramelized balsamic mushrooms. It’s delicious, especially when served over creamy, herby mashed potatoes or pasta. Every bite is layered with delicious, hearty flavors and caramelized mushrooms. The perfect way to spend a relaxing night in the kitchen with family and friends.

Creamy Balsamic Mushroom Chicken Marsala | halfbakedharvest.com

Mondays should be all about thirty-minute skillet dinners like this, especially during these short December days. This is one of those recipes that looks and tastes like it took time to prepare, but really it’s the simplest.

This recipe started out completely different, but I’m so happy with where I landed. This is delicious guys.

When I started working on this recipe, there wasn’t any kind of marsala sauce involved. I was working on creating a creamy balsamic chicken, and while the idea sounded good, the outcome was a very dark and odd-looking dish with very little visual appeal.

Since I’m all about presentation and food that looks as delicious as it tastes, I decided to forget about the recipe, it didn’t feel that special to me. And I, of course, want everything I share with you guys to be overly delicious and pretty.

So I left it alone for a couple of days. But then, someone in my family mentioned chicken marsala. This got me thinking, what if I combined the balsamic chicken and the chicken marsala into one dish.

I could caramelize the mushrooms in balsamic vinegar, then toss the chicken in a creamy marsala wine sauce. It sounded even more delicious than my original idea, so I gave it try, and now here we are.

A balsamic and marsala chicken hybrid! It’s crazy what few tweaks in a recipe can really do to make something DELICIOUS.

I am excited about this one. I love when recipes form and develop over time, they always end up being my favorites.

The simple details.

If you love a good chicken marsala, you’ll love this slight twist even more. It’s all about those caramelized balsamic mushrooms.

Start with the chicken. If you’ve made chicken parmesan this is very similar. Just dredge the chicken through a mix of flour, then pan-sear it in a hot skillet. This allows the chicken to form a nice golden crust on the outside. Using thin chicken cutlets is key. The thin chicken cooks evenly and browns nicely in a short amount of time.

Tip: if your grocery store does not carry chicken cutlets, as a swap, try asking your butcher to pound out chicken breasts for you. This is super easy to do at home, but truthfully…it’s just not that much fun. The butcher can quickly pound out the chicken and save you the trouble…and the mess.

Also, you can easily make this chicken gluten-free by replacing the flour with almond flour. Or use your favorite gluten-free flour blend (I like cup4cup).

Pan-sear the chicken, then add in the butter. The butter browns around the chicken creating an even more delicious flavor.

Now the mushrooms, the best part! You want to thinly slice the shrooms, then let them crisp in a little olive oil. Once they’ve cooked down, just add a splash of balsamic vinegar and let the sauce caramelize over the mushrooms. It’s so simple but so delicious.

Once caramelized toss in a bit of butter, shallots, garlic, and lots of thyme. Again, allow that butter to brown, creating an even more delicious flavor.

At this point, just add in the wine, simmer until reduced, then stir in the cream. Allow everything to simmer and thicken into a delicious creamy sauce.

What to serve this creamy balsamic mushroom chicken marsala with…

Well, you guys know me, I love my carbs. I served this saucy, creamy chicken over my slow cooker mashed potatoes. Twas’ delicious.

Other sides that would be great? Definitely any kind of pasta, steamed rice, or if you are looking for something on the lighter side, spaghetti squash is always a delicious, healthy option.

You can’t go wrong either way. The sauce makes just about anything you serve alongside it great. One thing that is a must? Crusty bread for moping up the extra sauce. You just have to do it.

My mom taught me well.

Looking for other simple dinners? Here are my favorites: 

One Skillet Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken and Orzo

Herby Buttered Balsamic Mushroom Ravioli

Spicy Pesto Pasta Alla Vodka

Lastly, if you make this Creamy Balsamic Mushroom Chicken Marsala, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Creamy Balsamic Mushroom Chicken Marsala

Author: Tieghan Gerard
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 731 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

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Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  • 1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Place the flour and garlic powder in a shallow bowl and dredge the chicken through the flour mix, pressing to adhere.
    2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the chicken and sear on both sides until golden, about 3-5 minutes per side. Add 1 tablespoon butter and allow the butter to brown around the chicken, about 2 minutes. Remove the chicken from the skillet.
    3. To the skillet, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and the mushrooms. Cook undisturbed for 5 minutes or until golden. Add 2 tablespoons butter, the shallots, garlic, thyme, and a pinch each of salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook 4-5 minutes, until fragrant. Add the balsamic vinegar. Cook another 2-3 minutes, until the mushrooms have caramelized. Spoon half the mushrooms out of the skillet and onto the plate with the chicken.
    4. Pour in the wine and broth. Cook 10-15 minutes until reduced slightly, then pour in the cream. Add the chicken to the skillet and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until warmed through and thickened slightly. Spoon the reserved mushrooms over the chicken.
    5. Serve the chicken and sauce over mashed potatoes, pasta, or steamed rice. Top with fresh thyme or parsley.
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This post was originally published on December 7, 2020
4.33 from 1450 votes (1,134 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  2. 5 stars
    This dish was absolutely delicious! The mushrooms were to die for and the creamy balsamic sauce was amazing. I served it over whole wheat spaghetti and had a salad with a light lemony dressing. Next time I’ll use chicken thighs. The breasts were a little dry. I probably cooked them a little too long? We had it the next night as leftovers and it was great!

    Reply

    1. Hey Megan,
      I am so thrilled that you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for making it! Have a great week:) xTieghan

      Reply

  3. Superb! But the timing is way off. If you just add up the lowest numbers, it’s close to 40 mins of cooking time, apart from the prep time. If you are in altitude and need to higher cooking time, this is close to an hour. I’d do it again, it’s sublime, but 30 mins total time is not even adding up the recipe numbers. Had a WONDERFUL dinner five star. You might consider changing the cooking time so people know what to actually expect.

    Reply

    1. Hey Alison,
      I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! I will go back and look at the timing. Have a great week:) xTieghan

      Reply

  4. 5 stars
    This recipe was absolutely delicious! It’s the best thing I’ve made in a while, and I like to think I’m a decent cook. 10/10. I will definitely be making this again.

    Reply

  5. Tieghan you may want to edit the recipe since this is absolutely not a 20 minute cook time. Just add up the time in your instructions.

    Reply

    1. Hey Ann, I’ll be sure to take a look at the recipe now. Thanks for the heads up! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan

      Reply

  6. Made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious. HOWEVER, your 20 minute cook time has to be a typo. If you add up the cook time in the instructions it’s almost an hour. So other than that this was fantastic just make sure you allow enough time!

    Reply

    1. Hey Anne,
      I am so thrilled that you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for making it! Sorry this took you longer than expected. Happy Friday! xTieghan

      Reply

  8. I made this a couple of nights ago and posted that to me it sounded complicated. It was not. It was delicious. I had a little chicken left over but not enough for a meal so decided to make chicken salad. Oh my goodness…best chicken salad ever!

    Reply

  10. Thank you for the recipe Tieghan! I am new in the kitchen (I used to be allergic before :D) but now that I have more time and energy I’ve been exploring your page. I made this last night for my husband and myself, SO YUMMY! I didn’t have the Marsala wine or Brandy, or Sherry…(due to the pandemic we are getting everything delivered so its hard to get some ingredients) so used a nice cherry Cab with a hint of licorice, which then we used for pairing with the dish. Fantastic dish and the balsamic vinegar really makes it bomb, nice touch!

    Reply

    1. Hey Shivani,
      Thank you so much for your super kind message, I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe and giving it a try! xTieghan

      Reply

  11. Made this last night and it was really easy and tasted Devine. I made it with buttery Yukon mashed potatoes but my husband thought it should have been noodles? What do you think?

    Reply

    1. Hey Marcia,
      Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try! You can serve this with whatever you family enjoys! Happy New Year! xTieghan

      Reply

  12. 5 stars
    I could have eaten the entire pan by myself it was so amazing. Super easy too!! It will definitely be a regular recipe for me.

    Reply

  13. 5 stars
    Absolutely AMAZING. Made for dinner tonight and everyone wanted the recipe. Truly delish. Tiegan you are a the master of flavors and have found your true calling in life and I speak for all of us here… THANK YOU. Not to mention how stunning all of your photos are as well. Much love!!

    Reply

  14. Hey the recipe sounds so good. But we are both lactose intolerant. Could we substitute unsweetened almond milk?

    Thanks really want to make this recipe.
    Audrey

    Reply

    1. Hey Audrey,
      Yes, almond milk would work well! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

      Reply

  15. 5 stars
    I made this for dinner last night. My family likes to rate the meals I prepare 🙂 Last night I was told that was the best marsala sauce ever and my husband gave me a 9.75 (he does not give 10’s!). This one will go on rotation for sure!

    Reply