This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.

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.

SavePrintEmail

Watch the How-To Reel

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.
View Recipe Comments

This post was originally published on December 7, 2020
4.33 from 1450 votes (1,134 ratings without comment)

Add a Comment

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. Saw this recipe on your site the other day… have all the ingredients in the fridge, and ready to make it for dinner tonight ! Will def post a pic and some comments…. sure to be delicious.

    Reply

  2. I am going to try this recipe today!! Could this dish be frozen as a whole, or would it be better to freeze the prepared chicken then make the remaining recipe fresh? I am traveling with three frozen dinners to visit my new grand baby and would like this to be one of the meals. I think his new mom and dad would really enjoy this dish!

    Reply

    1. Hi Judy! I would just freeze the chicken, then make the sauce fresh. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! And Happy Holidays!! xTieghan ?

      Reply

  3. 5 stars
    Excellent! Made this last night and it was awesome! So much flavor, yet so simple to make. Paired this with a nice Domain Serene Pinot Noir. Love your one pot dinners!

    Reply

  4. Tieghan,

    There was a tiny restaurant in the north side of Denver at one time that made the absolute best chicken Marsala I’d ever had, nothing since has compared, this recipe is perfection, oh my goodness good, thank you!

    Reply

  5. 5 stars
    Made the Creamy Balsamic Mushroom Chicken Marsala recipe. Absolutely delicious! Easy and really tasty!

    Reply

  7. 5 stars
    Made this for dinner tonight. I had chicken legs in the fridge but followed your directions and it turned out beautifully! I subbed basil for thyme because I prefer basil. I had 8oz of sliced mushrooms and because my husband loves mushrooms, I’ll use more next time. I used rotini and immersed the cooked noodles into the sauce. Perfect although rice or mashed potatoes would be awesome, too. I was too lazy to make potatoes tonight. Would sub coconut milk in a heartbeat. I’ve found the sauce in similar recipes curdles using milk or yogurt. What is it about browning chicken pieces floured and fried in olive oil? I have another recipe Pollo Contadino where chicken thighs are floured and browned in olive oil. The skin of the chicken takes on a color and crispiness like no other: https://atmimistable.com/pollo-contadino-italian-roasted-chicken-farmer-style/ Thanks so much for this recipe!

    Reply

  8. 5 stars
    Ohhhhh my gawd I just ate this and it was to die for!! It took me wayyyyy more than 30 minutes but it was worth the wait. Served over mashed potatoes and a side of roasted broccoli.

    Reply

  9. 5 stars
    This is the best chicken marsala I have ever made! An absolute keeper! The mushrooms were incredible and the sauce was perfection over mashed potatoes. Easy to make – even if it took a little longer than 30 minutes.

    Reply

  10. I made this tonight for dinner. It was delish! Definitely going to make it into my rotations. I didn’t add as much cream as it called for and I kicked up the red pepper flakes since I like things spicy. I loved how the balsamic gave the mushrooms that extra caramelization (sp)?

    Reply

  11. 5 stars
    My hubby and I made this together last night. It came out great, but a little sweet – this was my fault because I accidentally bought the sweet marsala wine instead of the dry. Used 2 packages of mushrooms (baby bella and shiitake) and thin sliced Purdue chicken, so did not need to pound. We deliberately made enough for 2 nights and at hubby’s urging, made it in 2 separate pans. A bit more work, but the result was 2 separate dishes. Wanted to make the slow cooker mashed recipe you had posted recently, but did not get around to it. So instead served with asparagus and a nice roasted garlic bread I had bought along with truffle dipping oil. It was all so yummy and I think I will make the mashed for the second serving of the marsala that we’ll have tonight! Thank you, once again, for a creative and delicious recipe!!

    Reply

    1. Hi Elaine! I am really glad this recipe turned out so amazing for you! Thank you so much for trying this one!! xTieghan

      Reply

  12. 3 stars
    I love chicken marsala and even went so far to pound down chicken thighs for this recipe. However I do feel it was far too much butter and cream being used in this recipe! The richness was almost an overkill adding the cream and so much butter to the otherwise lovely thyme and marsala with the mushrooms. Served over wild rice but next time a slimmed down version for sure!

    Reply

  15. 5 stars
    This was so flavorful and delicious for a 30 minute one pan dinner. I used red onions instead of shallots and it was excellent.

    Reply