This is another recipe that’s been a family favorite of ours for years. In fact, we like the sauce so much we now make enough to go over an entire pasta dish instead of just pouring it over chicken (how Marsala sauce is traditionally served). And this dish is also versatile so feel free to switch it up depending on your preferences. It’s pictured with asparagus (that was roasted with garlic and olive oil), but it would also be great topped with steamed broccoli or raw spinach leaves as well. Mushrooms would be another fabulous addition along with some roasted garlic. Get creative and use the ingredients that you have on hand!
Chicken Marsala Pasta
This is another recipe that’s been a family favorite of ours for years. In fact, we like the sauce so much we now make enough to go over an entire pasta dish instead of just pouring it over chicken (how Marsala sauce is traditionally served). And this dish is also versatile so feel free to switch it up depending on your preferences.
Ingredients
- 1 pound whole-wheat pasta
- 1 pound chicken breasts, local and/or organic
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- whole-wheat flour, spread on a plate
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ cups dry Marsala wine
- 1 cup heavy cream, preferably organic
- 1 bunch asparagus, roasted (or other vegetable like steamed broccoli or raw spinach)
- parmesan cheese, freshly grated (for serving)
Instructions
- Boil pasta according to package directions, ensure your veggies are cooked if necessary, and put container of cream out on counter so it is not super cold when you’re ready to use it.
- Cut chicken into strips and season with salt and pepper.
- Spread flour on a plate and put olive oil into sauté pan over medium-high heat.
- While the oil is heating up, dredge the chicken pieces in the flour until well coated.
- Sauté the coated chicken until brown and cooked all the way through (about 5 – 10 minutes depending on how thick your chicken pieces are).
- Transfer the chicken to a plate and keep warm.
- Turn heat off (very important if you have a gas stove and don’t want the wine to catch on fire!) and carefully add Marsala wine to pan.
- Turn heat back onto high and boil down the wine for a few minutes. Scrape the bits off the bottom of the pan while it’s cooking.
- Keep the heat on high, add cream to pan, and stir sauce until it is bound together and starts to thicken (about 5 – 8 minutes).
- Put the chicken pieces back in the sauce to heat them up again and coat them with sauce.
- Evenly divide pasta among bowls and top with chicken, extra sauce, and veggies.
Serve warm and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Other optional additions: sautéed mushrooms and/or roasted garlic
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Nutrition Facts
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I love this meal. It’s all of my kids favorite meal. Today I decided to trying making it with coconut cream ( from the can) instead of cream ( from a milk) and I’m so happy to say it was delicious. Could even tell the diffence.
Wow tho was so easy to make and it was delicious. My whole family loved it. Thank you for sharing
The photo shows chicken breasts but it calls for strips?
Hi. She cut the breasts into strips. You will see that in the instruction on the recipe.
I don’t drink wine.. Is there something I could use as a good substitute? Thanks
You can use for a non alchoholic substitute
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and
1 tablespoon of chicken broth
This is the ratio so you can decide how much you need.
Hi. There is really no substitute for the marsala wine flavor. I have seen this suggested in other recipes but have not tried:
1/4 cup of white grape juice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar
My whole family loved this meal!
I made this for the 2nd time tonight & it’s soooo good! I love how simple it is, too! My family of 7 has cleaned their plates each time w/no complaints…which is rare! Tonight I used a different Marsala Wine than the first time. I got it at a local health food store & forgot to make sure it was dry. It was a bit sweeter than last time, still good, but I prefer the dry I found at fred meyer. Thanks for the delicious recipes! Love so many on here!
I was not impressed by this meal. The sauce was not good :(.
Is it possible to prepare this ahead of time and freeze it? I’m trying to find yummy real food meals to make and freeze before I start grad school next month. Thanks!
Hi Sarah. I have frozen this for leftovers before. The sauce did separate a bit because of the cream but it still tasted great.
This was really good! My husband loved it too! Thanks! Definitely will make again.
The whole family LOVED this!! Yay REAL food!
I did not like ths recipe at all. Took over an hour to cook and the sauce did not thicken and it had no flavour. How does something with red wine have no flavour? I usually love a wine sauce but not is. Will not make again.
If you used a Red Wine (as you mentioned in comments) it’s definitely not going to taste great since this recipe calls specifically for Marsala Wine! You can find Marsala Wine at your local grocery store, but it’s likely not going to be a TRUE marsala! Store bought can have a high salt content and not carry choices like dry or sweet. So, as Amy mentions, a trip to the liquor store will be well worth it for a good quality!
This recipe along with other white meats tend to call for a Sweet Marsala while a Dry Marsala is more so, used with red meats. Hopes this helps and you try this recipe again :)
This was amazing. I used Marsalas cooking wine and added sliced carrots that I softened, cooking in with the pasta. Daughters loved it so much we had to flip a quarter to see who got the left overs the next day for lunch….. YUM!
Did I do something wrong?? The sauce was SUPER sweet. Like inedible, sweet. I can’t see what I did wrong. Has anyone else had this result?
Hi Laura. It should not have been really sweet. Did you use a dry wine?
I make it similar, but without the cream and wine. I bread the chicken and cook in the pan with oil. I then add chicken stock/broth as the chicken continues to cook. Once completed, I remove the chicken, add more stock/broth and I add flour to thicken. It’s much lighter and more convenient for me since I rarely have cooking wine and cream in the house.
This sounds delish , but the USDA website states that 85% of the alcohol is retained when alcohol is added to boiling liquid and then removed from the heat and if simmered for 15 minutes then 40 % is retained. That is a lot of alcohol when the recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of wine. This should be considered when cooking for the family.
Omg, this was amazing!
I made this last night using chicken tenders. I served it with steamed broccoli seasoned with oil, salt, pepper and a little lemon juice. It was so quick and easy and everyone loved it. I would serve this to company. Thanks!