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
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
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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.
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Cut chicken into strips and season with salt and pepper.
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Spread flour on a plate and put olive oil into sauté pan over medium-high heat.
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While the oil is heating up, dredge the chicken pieces in the flour until well coated.
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Sauté the coated chicken until brown and cooked all the way through (about 5 – 10 minutes depending on how thick your chicken pieces are).
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Transfer the chicken to a plate and keep warm.
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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.
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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.
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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).
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Put the chicken pieces back in the sauce to heat them up again and coat them with sauce.
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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.
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Allison
November 2, 2011 at 11:03 amI will have to try this – we LOVE chicken Marsala!
Kristin
November 2, 2011 at 11:27 amthis looks so yummy….. must try. must get marsala wine! haha
Meme
November 2, 2011 at 8:22 pmWow, this looks really tasty! I will have to add this to my list of dinners to make soon
Rebecca ~ Sweet Baby Yams
November 3, 2011 at 1:01 amI need to add marsala wine to my shopping list. Yum!
Liz
November 3, 2011 at 6:57 amI went to bookmark this recipe…and an ad from your site by JELL-O came up featuring a recipe using Oreos. I’ve got to say, I’m a little surprised you are advertising very highly processed not-real food on your website..
Mimi
November 3, 2011 at 10:40 amLiz- In Lisa’s defense, I know from reading other bloggers, that advertising can realy be a pain for those who are blogging about real food. One blogger I read often said she signed up for advertising hoping to make a few cents here and there, only to end up spending months and months arguing with the advertising company what she does and doesn’t want on her site. To no avail. Now that I know that, when I’m visiting these sites I take the advertising with a grain of salt. I realize the people who run these real food sites would never, ever promote an Oreo.
Yadsia @ShopCookMake
November 3, 2011 at 1:48 pmAs a blogger featuring ads in my webpage myself, I can tell you that sometimes we don’t have much control over what type of ads come up in our sites. A few weeks back, while browsing another blog, an ad for a porn site came up. I immediately notified the blogger who then notified their network. Having said that, it’s not always the bloggers fault. They may not even be aware of all the ads, since they come up differently by geographical region.
100 Days of Real Food
November 3, 2011 at 1:50 pmLiz – I couldn’t agree with you more. As soon as I saw it myself last night I emailed the ad network and asked them to remove it (just like when Pilsbury showed up one day as well). Unfortunately that’s the process…the ads are not sent to me first for approval. After doing this blog for more than a year for free the time commitment (and expense) became too overwhelming for me to not somehow turn this into my “job.” So all I can do at this point is thank the ad network for allowing me to keep things going…even if they aren’t always perfect!
Jessica S
November 3, 2011 at 10:26 amI love chicken marsala it is so tasty! We add green onions to ours in additon to the other aromatics, we saute it in the olive oil and it’s really good too, fresh rosemary tastes good with it too! love it!
Yadsia @ShopCookMake
November 3, 2011 at 1:43 pmSince I don’t eat meat, I’m going to prepare it with mushrooms instead of chicken. It’s been too long since I had Marsala.
Lindsay
November 4, 2011 at 9:03 pmOk so I when I went to buy the Marsala wine try had sweet and dry. I didn’t know which but the lady that worked their suggested sweet since I was using it for cooking. It was WAY too sweet!! Almost dessert like. The sauce turned out good except it was way too sweet. So don’t make the same mistake as me!
KD
November 20, 2014 at 1:55 pmI made this last night and did not realize about the sweet vs. dry wine. The one I bought did not say either! It was too sweet, but smelled amazing. Lesson learned, will try another round soon!
Molly
November 8, 2011 at 9:38 amwhat do you do with the leftover wine?
Lindsay
November 18, 2011 at 10:30 pmDrink it!!!
hayleygg
November 8, 2011 at 8:49 pmAs a finishing touch on Marsala (which is my husband’s dish, not mine), we always crisp some prosciutto and sprinkle it on top. It adds wonderful texture and flavor. Chopped fresh parsley is also a great addition.
Laura
November 17, 2011 at 11:17 pmChicken Marsala sounds so yummy but I’m lactose intolerant. I don’t think my milk subs like almond milk or rice milk is quite as heavy as cream. any suggestions?
100 Days of Real Food
December 2, 2011 at 9:21 pmHmm…I wonder if coconut milk would work? It is pretty thick, but I have never tried something like that…
Jen
November 19, 2011 at 11:01 pmLooks delish! I found your blog via Pinterest and now follow!
tammy
December 16, 2011 at 11:27 amDid you use Marsala Wine or Marsala Cooking wine for this?
100 Days of Real Food
January 5, 2012 at 9:50 amI used dry Marsala wine…good luck!
Stefanie
January 8, 2012 at 6:27 pmYou said that you make extra sauce to serve on the pasta….does the recipe, as stated, make enough sauce for the pasta? I KNOW we’ll want extra for the pasta. Thanks!
100 Days of Real Food
January 11, 2012 at 1:01 pmYes, it does.
Trish
January 18, 2012 at 7:33 amWe made this last night and loved it!! We added mushrooms, garlic, parsley, and thyme. Thank you for sharing another wonderful recipe!!
Kim E
April 17, 2012 at 12:09 amThis was delish. Will make again and again.
Jennifer
April 27, 2012 at 11:51 amI have Marsala cooking wine. Will this work?
100 Days of Real Food
May 1, 2012 at 4:44 pmYes, that should work!
Erin Crowe
July 17, 2012 at 8:52 amI could not find Marsala wine at my store, are there any other suggestions I could use? Ive read I could use Sherry, is this ok? Would I use the same amount?
Lisa
July 19, 2012 at 10:56 pmMadeira wine would be a good alternative.
Tammy Smith
October 17, 2012 at 9:02 pmI can’t have wine. Is there an alternative?
Assistant to 100 Days (Jill)
October 30, 2012 at 9:18 pmHi Tammy. I suppose you could leave it out, but, that would definitely alter the flavor. Keep in mind much of the wine “burns off” through the cooking process, I’m not sure if that makes a difference for you or not. Jill
Courtenay
February 4, 2013 at 7:00 pmWe tried this recipe tonight for the first time. It was delicious! We added thinly sliced mushrooms to the sauce, a great addition!
JoAnna
February 18, 2013 at 2:08 pmHi Lisa Just wondering what brand / type of whole wheat pasta you prefer? I have always only used whole wheat pasta, but my husband HATES it. Plus the brand I grew up on is processed and full of weird ingredients and I’d like to switch to one that is better for us. Thank you!
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy)
February 25, 2013 at 12:58 pmHi JoAnna. I think finding the right whole wheat pasta is a matter personal taste preference. My family really likes Trader Joe’s whole wheat pastas. They are not grainy and taste slightly nutty. Whole Foods brand of whole wheat pastas get high ratings, as well. Hope that helps a little. ~Amy
Mary
February 19, 2013 at 12:54 pmThis is very good with some goat cheese and proscuitto on top!
Kristy
February 20, 2013 at 10:17 amI started my 10-day pledge on Monday, February 18 and I made this for dinner that same night and it completely WOW’d me. I am in LOVE with clean eating now that I know I can have recipes that taste this fabulous and cook as quickly as this did. I added some fresh mushrooms that I sauteed with a little garlic to the sauce when I added the chicken. SO DELISH!!
Mandy
February 23, 2013 at 12:30 amThis recipe was great!!!! I made it on day 1 of my challenge. What a great way to kick things off :-)
Teresa
March 30, 2013 at 11:36 pmThis was wonderful – and a huge hit with my family … even our 2 year old. YUM!
Teresa
March 30, 2013 at 11:58 pmoops … forgot to give 5 stars … again, YUM!
CJ
April 26, 2013 at 7:45 pmUntil I found this recipe, I’d never eaten or even heard of Marsala chicken. When I saw your recipe, I really wanted to try it out and I’m so glad I did! It is easy to make and SO delicious! My husband and I both love it. The kids weren’t fans – they still like their chicken plain with no sauce. I did find that the amount of pasta listed in the recipe was a bit too much for us so we just used less the second time around and it was perfect.
April
May 2, 2013 at 10:55 amOk, probably a dumb question, but is this safe to feed to my 16 month old with the wine in it?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy)
May 7, 2013 at 5:22 pmHi April. It is so not a dumb question and I do not have an answer for you. The Leakes enjoy the dish and I would feed it to my kids but they are far from toddlers. For peace of mind, you should ask your pediatrician’s opinion as there are many differing opinions out there as to how much alcohol cooks off in various cooking processes. Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful. ~Amy
Sarah VanderVort
May 8, 2013 at 8:25 pmWhen you cook with wine the alcohol burns off and only leaves the flavor. It is totally fine to serve it to kiddos.
Aarica
May 4, 2013 at 6:50 pmThis was so incredibly good. Whole family loved it. Thinking I may make it for my mom on Mother’s Day. I added a little garlic to the sauce and then sprinkled some fresh Parm on top. Oh, and the added bonus of this…it was SO EASY! I had dinner done in 30 mins. You would expect one this good to take all day. Thank you so much for this recipe!
RhondaS
June 10, 2013 at 10:09 pmThis was absolutely yummy. It passed the 9 yr old test!
Jessica
July 8, 2013 at 9:37 pmI made this tonight, added mushrooms and shallots and it was delicious! I didn’t do the asparagus because I had just bought broccoli but I can see where you can add any veggie and make this wonderful! My college aged son said he would make this at school! Yum-O!!
Nichole
September 3, 2013 at 5:24 pmI don’t know what I did wrong with this recipe but it wasn’t good at all!! I’m assuming that maybe I bought the wrong wine? Although I bought Marsala dry wine from Italy. It was bitter and actually are us shudder when we ate it! Lol anyone have any ideas what I did? What brand Marsala wine do you buy? I’m going to make it again and figure out what I did it looks so good!
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy)
September 16, 2013 at 3:23 pmHello Nicole. Hmmm, I don’t know. I guess it could have been a wine that was somewhat “off” but that is usually not an issue. Let us know how your next one turns out. ~Amy
Nathaly
October 29, 2013 at 6:08 pmMy husband and I just had this for dinner. It was great! Love how the sauce tasted!
Shannon
November 10, 2013 at 12:01 amI just made this and it was delicious. My family said they felt like kings because it was such a fancy meal. I didn’t have heavy whipping cream so I added apple cider vinegar to almond milk to make it into a buttermilk (thicker) and 1 tbsp butter (for more fat). I doubled the sauce recipe. The sauce was a little thin so I put mashed potatoes under the pasta to help soak up the sauce. It was amazing and filling for my husband and 4 growing boys. I went on a 20 mile bike ride today so I enjoyed the extra calories too.
Vanessa Mobley
November 22, 2013 at 10:05 amCould I use deboles brand artichoke fettucine that I happen to already have?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy)
November 25, 2013 at 3:35 pmHi Vanessa. For the pledge, we use only 100% whole pasta. I am not sure if that pasta falls within the 100% whole grain rule. But, of course, what pasta you use is completely up to you. ~Amy
Andrea
December 7, 2013 at 5:54 pmI’ve made this in the past, and it was delicious! My kids (ages 2 and 4) even enjoy this recipe. I needed something quick for dinner tonight, and only had spelt flour and brown rice penne pasta left to use. Still turned out great! Thanks for the easy recipe.
Ashlie
December 7, 2013 at 7:00 pmWould there be a non-alcoholic substitute for Marsala wine?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy)
December 20, 2013 at 9:19 amHi Ashlie. This should help: http://www.thekitchn.com/non-alcoholic-cooking-wine-substitutes-184394. ~Amy
Jamie Dunson
December 11, 2013 at 8:18 amI didn’t think there was enough sauce for this one so if I make it again, I’m going to make double sauce portion. Other than that it was quite good.
Missy
February 13, 2014 at 12:26 pmI am relatively new to cooking. I am making a whole organic chicken today using your crockpot recipe. Can I use the already cooked chicken breasts in this recipe? If yes, are there any preparation changes that should be made when using cooked chicken? I am not sure how else to do it since we get our chicken whole from an organic farmer and try no to buy prepackaged chicken breasts.
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy)
February 14, 2014 at 1:25 pmHi Missy. I think it will work with cooked chicken. You will not want to cook it long or you will risk having tough, over-cooked pieces of chicken. ~Amy
Liz
March 3, 2014 at 12:09 pmYou should skip the “cook the chicken in the pan” step, or only heat until warmed. Unfortunately, however, the pan sauce will miss out on the great fond that develops as the chicken “sticks” to and carmelizes in the pan. (You could cook your mushrooms in the pan instead. Just put them into a dry pan, and they’ll release a flavorful liquid.)
Missy
February 14, 2014 at 2:18 pmWe tried that last night. It worked and it tasted great. The chicken was very moist still. We really liked this recipe (…and so many others!)
Jennifer
February 21, 2014 at 6:55 pmThis was an easy and delicious meal! Thank you for sharing all of your simple and tasty recipes.
Erin
February 24, 2014 at 9:05 pmI’d definitely love to try this! is there anything that I can substitute for the wine?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy)
February 24, 2014 at 10:18 pmHi Erin. Several readers have substituted with broth. ~Amy
Margaret Brink
February 25, 2014 at 12:46 pmJust started to eat “cleaner” and have tried many of your delicious recipes. This was the easiest and best chicken marsala recipe I have ever used. Eating leftovers for lunch right now. Thank you.
Shannon
March 3, 2014 at 12:34 pmAny reason you couldn’t or shouldn’t use 1 pound (local and/or organic) chicken tenders instead iof buying the whole breasts and then citing them up?
Thanks,
Shannon
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy)
March 4, 2014 at 1:49 pmHi Shannon. You can use tenders. ~Amy
Jeanette
March 3, 2014 at 2:16 pmDo you have an alternative for the wine?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy)
March 4, 2014 at 1:50 pmHello. You can use broth though it won’t be quite as rich. ~Amy
Cyra
March 4, 2014 at 1:43 pmYou can substitute organic chicken stock for the wine and it will turn out delicious!
Beth
March 5, 2014 at 10:53 pmI made this tonight for my husband and 3 year old. It was a hit for everyone! I sauteed garlic, mushrooms and onions which I added to the sauce and also served it with broccoli. Both my husband and my 3 year old LOVED it and can’t wait for me to make it again! Thanks!
Lara
March 6, 2014 at 10:35 pmDid anyone else have to add extra flour to get the sauce to thicken? It tasted amazing but wouldn’t thicken up at all.
Jude Boudreaux
April 7, 2014 at 10:44 pmThanks for the great recipe! We’re hoping to do more unprocessed foods this year, and I’m excited to try this and so many others! Subscribing now!
Beth
April 8, 2014 at 7:55 pmDelicious! We added mushrooms to ours and I used 2% milk (we are generally almond milk drinkers but I happened to have some 2% in the fridge). My six year old had two helpings then ate his sister’s leftovers and went on and on about how delicious it was. It was so great to hear that kind of language about dinner! We were all impressed and will be making this one again!
Bruna
April 15, 2014 at 7:31 pmHelp! When I poured the cream into the reduced wine, the cream separated… What did I do wrong? It was a fresh carton of cream (half & half).
B
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy)
April 17, 2014 at 10:02 amHi Bruna. This will help: http://noshon.it/tips/prevent-creamy-soups-curdling/. ~Amy
Lisa
May 3, 2014 at 7:01 pmHas anyone tried using zucchini noodle “pasta” instead of pasta?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy)
May 5, 2014 at 1:55 pmHello Lisa. I love using various veggie noodles as replacements in pasta dishes. One of my favorite tools is my spiral-er. Let us know if you try them here. ~Amy
Barbara
May 31, 2014 at 8:04 amHi,
I have a four year old son and so am just wondering if dishes cooked with wine are possible for him to eat. Would there still be a high alcohol content?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy)
June 4, 2014 at 12:19 pmHi there. This is only my opinion, but I’ve never been concerned about cooking with wine and feeding those dishes to my kids. Much of the alcohol cooks off and just leaves behind wonderful flavor. ~Amy
Mandy
June 6, 2014 at 9:33 pmFantabulous! I can’t say enough good things about this dish. Hubby and the kids gave a two thumbs up!
Bonnie
June 20, 2014 at 9:13 amI made this dish two nights ago with steamed asparagus (but I forgot to add the parmesan). It was AMAZINGLY delicious. It was so easy and made a great left-over lunch for me yesterday! This dish will definitely make it into our dinner rotation.
Julie
July 9, 2014 at 7:22 pmHi I am doing baby led weaning with my 9 month old son….can I give this to him even though it has wine?? Anybody know?
Nancy
July 9, 2014 at 8:57 pmCan you buy the Marasala wine at the grocery store?
Assistant to 100 Days (Amy)
July 13, 2014 at 6:41 amHi Nancy. Yes, you should be able to find it at a grocery store in their wine section, though a liquor store might have a better variety. ~Amy
christa
August 11, 2014 at 10:20 amI 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!
Tiffany M
August 30, 2014 at 7:34 pmOmg, this was amazing!
Candy Chamberlin
September 24, 2014 at 6:15 pmThis 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.
Jess
September 25, 2014 at 6:46 amI 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.
Laura
January 8, 2015 at 6:48 pmDid 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?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
January 16, 2015 at 8:47 amHi Laura. It should not have been really sweet. Did you use a dry wine?
Michelle
January 28, 2015 at 2:27 pmThis 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!
Nicki
January 29, 2015 at 8:12 pmI 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.
Leslie
February 16, 2015 at 6:25 pmIf 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 :)
Ali
May 28, 2015 at 7:56 pmThe whole family LOVED this!! Yay REAL food!
Kellie
June 23, 2015 at 8:16 pmThis was really good! My husband loved it too! Thanks! Definitely will make again.
sarah
July 30, 2015 at 10:27 amIs 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!
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
August 4, 2015 at 11:04 amHi Sarah. I have frozen this for leftovers before. The sauce did separate a bit because of the cream but it still tasted great.
Heather
September 8, 2015 at 12:48 pmI was not impressed by this meal. The sauce was not good :(.
Lara
October 19, 2015 at 10:42 pmI 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!
Niki P
January 18, 2016 at 4:33 pmMy whole family loved this meal!
Liz
April 21, 2016 at 6:27 pmI don’t drink wine.. Is there something I could use as a good substitute? Thanks
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
April 25, 2016 at 9:32 amHi. 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
Stacey
August 16, 2016 at 4:31 pmYou 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.
Ellen Moran Reilly
August 30, 2016 at 7:19 pmThe photo shows chicken breasts but it calls for strips?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
September 6, 2016 at 1:04 pmHi. She cut the breasts into strips. You will see that in the instruction on the recipe.
Anna
June 21, 2017 at 8:52 pmWow tho was so easy to make and it was delicious. My whole family loved it. Thank you for sharing
Anna
August 8, 2017 at 7:41 pmI 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.