Dairy Free Chicken Marsala (Printable)
Tender chicken in rich Marsala mushroom sauce, cooked in one pan without butter or cream.
# What You'll Need:
→ Poultry
01 - 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
→ Dredging Mixture
02 - ½ cup all-purpose flour (use gluten-free flour if needed)
03 - 1 teaspoon kosher salt
04 - ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
→ Vegetables
05 - 8 oz cremini or white button mushrooms, sliced
06 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
→ Liquids
07 - ¾ cup dry Marsala wine
08 - ¾ cup chicken broth (ensure dairy-free)
→ Fats
09 - 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
→ Garnish
10 - 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
# How To Make It:
01 - Place chicken breasts between sheets of parchment paper and gently pound to an even ½-inch thickness using a meat mallet.
02 - In a shallow bowl, combine the flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge each chicken breast in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess.
03 - Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 4–5 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and cover loosely with foil.
04 - Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet. Sauté the sliced mushrooms for 4–5 minutes until deeply browned. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
05 - Pour in the Marsala wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the wine reduce by half, about 2–3 minutes.
06 - Add the chicken broth to the skillet and simmer for 3–4 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld and the sauce to begin reducing.
07 - Return the chicken to the skillet, spooning the mushroom sauce over the top. Simmer for 3–5 minutes until the chicken is heated through and the sauce has thickened slightly.
08 - Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley and serve hot.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The sauce gets that deep, savory flavor entirely from the Marsala wine reduction, so you never feel like you are settling for a compromised version of the original.
- Everything happens in a single skillet, which means fewer dishes and a built in excuse to linger at the stove with a glass of wine while it simmers.
02 -
- Do not rush the wine reduction step because cutting it short leaves you with a watery sauce that tastes more like soup than the glossy, concentrated glaze you are after.
- Letting the mushrooms sit undisturbed in the hot pan for a full two minutes before stirring is the difference between golden, meaty caps and pale, soggy disappointment.
03 -
- Pat the chicken completely dry with paper towels before dredging because moisture is the enemy of a good sear and will cause the flour to clump and slide off instead of forming a crust.
- Use a dry Marsala rather than sweet unless you specifically want a dessert adjacent sauce, and spend at least ten dollars on the bottle because the cheap stuff tastes like burnt caramel and regret.