I must make a confession: Chicken Marsala is one of my favorite dishes to make. Olive Garden Chicken Marsala is a true Italian classic, and the Olive Garden Chicken Marsala is likely to be famous around your house.
This delicious dish is made with wine, mushrooms, and chicken breasts. This creates a savory sauce that you won’t want to miss. I like to serve this with polenta, mashed potatoes, or even pasta.
I love to order this dish from Italian restaurants. I love the complexity of this dish. The Marsala wine adds so much wonderful flavor that I know you will adore as much as I do.
I must share with you a tip that I have for this recipe: Make sure you use Marsala wine that is dry and not sweet. (It comes in two varieties).
One of my largest cooking disasters was when I made this dish for someone very special I was dating (someone who would later become my fiancé), and I used the wrong type of Marsala. My wrong choice of wine resulted in a horribly sweet chicken that was inedible.
I remember placing the dish on the table. He took a healthy helping and then took a bite. I looked over and didn’t see the joy on his face. I saw confusion and then came out a semi-polite comment that he liked the mushrooms. I took a bite and thought it was horrible.
Being the lady who creates CopyKat recipes makes me feel like I must always prepare a good meal. I was utterly mortified. I asked him to stop eating the chicken and said I would make other dinner arrangements. We ended up having cheese, crackers, olives, and plenty of wine for dinner that night.
So please, I urge you to look closely at the label when you purchase your Marsala—the dry variety is the one that you want for this recipe.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need:
- Cake flour
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Dried oregano
- Cooking oil (vegetable or canola)
- Butter
- Chicken breasts
- Mushrooms
- Onion
- Dry Marsala wine
I love Chicken Marsala with onions, you can add the onions if you desire, they are optional.
How to Make Olive Garden Chicken Marsala
- Combine the flour, salt, pepper, and oregano and blend well.
- Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat until bubbling lightly.
- Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture and shake off the excess.
- Cook the chicken for about 2 minutes on the first side, until lightly brown.
- Turn over the chicken and add the mushrooms and onion around the chicken pieces.
- Cook for about 2 minutes more, until the chicken is lightly browned on the second side.
- Stir the mushrooms.
- Add the Marsala wine, cover the pan, and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
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Olive Garden Chicken Marsala
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup cake flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 cup oil
- 4 ounces butter
- 2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
- 1 medium onion sliced (optional)
- 1/2 cup dry Marsala wine
Instructions
- Combine the flour, salt, pepper, and oregano and mix well.
- Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat until bubbling lightly.
- Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture and shake off the excess.
- Cook the chicken for about 2 minutes on the first side, until lightly brown. Flip the breasts and add the mushrooms and onions (if desired) around the chicken. Cook for about 2 more minutes, until the chicken is lightly browned on the second side.
- Add the wine, stir the vegetables, cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
Bj
This was amazing. I served mines with white rice. Use the cooking wine
Jenn Lattimore
The printed recipe states to heat the oil and butter together and cook the chicken in it… however, you didn’t add the butter until the chicken was cooked and out of the pan. Does it matter which way you do it?
Stephanie
Please follow the written recipe.
Carol
This recipe is so delicious and is easy to make, I will make it again.
Angie
Thank you so much….I loved watching you make this …I loved all the comments in the notes I’m going to buy the Lombardo dry Marsala wine and try to make it exactly like Olive garden it’s my favorite dish in the world I love the flavor of that wine and butter and chicken yum yum
amy
can you use the bottle of marsela cooking wine?
Stephanie
You could do that.
Peggy Hosek
Saw the comments about soy sauce & molasses. Sounds like a splash of teriyaki sauce would do the trick. Yum!
david monroe
Stephanie are you out there? i asked about olive garden marsala sauce in late december it is the original marsala sauce not the stuffed .
Stephanie
Sure, I may have missed your original post with the holidays. I think they key here is to figure out exactly what type of Marsala that they use. I understand it is a proprietary wine. I think the recipe and the technique is ok, again the question is to find the right marsala.
Cecilia
Someone who worked at Olive Gardens told me it’s Lombardo dry marsala.
david monroe
good but just standard marsala sauce. DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO MAKE OLIVE GARDENS RICH BROWN MARSALA SAUCE????????
Jason
To make the rich Marsala sauce, you are suppose to heat the wine, stirring in pieces of butter at a time while whisking constantly so the mixture doesn’t break.
Peggy
Do you pound the chicken breast to make them flat?
Stephanie
I think it is always smart to pound them a bit if they are of uneven size. It’s not required but can help with the cooking time.
Hank
Oh my god!
I made this today and it was wonderful. I modified a little added 8 ounces of mushrooms half a white onion some extra butter and more wine. I did this because wanted extra sauce for my mashed potatoes. Also served it withe garlic butter asparagus it was so delicious. This was a very easy dish to prep and cook
Hank
Oh my god!
I make this today and it was wonderful. I modified a little added 8 ounces of mushrooms half a white onion some extra butter and more wine. I did this because wanted extra sauce for my mashed potatoes. Also served it withe garlic butter asparagus it was so delicious. This was a very easy dish to prep and cook