Chicken Marsala Without Cream Recipe

This easy creamy chicken Marsala does not require heavy cream, as the Marsala with butter makes a perfect luscious sauce full of flavor. Furthermore, this chicken is very delicate in flavor and texture; it is cut into thin slices and coated with flour. These thin-sliced chicken breasts cook faster than whole breasts and remain very tender. I serve it with mushrooms and baked potatoes.

Jump to:

• How it gets its flavor and creaminess?
• What is Marsala, and how to substitute it
• Ingredients
• Step by step Instructions with images
• How to serve it
• Making the Marsala mushroom sauce
• Side dishes to go with it
• Top tips
• More Italian chicken recipes
• 📋Easy Chicken Marsala Without Cream

This recipe is perfect for dinner parties as you can prepare it ahead of time and warm it before serving.

You can make beef scaloppine, pork, or veal Marsala using this easy chicken Marsala recipe.

If you use other meat like beef, veal or pork, you may need a meat tenderizer. The tender chicken breast doesn't need it.

How it gets its flavor and creaminess?

• While the flour toasts in butter, it absorbs the chicken's juices
• The chicken is flavored with the Marsala wine
• Once you remove the chicken cutlets, you will have some residual toasted flour left on the bottom of the pan.
• As you would do for gravy, deglaze the pan with water and let it simmer until it thickens.
• You will have a nice luscious sauce full of flavor from the toasted butter and the rich marsala wine sauce.

What is Marsala, and how to substitute it

Marsala is a sweet fortified wine from Sicily; you can find it in many liquor stores worldwide.

Ensure you buy the dry Marsala wine, not the creamy sweet Marsala wine, as this one is not used for cooking.

I usually stock up on a few bottles when I go to Italy.

This marsala cooking wine is used in many savory and sweet Italian recipes.

I use it to make this beef stew pot pie or a sweet Italian eggnog VOV.

You can use some Port or white wine if you cannot find it in your local area.

However, if you cook this chicken for children without alcohol, you can substitute it with fresh lemon juice.

Ingredients

• 5 deboned chicken breasts cut into slices.
• ½ cup flour
• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup Marsala wine
• 2 teaspoon salt

Note: some recipes also add garlic powder, chicken stock, soy sauce, parmesan cheese, or, worst balsamic vinegar. The classic chicken Marsala recipe does not have too many flavors. Simplicity is the most important foundation of authentic Italian cuisine.

Step by step Instructions with images

1. Cut the chicken breasts into thin slices
2. Coat them with flour
3. In a large skillet pan at medium heat, melt the butter and lay the first batch of chicken breasts
4. Once they turn golden brown, flip them over
5. Pile the cooked slices one on top of the others to make room for the next batch
6. Keep moving the pile of the cooked chicken breasts over newly cooked ones, so they all cook evenly. Make room to add the remaining slices of chicken and add more butter if needed

7. Once all the slices are cooked, turn them around, ensuring they are all brown and evenly cooked.
8. Pour the ½ cup of Marsala and simmer for a few minutes, turning the chicken to make sure the flavor is evenly spread
9. Remove the chicken and add 1 cup of water to deglaze all the flour. Let it simmer until it becomes a creamy sauce
10. Arrange the chicken on the serving dish and pour over the sauce

How to serve it

This creamy chicken Marsala recipe is perfect for dinner parties.

You can prepare it earlier, store it in the fridge and heat it up before bringing it to the dinner table.

Just add some water to soften the sauce while you are reheating it.

As a side dish, I like to serve savory mushrooms sautéed with garlic which I cook in the same pan after the chicken, so they absorb the residual rich flavor of the Marsala.

Making the Marsala mushroom sauce

Ingredients:

• 7 oz - 200 gr of cremini mushrooms
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon butter
• salt
• parsley or fresh thyme

1. Clean the mushrooms and cut them into quarters
2. Stirfry the mushroom with butter and garlic in the same pan you cooked the chicken so they will absorb the same flavor from the Marsala
3. Season with salt and add some parsley at the end

Side dishes to go with it

As a side, I made microwave baked potatoes which I first cooked in the microwave, so they bake crispy in just 20 minutes.

Instead of the potatoes, you can serve them with pilaf rice which you can cook in the oven while you make the chicken.

But if you don't have guests to entertain and you can leisurely cook in the kitchen, a risotto with porcini mushrooms is also a perfect combination.

Traditionally Italian would never serve pasta with chicken as the pasta was regarded as a peasant meal, not refined enough for chicken tenderloins.

Keeping with my tradition, I will not suggest serving pasta as it side dish.

Top tips

• Cut the chicken breast into thin slices so they are evenly cooked and the butter doesn't burn
• Keep the slices that need more cooking when cooking the chicken at the bottom of the cooked pile. Move them to the top once brownish, leaving the less cooked slices at the bottom. Keeping the chicken in the pan will ensure they are properly cooked and reach a safe internal temperature
• Deglaze with enough water and let it boil until the sauce becomes creamy
• If you have leftovers and you want to reheat the next day, add a little bit more water to make the sauce juicier
• Whatever vegetables you want to serve with the chicken, stir fry in the same pan to get some of the flavors
• You can use some Port or dry white wine as a substitute for Marsala.
• If you cook for children and don't want to use alcohol, you can substitute it with lemon juice.
• Any leftover chicken marsala should be stored in the fridge in an airtight container. It is not safe to leave cooked chicken at room temperature for a long time.

More Italian chicken recipes

For more chicken recipes, check out the category: Main Course

Also, check the recipes below:

• Low Fat Roast Chicken Dinner
• Easy Bbq Chicken Breast Recipe
• Chicken and Mushroom Pie Recipe
• Italian Chicken with Peppers
• Homemade chicken nuggets recipe
• Baked breaded chicken breast
• Chicken Caesar salad
• Beef Pie With Marsala Sauce

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