Creamy Crock Pot Chicken Marsala - Easy Chicken Marsala Recipe! (2024)

FAQs

Is it better to use dry or sweet Marsala for Chicken Marsala? ›

However, when we tried both styles in recipes for chicken Marsala, mushroom stuffing, and zabaglione, tasters preferred the dry style in all instances. Though both were acceptable, tasters found that dry Marsala offered more depth of flavor, while sweet Marsala added sweetness and some flavor but wasn't as complex.

Flour plus fat (butter) = roux. A roux is used as a thickening agent in sauces. Sooo, with the butter from the pan and the butter the mushrooms have absorbed, plus the chicken cutlets coated in flour… This all means when the cutlets get added back to the sauce – that flour and butter combo is what thickens the sauce.

For cooking savory dishes like this one, use a secco (dry), fine (aged one year) ambra or oro Marsala. This impressive dish leans on the wine's flavor profile, giving it a deep and nutty richness. Even better, it comes together quickly, which makes it just as suitable for busy weeknights as weekend entertaining.

Marsala Wine and Cooking

Dry Marsala is typically used for savory entrées where it adds a nutty flavor and caramelization to beef tenderloin, mushrooms, turkey and veal. Sweet Marsala is typically used to make very sweet and viscous sauces.

The best substitute for marsala wine is madeira, another kind of fortified wine with a similar flavour profile. Other alternatives include other fortified wines such as commandaria, sherry, vermouth, and port.

Marsala Sauce:

3/4 cup dry Marsala wine. 1 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth (or stock) 3/4 cup heavy cream (thickened cream, evaporated milk or half and half may also be used)** 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley.

To make this recipe a little lighter than your traditional Italian chicken marsala, you will see that I've created this recipe using full fat coconut milk instead of heavy cream. If that's not your thing, feel free to stick to the heavy cream.

To make the perfect marsala wine substitute for chicken marsala, replace ½ cup of marsala wine with ½ cup chicken stock, 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, and one teaspoon of sugar. Mix the chicken broth mixture into your recipe exactly the same way you would add the marsala.

Thicken the sauce with flour mixed with olive oil left in the pan from browning onions and vegetables. Deglaze the pan with a sweet Marsala wine and let it bubble away until it reduces. Finally, add a splash of cream over low heat at the very end.

How do you thicken creamy chicken? ›

Possible substitutes would be a dry Madeira wine or a darker sherry such as Oloroso. If you don't have these then you could also use port or red vermouth.

The best chicken marsala wine pairing is with lighter red wine types or a full-bodied white wine. Red wine examples include Malbec and Pinot Noir, and white wines include Riesling or Chardonnay.

It's intensely rich fruit profile and moderate tannin pairs wonderfully with medium game like chicken and the exotic bold flavors of Marsala cream sauce nod to the balanced acidity in the wine while also toning it to highlight the opulence of the fruit.

The sweet and savory marsala sauce is a great match with the complex notes of red wines, while the chicken itself pairs well with white wines.

3.0Use it all the time for making chicken marsala. Also goes pretty well with homemade fudge brownies.

Obviously by now you know that yes, you can drink Marsala wine. Remember, for cooking, you can use the younger, much less expensive variety. But for the best Marsala wine for drinking, you can splurge on the more expensive, aged stuff.

Marsala Wine Options

Sometimes I only have Cribari Marsala available to me, and though it's sweet, it's balanced enough to work in this dish.