This Crock Pot Chicken Marsala recipe is a creamy, delicious, mushroom studded chicken dinner! You’ll be amazed by how easy it is to make a restaurant-quality meal right at home with this simple recipe. Put your slow cooker to work with this flavorful chicken marsala.
Table of Contents
- HOMEMADE CROCK POT CHICKEN MARSALA
- What is Chicken Marsala?
- HOW TO MAKE CROCK POT CHICKEN MARSALA
- Tips for the Best Chicken Marsala
- What Kind of Marsala To Use & Substitution Options
- WHAT TO SERVE WITH CHICKEN MARSALA
- HOW TO STORE LEFTOVER CHICKEN MARSALA
- Can You Freeze Chicken Marsala?
- Get the Recipe
- MORE ITALIAN CHICKEN RECIPES
Table of Contents
- HOMEMADE CROCK POT CHICKEN MARSALA
- What is Chicken Marsala?
- HOW TO MAKE CROCK POT CHICKEN MARSALA
- Tips for the Best Chicken Marsala
- What Kind of Marsala To Use & Substitution Options
- WHAT TO SERVE WITH CHICKEN MARSALA
- HOW TO STORE LEFTOVER CHICKEN MARSALA
- Can You Freeze Chicken Marsala?
- Get the Recipe
- MORE ITALIAN CHICKEN RECIPES
HOMEMADE CROCK POT CHICKEN MARSALA
I always thought Chicken Marsala was a fancy Italian recipe you could only enjoy at restaurants. But guess what? It’s actually super simple to prepare at home, especially if you let your slow cooker do most of the work. When you use a crock pot, you don’t even have to pound the chicken breasts down to a 1/4 inch thickness as you would traditionally do. The method used in this recipe also means you don’t have to stand at the stove flipping chicken breasts – score!
I love making this Chicken Marsala recipe on busy weeknights, but it’s also perfect for a fancy date night or Sunday supper. When you really want to wow everyone at the table but aren’t feeling like putting too much effort in, this is the recipe to make.
What is Chicken Marsala?
Chicken Marsala is an Italian-American dish of tender chicken breasts in creamy Marsala wine sauce loaded with mushrooms. It’s a variation of the traditional Italian scaloppina, which are meat with very thinly sliced meat dredged in flour and then sautéed and cooked in a sauce reduction.
Chicken Marsala probably comes from western Sicily, where Marsala wine is made. Here you have golden, lightly pan fried chicken breasts topped with mushrooms and smothered in a thick Marsala wine reduction that has a nice amount of garlic for additional flavor. It’s so good!
HOW TO MAKE CROCK POT CHICKEN MARSALA
This recipe only takes about 10 minutes to prep and packs a ton of flavor.
- We start with browning chicken breasts in a skillet; they’ll need about 3 minutes per side.
- Transfer browned chicken breasts to a 6-quart slow cooker.
NOTE: If you don’t have time to brown the chicken breasts, you don’t have to – it helps with the overall flavor, but you can definitely do without it.
- Add garlic and sliced mushrooms over the chicken breasts.
- Deglaze the skillet with Marsala Wine and pour it over the chicken breasts and mushrooms.
Also, please note to use DRY Marsala Wine. Sweet Marsala Wine is for desserts. If wine is not your thing, you can use chicken broth, instead. - Cover with a lid and set your slow cooker on LOW for 4 to 5 hours, or until chicken is cooked through. You can also cook it on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours.
- Remove chicken breasts from the slow cooker and set aside on a plate.
- Whisk water and cornstarch together, then add to the sauce inside the slow cooker. Whisk in heavy cream and return chicken breasts to the slow cooker.
- Cover with a lid and continue to cook on HIGH for 20 more minutes, or until sauce thickens.
- Garnish with parsley and serve.
Tips for the Best Chicken Marsala
This recipe is incredibly easy to make, but there are a few things you can do to make can make the absolute best chicken marsala from scratch!
- Brown the chicken: You can definitely skip this first step in the recipe, but I like the additional flavor and texture that this simple step adds to the finished meal.
- Check for doneness: Use an Instant Read Thermometer to check for doneness. Chicken is cooked through when internal temperature reaches 165˚F.
- Don’t rush: Making chicken marsala in the crock pot adds a depth of flavor that really only comes from cooking food low and slow. Don’t miss out on that benefit!
What Kind of Marsala To Use & Substitution Options
- Marsala wine is a fortified wine from Sicily that can be sweet or dry. For savory recipes like Chicken Marsala, you definitely want to use a dry Marsala wine. If you can’t find some, you can also use a darker Sherry, a dry white wine, a dry Madeira or Port. Keep in mind that using anything other than dry Marsala wine will alter the overall classic flavor.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH CHICKEN MARSALA
Now that you have a creamy, incredible chicken marsala ready to go the question is, what do you serve with it? I like Chicken Marsala on its own – keeps the calories and carbs to a minimum. 😊 BUT, if you like, you can serve it over pasta, egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or rice. I think it would also go great with Cauliflower Rice or a Creamy Mashed Cauliflower.
HOW TO STORE LEFTOVER CHICKEN MARSALA
- Store Chicken Marsala leftovers in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
Can You Freeze Chicken Marsala?
- Yes, you can freeze Chicken Marsala. Place chicken and sauce in a large ziploc bag, seal it well, and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- To reheat, thaw the chicken in the refrigerator, overnight. Preheat oven to 350˚F and heat chicken marsala until warmed through.
ENJOY!
TOOLS USED IN THIS RECIPE
Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala
Ingredients
- 6 (1.5 pounds, total) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
- salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup dry marsala wine
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Lightly grease a 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray and set aside.
- Season chicken breasts all around with garlic powder, dried basil, thyme, paprika, salt, and pepper.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add prepared chicken breasts to the hot oil and cook for 3 minutes per side, or until just browned.
- Transfer chicken to slow cooker and top with mushrooms and garlic.
- Return skillet over medium-high heat and add the marsala wine; cook for 1 minute, scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- Pour wine over chicken and mushrooms.
- Close with a lid and cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours, or on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours. Chicken is done when internal temperature reaches 165˚F.
- Remove chicken breasts from slow cooker and set aside on a plate.
- Combine water and cornstarch in a mug or a small mixing bowl and whisk until incorporated; then, whisk the slurry into the wine sauce.
- Add heavy cream to the wine sauce and whisk until combined.
- Return chicken to the slow cooker; cover with a lid and cook on HIGH for 20 minutes, or until sauce has thickened.
- Transfer chicken from slow cooker to plates; top with mushroom sauce and garnish with fresh parsley.
- Serve.
Video
Notes
- If you don’t have time to brown the chicken breasts, you don’t have to, but it does help with the overall flavor.
- Try to use DRY Marsala Wine. Sweet Marsala Wine is for desserts. If you don't want to use wine, you can use low sodium chicken broth, instead. I would also recommend chicken broth for those that are watching their calories, carbs, and/or are on a Keto diet.
- If you don't have Marsala Wine, you can use Sherry, Madeira, Dry White Wine, or Port. Please keep in mind that using anything other than Dry Marsala Wine will alter the overall classic flavor.
- Keep leftovers refrigerated for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
MORE ITALIAN CHICKEN RECIPES
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken Breasts
- Creamy Lemon Chicken with Asparagus
- Baked Chicken Parmesan
- Creamy Lemon Parmesan Chicken Breasts
Hi. If I could make a suggestion in regards to the chicken. If you are like me and tenderize your chicken so it’s the same thickness, you will need less than 3.5 hours on low. Mine did not turn out very good. 😔 The chicken ended up shredded because it was falling apart and it was dry because I don’t think there was enough liquid. At the very least, just check the temperature of your chicken after the first hour and go from there.
I appreciate your recipe and bummed it didn’t work out for me…I’m sure others had better luck? Thank you!
Please pass chicken Marsala recipe to me. Rbbbcb@aol.com
This recipe was very delicious – both my husband and I enjoyed it. I created a rub (as suggested in the recipe) with the herbs/spices and rubbed it generously on both sides of the chicken breasts. With the Marsala cooking wine and the spices, it was very flavorful. I will definitely make it again.
That’s great to hear! I’m very happy you and your husband enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Had to substitute broth for wine since I didn’t have Marsala. Turned out great. Will become one of my go to recipes. We really enjoyed it.
That’s great! I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
The chicken was very plain, I actually didnt even finish making the sauce and scrapped the whole thing! Sorry, didn’t work for me.
We followed every step of this very easy crockpot recipe. The aroma from the crockpot smelled amazing, but the finished meal was lacking in flavor in all respects. No shallots, butter, or chicken stock included in the ingredients. We used a high quality dried marsala wine. Our dried thyme could have have been past its prime, but overall this fell WAY short of the chicken marsala you’ll find in a restaurant. Will be following more traditional recipes in the future.
I’m gluten & lactose intolerant. I think it’d be ok to substitute GF flour for the cornstarch, yes? Now the heavy cream; what about lactose free milk? Do I need to add anything? Thanks!