Chicken Thighs Marsala is a quick and easy one skillet meal for a romantic date night, or a casual weeknight dinner. This classic chicken recipe gives you great restaurant style flavor in a jiffy.
Chicken thighs marsala sounds fancy but is ready in under an hour
Most nights I’m just cooking for Grant and me, so I’m ahead of the game when it comes to dinners for two, romantic or otherwise. Simple dinner’s for two are nice because everything fits in a cast iron skillet, and it takes just a few minutes to prep and cook. We eat at 6:30 and honestly most nights I don’t get into the kitchen until around 6. Since we watch the nightly news with dinner (not so romantic, I know) I have to get things organized by 6:30 or we’ll miss something huge, I just know it.
how to make quick chicken marsala
There’s just one pan and three easy steps to this classic recipe.
- Brown the chicken thighs over a high heat to kick start the cooking and give them a nice golden color.
- Sauté the shallots, garlic and mushrooms in the same pan.
- And finally make the sauce, again right in the same pan, and add back the chicken for a final few minutes of cooking in the oven. You can also finish if off on the stove if you like.
Marsala sauce adds instant elegance to simple chicken thighs.
I’ve said this a lot before, but the combination of shallots, mushrooms, garlic, cream, and Marsala wine (you can also use a dry Sherry) gives instant fancy restaurant appeal to the most basic chicken. Marsala is a fortified wine, which just means that is has a higher alcohol content than regular wine. It’s used in chicken dishes like this, and in risottos and even tiramisus. You’ll recognize the flavor instantly. Add fresh thyme and you will get rave reviews, no question.
Ingredient spotlight: MARSALA WINE
MARSALA is a fortified wine (it has a higher alcohol content than regular wine) from Italy that has a special affinity for any dish that features mushrooms. I love the flavor it imparts to sauces so I keep a bottle in the cupboard above the stove. Don’t buy cooking Marsala, buy a drinking grade wine, it’s not expensive and so great to have around!
More easy chicken dinner recipes
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Chicken Thighs Marsala
Equipment
- cast iron skillet or skillet than can go into the oven
Ingredients
- 4 skin-on bone-in chicken thighs
- olive oil
- 1 lb small mushrooms, I used a combination of white button and brown cremini
- 3 Tbsp butter, divided
- 2 large shallots, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- handful of fresh thyme sprigs
- 1/2 cup Marsala wine or dry Sherry
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- salt and freshly cracked black pepper
garnish
Instructions
- Set oven to 375F
- Wipe the mushrooms with a damp cloth. Cut off the ends of the stems, and slice them, rather thickly. You can simply cut small mushrooms in half.
- Heat a heavy skillet over medium high heat until quite hot. Brush the skin side of the thighs with a little olive oil and, when the pan is good and hot, but not smoking, brown the thighs, skin down, for about 5-10 minutes or until they have a nice brown color. Remove them to a plate.
- Wipe out any burnt bits and add 2 Tbsp of the butter to the pan. Saute the garlic and the shallots for about 5 minutes, stirring often and being careful not to let the garlic burn. Add the mushrooms to the pan and saute for another 5 minutes, stirring often, until they start to shrink and brown.
- Add the wine to the pan and turn up the heat and let it reduce down a bit.
- Add the cream to the pan and mix well. Add the sprigs of thyme and season to taste with salt and pepper. Finish the sauce by stirring in the last bit of butter.
- Nestle the chicken thighs back into the pan, spooning the sauce over them a bit as well.
- Bake the thighs for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove the thyme sprigs.
- Serve hot with a sprinkle of fresh parsley and/or thyme
Notes
- Chicken thighs are inexpensive and versatile, if you love them like I do, try my Lemon Chicken Biryani, or my Creamy Chicken with Wild Rice and Mushrooms for other great ways to use them.
I love food cooked in marsala wine. Wow I love this recipe. The photo looks like it does it justice. I have been thinking about inviting a guest for dinner. I think I have hit upon a recipe!
Sue,
This looks amazing! I’ll be making it next week for sure!
xo
annie
I want to swim in that awesome sauce! This looks so good and you cook so GOOD!
I love chicken marsala and I have a feeling this would make a perfect Valentine’s Day dinner!
My Brothers name is Grant. We’re Greg, Grant and Gretchen. Too cute, huh? GREG
Pretty darned cute 🙂
I love the photo of the heat coming off the pan. What a easy, delicious dish – and we do love chicken thighs too. Wine makes everything taste better 😉
I love the idea of the cast iron skillet. Even if you don’t cook in it, the idea of serving it family style is nice.
I guess I’ll have to go buy a big cast iron skillet now. Oh darn. :-p
Ha ha – they are surprisingly cheap, Rebecca…just don’t drop one on your toe 😉
This is lovely. Marsala sauce (and all the delicious trappings of mushrooms and shallots that go with it) is a favorite of ours. This would make a wonderful V-day dinner since we always eat in and celebrate at home. Love how it’s all done in one pan.
I think it would make a good Valentine’s Day dinner, I think heavy cream makes just about anything romantic! thanks Monica.
You are so right about everything in this post. The Marsala sauce, making a quick dinner for two – this would be amazing on my dinner table, while watching the news of course! Good one! Have a great weekend Sue
You too Tricia!
What a beautiful skillet. You evenings such so much like mine, now that our daughter has left for college, leaving us an empty nest. Now if that evening news is NBC, we could be twins 😉