Chicken Thighs Marsala is a quick and easy one-pan, one-hour wonder ~ this classic chicken recipe gives you great restaurant style flavor even on a busy weeknight.
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Chicken thighs Marsala sounds fancy but is ready in under an hour
Chicken Marsala is one of those dinners that feels a little fancy without asking much of you. Brown the chicken, sauté the mushrooms and shallots, then let Marsala wine and cream turn everything in the pan into a rich, savory sauce. It’s all done in one skillet.
How to make it
Marsala sauce is an Italian-American pan sauce made with Sicily’s fortified Marsala wine, most famously paired with chicken or veal and mushrooms. There’s just one pan and a few easy steps to this chicken thighs Marsala:
- Brown the chicken thighs (skin side down) over a high heat to kick start the cooking and give them a nice golden color.
- Sauté the mushrooms, shallots, and garlic in the same pan.
- Add the Marsala, then cream and bring to a simmer.
- Add back the chicken for a final bit of cooking in the oven.
Ingredient notes
CHICKEN THIGHS: bone in, or boneless?
- If I’m planning to serve my chicken marsala with pasta, I might use boneless thighs so I can slice them and spoon the sauce over the pasta.
- If I’m serving them on their own with mashed potatoes or polenta, I might do bone in.
MUSHROOMS: what type?
- I like cremini, or the small brown button style. Cremini mushrooms are basically the same species as white button mushrooms, just a bit more mature. They have a slightly deeper, earthier, more savory flavor and a firmer texture but the white ones will work too.
- You can use shiitake or portobello as well, just chop them into bite sized pieces.
MARSALA: do I have to use it?
- Gosh yes, pick up a bottle of dry Marsala for this recipe for sure. Marsala is a fortified wine, which just means that it 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.
- Your regular grocery store should carry it, but look for real dry Marsala wine, not “Marsala cooking wine,” which is salted and lower quality.
- Marsala is great to have around for all kinds of cooking. Once opened, I refrigerate my Marsala and try to use it within about 6 months.
THYME: thyme adds a fresh note to the simple but richly flavored Marsala sauce. Use parsley instead.
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 gives instant fancy restaurant appeal to so many recipes ~ in this case, inexpensive chicken thighs.
What to serve with chicken thighs Marsala
Choose something to catch all that fabulous mushroom sauce. Serve it over pasta if you’re using boneless thighs, or with mashed potatoes or creamy polenta for bone-in thighs.
I’d add a green vegetable or salad on the side:
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Chicken Thighs Marsala
Equipment
- cast iron skillet or other oven ready skillet
Ingredients
- 12 ounces small to medium cremini mushrooms
- 4 skin-on bone-in chicken thighs
- olive oil, for brushing
- 3 Tbsp butter, divided
- 2 large shallots, peeled and finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced or put through a garlic press
- 8 fresh thyme sprigs, divided
- 1/2 cup dry Marsala wine
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste, start with 1/2 teaspoon of each
garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375F.
- Wipe the 12 ounces small to medium cremini 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. Set aside.
- Heat your skillet over medium high heat until quite hot. Brush the skin side of the 4 skin-on bone-in chicken 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 rich golden brown color. Remove them to a plate.
- Add 2 Tbsp of the butter to the pan. Sauté the minced shallots2 large shallots for a few minutes, stirring often, and then add the garlic or a couple more minutes, being careful not to let the garlic burn. Add the mushrooms to the pan and sauté for another 5 minutes, stirring often, until they start to shrink down, release their moisture, and brown.
- Add the 1/2 cup dry Marsala wine to the pan and turn up the heat to let it reduce a bit.
- Add the 1/2 cup heavy cream to the pan and mix well. Add half of the sprigs of thyme and season to taste with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Finish the sauce by stirring in the last bit of butter.
- Nestle the chicken thighs back into the pan, but don't spoon any of the sauce over those crisp skins, leave them exposed.
- Bake the thighs for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until cooked through to an internal temperature of 175F to 185F at the thickest part (avoiding the bone.) Remove the spent thyme sprigs and replace with fresh thyme.
- Serve right away with mashed potatoes, polenta, or pasta.
Notes
Nutrition
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This was wonderful! My husband gives it a 10! Had a little trouble finding a good Marsala wine. But, as you said, don’t skip it. A great recipe. Thank you. ?
It’s a do over! We had everything but the chicken! I used the dry sherry and while finishing in the oven I needed to add some broth (I had mushroom broth …shrug) perfect. We topped it on mashed cauliflower ( I know but we’re watching the carbs) and it was delicious. The thighs were large so it took a little extra time.
I’ve made this several times since my original question, and realized I never rated it. 5 stars! Is relatively easy to make, and tastes so good!
Thanks Peter 🙂
Making this tonight. In the ingredients you list a handful of thyme sprigs and further down you say thyme for garnish. Nowhere in the recipe do you mention when to add the thyme sprigs. I will add to the sauce before putting in the oven.
I just clarified that, you’ll add the sprigs along with the cream, and then remove them after cooking.
Now that I have tried it, I can rate it. This is comfort food at its best. So many good flavors going on. We did add the sprigs with the cream. Cant have too much flavor! Will be making this again.
Hi Sue, I love this recipe because it’s relatively easy, uses thighs, and is delicious. One question for you is I don’t have a dutch oven so have been using a large skillet. When I add the chicken thighs back to finish cooking on the stove, would you recommend I put the cover on or leave it off? Thanks again. ‘
I guess it would depend on how thick your sauce is, if it’s thin you can leave the cover off, but if it’s thicker you might want to cover or partially cover the skillet.
Thanks for the quick reply. Yes, I have left it off some of the time so the sauce thickens up a bit. I’ll have to check out a few of your other recipes. Again thanks!
I don’t have an oven yet (looooong story). How long should I cook this on the stove top? Or in the alternative, could this be adapted for a pressure cooker? Thank you!
I haven’t tried this in a pressure cooker Audrey, and for the stove top cooking I would say about 15-20 minutes, but use an instant read thermometer to be sure, the chicken should get to 165F.
I found the cooking time totally inadequate. I sauteed the thighs in the pan for 10 min., not 5. The baked in preheated oven 20 min. – they were still raw inside. 40 min. is more realistic. Also the marsala evaporated during 20 min. baking, leaving very little sauce at the end.
I dont have a skillet that can go in the oven, will it work the same if i transfer all to an oven safe dish before putting in oven?
Sure, that will work.
Is it important that I use bone-in thighs with skin? I bought boneless skinless thighs before carefully reading the recipe…
Oh no, feel free to use any type of thigh, or any cut of chicken, for that matter. Your boneless skinless will work fine.
Just made this lovely and easy chicken dish. My husband scraped the pan for any leftover sauce. We’re looking forward to making the Chicken Lemon Biryani. Really like your site too, it’s not over the top full of fluff and stuff, just right and gets down to cooking.
Thanks for the nice comment Jann, and I’m so glad you liked the chicken. FYI the chicken biryani is one of my favorites, I think you’ll like that one too.