Chicken Thighs Marsala
Chicken Thighs Marsala is an easy one-skillet dinner with golden chicken thighs, mushrooms, and a rich Marsala wine sauce, ready in under an hour.
Servings: 4
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
I cook chicken thighs to a higher internal temperature than I do for white meat chicken. They will be more tender at that temperature.
This recipe was first published in 2015, and has been re-tested and re-photographed in 2026.
Nutrition
Calories: 572 kcal · Carbohydrates: 12 g · Protein: 27 g · Fat: 43 g · Saturated Fat: 19 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 6 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 15 g · Trans Fat: 0.5 g · Cholesterol: 198 mg · Sodium: 196 mg · Potassium: 786 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 6 g · Vitamin A: 813 IU · Vitamin C: 2 mg · Calcium: 60 mg · Iron: 2 mg
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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