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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.
Slow Cooker 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 have to pound the chicken breasts down, and 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 scaloppine, which is 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. In this recipe, 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 Chicken Marsala in the Slow Cooker
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 the seared chicken breasts to a 6-quart slow cooker. Add garlic and sliced mushrooms over the chicken.
- 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
- Searing the Chicken: Skipping the step of browning the chicken breasts is okay if you’re short on time, though doing so does enhance the flavor and helps to seal in the juices. But hey, if you want to see what I mean, just try my baked chicken pieces—your taste buds will thank you!
- Don’t rush: Making chicken marsala in the crock pot adds a depth of flavor that only comes from cooking food low and slow, much like this slow cooker coq au vin. Both dishes benefit from the slow-cooking process, allowing the rich flavors to meld together nicely.
- Check for doneness: Use an Instant Read Thermometer to check for doneness. Chicken is cooked through when the internal temperature reaches 165˚F.
What Marsala Wine To Use & Substitution Options
Marsala wine is a fortified wine from Sicily that can be sweet or dry. You want to use a dry Marsala wine for savory recipes like Chicken Marsala. If you can’t find some, use a darker Sherry, a dry white wine, a dry Madeira, or a Port. Remember that using anything other than dry Marsala wine will alter the classic flavor.
Side Dishes for Chicken Marsala
Now that you have a creamy, incredible chicken ready to go, what do you serve with it? I like Chicken Marsala on its own, but you can serve it over penne pasta, egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or rice. It would also go great with cauliflower rice or creamy mashed cauliflower.
For a classic Italian side, try my Vesuvio potatoes—they’re a delicious match! And to round out the meal, my chickpea salad adds a bit of freshness, while my baked homemade cannolis make for the sweetest dessert!
How To Store Leftovers
- To Store: Store Chicken Marsala leftovers in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
- To Freeze: Place chicken and sauce in a large Ziploc bag, seal it well, and store it 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.
More Italian Chicken Recipes
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken Breasts
- Creamy Lemon Chicken with Asparagus
- Baked Chicken Parmesan
- Creamy Lemon Parmesan Chicken Breasts
- Chicken Milanese
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Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala
Ingredients
- 6 (1.5 to 2 pounds, total) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 ounces mushrooms,, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup dry marsala wine
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ¼ 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 the seasoned 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 the wine over the 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. Taste for salt and pepper, and adjust accordingly.
- Return chicken to the slow cooker; cover with a lid and cook on HIGH for 20 minutes or until sauce has thickened. For a creamier texture, add more heavy cream.
- Transfer chicken from slow cooker to plates; top with mushroom sauce and garnish with fresh parsley.
- Serve.
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.
- Check for doneness: For perfectly cooked chicken breasts, use an Instant Read Thermometer to check for doneness. Chicken is cooked through when internal temperature reaches 165˚F.
- 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.
This is a great recipe! Have used it many times. My family loves garlic so I tripled the minced garlic! We love mushrooms- doubled those! Lol But the recipe itself is DELICIOUS
That’s great! I’m very glad you and your family enjoyed it! Thank YOU! ๐
Made this for the first time this weekend, following the recipe as written. My husband and I really liked it so I will be making it again. I agree with those that say more liquid is needed but I just added a little chicken stock along the way and all was fine.
I’m very glad you and your husband enjoyed it Thank YOU! ๐
Excellent chicken Marsala. I am full Italian and I have made this recipe from the site.
I wanted to double the recipe and used my barely used crock pot!
WONDERFUL!!!!!!!
That’s great! I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for chiming in! ๐
I’m kinda a lazy cooker. Don’t get me wrong, I cook every night. Just don’t like complex recipes. So I used frozen chicken instead. And cut out the cornstarch. It turned out really good.
Question. Can you use the Marsala Cooking Wine?
Im.wondering the same question….
Yes, you absolutely can.
I made this chicken marsala for dinner tonite for hubby and I. Neither one of us liked it. We found the chicken rather tough and the spice was too strong. It seemed like it needed more liquid. My husband was thing to add water and cook some more, but I just didnโt like the taste, so we threw the rest out. It hurts with the price of meat today. I paid $12. I wonโt be making it again.
If you paid $12 for tough chicken don’t try to blame that on the recipe. Maybe you shouldn’t shop at Sav-a-Lot. I’ve tried this, I don’t like thyme so I left that out and it was very good. Some people enjoy being chronic complainers.
100% so sad. I discovered I donโt like thyme on a different recipe (not even hers) so I just leave it our just a sprinkle. Itโs not the creators fault you donโt like the ingredients. I donโt like sun dried tomatoes and almost all chicken recipes have them! Not the recipes fault. My taste buds fault. Buying a good cut of meat is the key to any good recipe and fresh ingredients!
Thank you, Jaimie. ๐ค
Iโve made this too many times to count. It is a regular go to dinner. Love my slow cooker as it makes everything so easy. I swap out the chicken breasts for skinless thighs as thatโs our preference and theyโre always moist.
Great recipe!
If you are craving some chicken marsala, but don’t have the time to fuss (or just don’t want to)… this is a great alternative!
The only things I did differently were to line the crock pot with baby potatoes and some carrot pieces. I put the chicken on top of the veggies and the mushrooms on top of the chicken. I just wanted some veggies without the fuss of doing them separately. I also used a little Greek yogurt in place of the heavy cream as some of us can’t handle the cream.
Next time, I will replace the carrots with green beans.
The sauce thickened just like the recipe said it would, it tasted amazing, and was super quick to “throw” in the crock.
I don’t keep many recipes… they have to be really worth it for me to do so…. we’re keeping this one! Thank you for a great recipe! ๐
Meant to add… I did not pre-brown the chicken… was just fine that way.
Thank you so much! I am very glad you enjoyed this recipe!! ๐
Followed the recipe but we didnโt care for it. Didnโt have much flavor which really surprised me. We love chicken Marsala cooked the original way and maybe thatโs why this dish disappointed us. However, the meal looked pretty. Sorry I couldnโt give more stars.
I would advise to just add a bit more salt and that should help with the taste.
Sounds like you donโt know how to cook and you probably enjoy Olive Garden chicken marsala
The thyme was overwhelming in this recipe, otherwise it was great. The sauce thickened up nicely and my kids liked the creamy texture. However, none of us could finish because of the strong thyme flavor. I had just bought a new bottle, not sure if ot was extra potent? I will make this recipe again, but next time omit the thyme and add more mushrooms.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! ๐
I make chicken masala all the time. Tried the crockpot and didn’t like it. Original recipe is the best. I’m sure restaurants don’t use a crockpot.
Yeah probably best to just toss that ol’ crockpot out since restaurants don’t use crockpots. ๐๐๐ No one here is under the assumption restaurants use crockpots and this would be an exact replica of a restaurant meal. However, it’s relatively low prep and low stress, so it works for most people. Don’t try to find or use a crockpot recipe if you’re going to whine that it involves a crockpot since restaurants don’t use them. I swear, people these days. It makes sense that you’re a Karen.