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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.
Does the chicken have to be in a single layer?
You can use more, but I find that it cooks better if it is in a single layer.
Sorry. Not much flavor.
Excellent tasting chicken Marsala that was so easy to make & family loved it. May need to do a double batch of the sauce next time as we were all trying to get more of the Marsala to go over our egg noodle side dish!
I made this for the first time. My husband loved it. He stated that I should make it again when we had our neighbors over for dinner. ๐๐ป๐๐ป
I love this recipe is so easy and tastes so amazing
I made this recipe today for lunch! I added more chicken and I wanted to make sure I had enough sauceโฆ. I added more wine my family loved it ! I thought it was a little on the bitter side ! I will make it again!
This was delicious! I followed the recipe almost exactly except I used 3 chicken breasts instead of 6 I would go by weight instead because mine were large. Also I know itโs just supposed to be a mushroom sauce but I love mushrooms and they reduce so much when cooked, I think next time Iโll double what the recipe calls for. Also my 1 year old is loving it and he usually doesnโt like chicken!
This was delish! I used chicken thighs. They ended up cooking in the crockpot for 6 hours and were super tender(falling apart). Iโll stick to 4-5 hours next time. I seared the chicken well and was generous with my salt/pepper/seasonings and the flavor was perfect!! Thank you! My family loved it ๐
I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! ๐
I have to agree with the comments about the sauce and not enough flavor. The spices just on the chicken is not enough. Those spices also need to be added to the sauce. I added the spices to the sauce the next day and it was much better.
This is the best, deep flavored dish Iโve ever had. It would get rave reviews served in a restaurant. Keep them coming!!โค๏ธโค๏ธ