This easy Instant Pot Chicken Marsala recipe is one of the tastiest dishes I have made in my instant pot. Perfectly cooked chicken thighs with cremini mushrooms cooked in a sweet marsala wine mixture and served with pasta or mashed potatoes.
Instant Pot Chicken Marsala
I’m not lying when I say this could be my FAVORITE dish I’ve made in the Instant Pot. (And if you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can make it really easily on the stove. Read on 🙂 .) The sauce is creamy with the best flavors from the mushrooms and marsala wine and the chicken cooks perfectly in the instant pot. This is the type of meal I would happily serve to dinner guests, and it’s just a bonus that’s it’s so simple to make.
What is chicken marsala?
Chicken marsala is an American-Italian dish made with chicken, mushrooms, and sweet marsala wine. It makes for a fast and easy weeknight meal but it’s fancy enough for a special occasion.
How to make chicken marsala:
To make chicken marsala in the instant pot, start by lightly coating the chicken pieces in salt, pepper, and flour. Then put a little oil in your instant pot and turn it to SAUTE. Brown the chicken on both sides for about 3-4 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate and saute the mushrooms, onions, and garlic.
Then add the chicken broth and chicken thighs back to the instant pot. Cook on the POULTRY setting for 10 minutes with a 12 minute natural release.
When the chicken is finished cooking in the instant pot, remove it to a plate and add the marsala wine to the instant pot. Saute for a few minutes, add the cream, and you have created your yummy chicken marsala sauce.
I recommend serving the chicken and sauce over noodles or mashed potatoes!
Which marsala wine is best for chicken marsala?
This chicken marsala sauce is made up of chicken broth, onions, garlic, mushrooms, green onions, marsala wine, and heavy cream. You can find real marsala wine in the wine section of the grocery store, or you can buy cooking marsala wine that is usually found in the baking isle. I used the cooking wine because it’s a little less potent and I knew my kids would like it better. But you can use the real deal as well!
Substitutions for marsala wine:
Marsala wine has a unique flavor, and given that it is the star of this dish, any substitutions won’t taste quite the same. If you’re concerned about adding alcohol to this dish just know that the alcohol gets burned of as it boils, in step 7.
I’ve read that the following substitutes can be used for marsala wine (but I haven’t tried them myself):
- 1/4 cup of white grape juice + 1 tablespoon vanilla extract + 2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar1
- 1/3 cup grape juice with a teaspoon of brandy
- dry sherry
Can I use chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs?
I HIGHLY recommend using chicken thighs for this recipe because they cook so much better in the instant pot than chicken breasts do. If you must use chicken breasts, you can. Cook time is the same.
Can I make this recipe on the stove-top if I don’t have an Instant Pot?
YES! Use can use the same method but brown the chicken in a skillet until completely cooked through. Then, remove the chicken to a plate while you make the sauce in the skillet. Add a little oil to the skillet and cook the mushrooms, green onion and garlic for 2 minutes.
Add the marsala wine and bring to a boil for 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth and cream and cook for a few more minutes, until thickened. Spoon sauce over chicken, to serve.
DON’T MISS MY OTHER FAVORITE INSTANT POT RECIPES, INCLUDING:
- Instant Pot Skinny Fettuccini Alfredo
- Instant Pot Chicken Taco Bowls
- Instant Pot Ranch Chicken Pasta
- Instant Pot Spaghetti
- Instant Pot Ribs
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This easy Instant Pot Chicken Marsala recipe is one of the tastiest dishes I have made in my instant pot. Perfectly cooked chicken thighs with cremini mushrooms cooked in a sweet marsala wine mixture and served with pasta or mashed potatoes.
- 4 large skinless chicken thighs (About 3 pounds), bone in or boneless
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour , for dredging
- salt and pepper
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil , separated
- 8 ounces fresh cremini mushrooms , thickly sliced
- 3 green onions , chopped
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/3 cup sweet Marsala wine
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
Select SAUTE on the Instant Pot, and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the instant pot.
Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper, and dredge them in flour. Add chicken thighs to the hot oil and cook them for 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
Remove the chicken thighs to a plate. Add the last tablespoon of olive oil to the instant pot along with the mushrooms, green onions, and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes and then press CANCEL.
Add the chicken broth to pot, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Place the chicken thighs on top. Close the lid and turn the pressure valve to "sealing".
Cook on Manual/Pressure setting and cook for 10 minutes on high pressure. When the timer beeps, allow the pressure to naturally release for 12 minutes, before opening the lid.
Press cancel and remove the thighs to a plate. Cover them with tinfoil to keep warm.
Turn instant pot to SAUTE setting and add the marsala wine to the mushroom mixture. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 3 minutes.
Stir in the heavy whipping cream and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until the mixture is slightly thickened.
Spoon the sauce over chicken. Serve warm with mashed potatoes or egg noodles.
I HIGHLY recommend using chicken thighs, instead of chicken breasts for this recipe because they cook so much better in the instant pot.
*Recipe adapted from Instant Pot Miracle Cookbook
Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
Wendy says
Umm…yes please! This is one of my all time favorites, but I never would have thought to make it in the IP. Game changer! It was so easy and it turned out delicious! The sauce was so flavorful and the chicken was cooked perfectly. I love you site, keep up the good work! 🙂
Helen says
What can I use as substitute for the Marsala Wine?? Any suggestions?
xoxox
Lauren Allen says
I’ve listed a few substitution ideas in the post, under the heading “substitutions for marsala wine” 🙂 . Enjoy.
Denise says
It’s on my menu to make next week. Thanks so much ! Anxious to try this.
Lauren Allen says
I’d love to hear what you think!
Nikki says
Hi! Can you use whole milk instead of heavy whipping cream? Forgot to buy the cream yesterday. ❤️
Lauren Allen says
Sure, you may just want to add a little cornstarch slurry to thicken up the sauce slightly (like 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of cornstarch + 1 teaspoon of water, mixed together).
Renee says
Hi, I’ve got a couple of your recipes on my list of dinners for this week. Do you use a 6 qt or an 8 qt IP? I have an 8 qt and understand that sometimes adjustments need to made to recipes according to the size IP being used.
Lauren Allen says
Hi Renee, all of my recipe testing is with my 6QT IP, and you’re right that adjustments may need to be made for the 8QT. You may find this article helpful in knowing how or if you need to adjust a recipe https://mycrazygoodlife.com/instant-pot-cooking-differences/
Julie says
Does the sauce freeze well? I’m thinking of making the sauce ahead and freezing it – so when I’m ready to pull out my frozen chicken – I just put the frozen chicken in the IP, cook it up fresh and heat up the sauce. I’m trying to cook up as many dishes as possible to make this first month back to school as stress free as possible.
Lauren Allen says
Yes should freeze well, just don’t add the wine or the cream until you make it.
Julie says
Great flavor, excellent recipe! I doubled this recipe and made it exactly as the recipe stated – the sauce was a little on the runny side- did not thicken up – next time I will add some corn starch. Will definitely be making this again – my husband and three kids loved it. Two of our kids even THANKED me for making this recipe and surprise my picky eater LOVED it.
Lauren Allen says
Glad your family loved it. Thanks for trying the recipe, hope you get to try more of my insta-pot recipes soon.
Kelle says
i just made this, hubby ate two plates and is not a huge mushroom fan! if you put the lid on after all steps for 5-10 mins at least, the sauce thickens nicely!!
Carol C says
I made this tonight it was so delicious!! I shredded the chicken thighs then put it back in the sauce. So awesome will definitely be making this again!!
Cindy says
Thanks for this recipe! I don’t have an Instant Pot, but instead I use a stove top pressure cooker. How could I translate the 10 minutes on the poultry setting to my very basic pressure cooker? It just has a level 1 and level 2 (high) pressure options. I was thinking maybe less time on high pressure as level 2 is what the pressure cooker’s instruction manual seems to recommend for meat.
Sandra says
Made this tonight for supper and it was soooooo good! Thank you!!! As I made noodles to go with it I did increase the sauce a bit by using the pasta water and a little corn starch slurry. My husband said it was great and he doesn’t typically like anything new on the menu. 😆
Teri says
I have an Ultra Instant Pot. The sauce button/selection if have an ultra pot continuously turned off. This was a HUGELY frustrating. Is there a way to put in the recipe “how long” to set the sauce selection for??? Beyond this, all seemingly appears to be easy to follow.
David says
Just joined Taste Better From Scratch and so looking forward to your recipes! Can a crock pot be used for your Chicken Marsala recipe? I don’t have an IP?
Lauren Allen says
Sure! Add everything except the cream in the slow cooker for 5-6 hours. Then add the cream at the end, and even a little cornstarch slurry, to help thicken the sauce. Cook for 20-30 minutes on high for the sauce to thicken.