This easy Chicken Marsala recipe is made in the Instant Pot and is one of the best meals. Perfectly tender chicken thighs with cremini mushrooms cooked in a sweet marsala wine mixture and served with pasta or mashed potatoes.
Looking for more Instant Pot recipes? Make my Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes, Instant Pot Spaghetti, or Instant Pot Short Ribs!
I’m not lying when I say this could be my FAVORITE dish to make 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:
Lightly coat the chicken pieces in salt, pepper, and flour. Put a little oil in your instant pot and turn it to SAUTE. Brown chicken on both sides for about 3-4 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate and sauté the mushrooms, onions, and garlic.
Add 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. Sauté for a few minutes, add the cream, and you have created your yummy chicken marsala sauce.
Serve 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):
- ¼ cup of white grape juice + 1 tablespoon vanilla extract + 2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar1
- ⅓ cup grape juice with a teaspoon of brandy
- dry sherry
Recipe Variations:
- Stove Top: Use the same method but brown the chicken in a skillet until completely cooked through. 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.
- Chicken Breasts: 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.
What to Serve with Chicken Marsala:
- Mashed Potatoes
- Best Homemade Rolls
- Three Bean Salad
- Brussels Sprouts Salad
- Classic Wedge Salad
- Artisan No Knead Bread
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Recipe
Instant Pot Chicken Marsala
Equipment
Ingredients
- 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
Instructions
- 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.
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe August 2018. Updated February 2022.
The chicken came out very tender and moist but the sauce was extremely bland. It needed herbs, more salt and pepper. It needed something!!
I made this last night and my VERY PICKY 14-year-old daughter said, “This is the best chicken you have ever made – what the heck?” As if I have been holding out on her for the past 14 years. Thanks for the recipe and opportunity to impress a teenager!
Great recipe…I did use greek yogurt in place of the heavy cream! Thank you! I am a NOVICE IP user!
That was really tasty. Entire family enjoyed it.
Followed it exactly and was totally disappointed. Chicken was tender but the sauce wasn’t bland at best. Definitely won’t do this in the instant pot again.
So delicious with our homegrown chicken! Took the suggestion for 1/2 c of marsala/cream and had some oyster mushrooms on hand with a few button type. Served with lightly seasoned risotto, accompanied by wilted spinach& beet salad. Amazing gourmet meal at home!