This easy recipe for Chicken Marsala and rice is comfort food at its best. The tender chicken, combined with mushrooms, onions and garlic, and topped with a velvety sauce made with Sherry and heavy cream is delectable.
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Mushrooms, onions, garlic, and chicken are staples in our house, and this recipe is a delicious way to combine these ingredients. And going from stovetop to oven with one pot makes cleaning up a breeze.
The quantity of brown rice and the cooking method I leave up to you. I rely on my rice cooker to do the work.
You can use an oven-safe skillet to make the dish, but I use a Dutch oven. I love being able to cook everything in the Dutch oven, cover with the lid, and continue baking with it in the regular oven.
If you’re not a fan of chicken, you’ll want to try my Slow Cooker Beef Pot Roast or Gluten Free Slow Cooker Lasagna. Both of these recipes are great when you need a little comfort food in your life.
Traditionally, Chicken Marsala is made with chicken breasts or chicken cutlets. My family prefers dark meat, so I use skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs.
It’s also traditional to use Marsala wine in the recipe, but dry Sherry is easier for me to find at our local grocery store. The nutty flavor of the Sherry complements the chicken and mushrooms really well.
Why this Recipe Works
- Using bone-in chicken thighs adds more flavor to the dish.
- Browning the chicken and setting it aside to rest while you make the sauce gives you nicely textured chicken and tasty chicken skins.
- Using Sherry, heavy cream, and butter gives the sauce richness and delicious flavor.
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken - Skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs are my choice for this dish.
- Mushrooms - I like to use either white button, brown cremini, or a combination of both.
- Shallots - Shallots add a sweet, subtle flavor, but if you don’t have them, you can use finely diced onion instead.
- Garlic - Using fresh garlic gives you the most flavor. If you don’t have fresh garlic, you can use ½ teaspoon garlic powder.
- Sherry - Dry Sherry is my choice, but if you prefer you can use apple cider vinegar.
- Heavy cream - I like the creaminess the heavy cream gives to the sauce.
- Rice - We prefer brown rice, but white rice will also work.
How to Make Chicken Marsala
(For ingredient amounts see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.)
Preheat your oven to 375° F. Clean the mushrooms with a damp cloth. Cut off the ends of the stems and slice the mushrooms thickly.
Drizzle olive oil all over the bottom of a Dutch oven. Heat the pan over medium heat until quite hot.
Brush the skin side of the thighs with olive oil and brown the thighs, skin side down, for about 5 minutes or until they have a golden-brown color.
Remove the chicken to a plate and add 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan.
Sauté the garlic and shallots in the pan for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté for another 5 minutes stirring continually until they start to shrink and brown.
Add the Sherry, turn up the heat, and let the sauce reduce a bit.
Stir in the cream and season with salt and ground black pepper. Add the last of the butter and mix well.
Add the chicken thighs back into the pan and spoon the sauce over the top.
Place the cover on the Dutch oven and bake at 375° for about 20 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked.
Serve warm over rice and enjoy.
Recipe Tips and FAQs
- Clean the mushrooms with a damp towel or lightly rinse under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Don’t soak the mushrooms in water. The mushrooms will absorb water, if soaked, reducing their flavor and making it difficult to brown when cooking.
- Use a pan that can go from stove-top to oven. I use my trusted Dutch oven to get the job done.
- Cover the bottom of your pan with olive oil. This will keep the chicken from sticking while browning.
I like to serve chicken marsala over rice or mashed potatoes. Both of these starches are great for soaking up the delicious sauce.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days.
If you like chicken and mushrooms, you have to try this delicious recipe. I know you’ll enjoy it as much as we do!
More Gluten Free Chicken Recipes to Try
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Recipe
Chicken Marsala and Brown Rice for Two
Ingredients
- 4 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
- olive oil
- 1 pound small mushrooms
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 2 large shallots
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ cup dry Sherry
- ½ cup heavy cream
- salt and pepper
- cooked brown rice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F. Clean the mushrooms with a damp cloth. Cut off the ends of the stems and slice the mushrooms thickly.
- Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of a Dutch oven. Heat the pan over medium heat until quite hot.
- Brush the skin side of the thighs with olive oil and brown the thighs, skin side down, for about 5 minutes or until they have a nice brown color.
- Remove the chicken to a plate and add 2 tablespoons of the butter to the pan.
- Sauté the garlic and shallots in the Dutch oven for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté for another 5 minutes stirring continually until they start to shrink and brown.
- Add the Sherry, turn up the heat, and let it reduce down a little.
- Stir in the cream and season with salt and pepper. Add the last tablespoon of butter and mix well.
- Add the chicken thighs back into the pan and spoon the sauce over the top.
- Place the cover on the Dutch oven and bake for about 20 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked.
- Serve warm over rice.
Notes
- Clean the mushrooms with a damp towel or lightly rinse under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Don’t soak the mushrooms in water. The mushrooms will absorb water, if soaked, reducing their flavor and making it difficult to brown when cooking.
- Use a pan that can go from stove-top to oven. I use my trusted Dutch oven to get the job done.
- Cover the bottom of your pan with olive oil. This will keep the chicken from sticking while browning.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information provided is an estimate and will vary based on products and brands you use. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the ingredients you are using with your preferred nutrition calculator.
This post was originally published in 2017. It was republished in 2023 with updated images, additional text, and FAQs.
Sherry Vaughn says
This looks SO good!
Flavor Walk says
Thanks Sherry!
Laveda Nichols says
The recipe says for two but I got news for you. This was so good I easily could eat this myself. Ok it might take two days but so good leftovers would be awesome too.