Restaurant-Style Cheesecake Factory Chicken Marsala Recipe

The Cheesecake Factory Chicken Marsala is not just “chicken with mushrooms”. It’s tender and golden and coated in a flavorful, cozy wine sauce. There’s a reason that you remember this dish and are now looking to recreate it at home.

Get ready to fill your kitchen with incredible aromas: buttery richness, mushrooms, and onions sautéing in wine. This is what I like to call an elevated comfort food. And it is something that will have everyone peeking into the kitchen to ask, “What’s for dinner?”

What makes this recipe so special isn’t complicated techniques or far-fetched ingredients. It’s about doing a few simple things very well. Thin, evenly pounded chicken that cooks quickly and stays tender. Searing it just right to bring a lovely golden color and flavor to the chicken. Of course, real Marsala wine is key to bringing depth to the sauce that lends a slightly sweet and nutty flavor to it. Because what would chicken marsala be without the marsala?

This recipe focuses on those small but important details. You’ll build flavor in layers, deglaze the pan to catch every tasty morsel, and work it into a sauce that comes together quickly but tastes like it’s been simmering all afternoon.

Get ready to make an ordinary Tuesday night dinner feel upgraded. This article will cover the wonderful recipe for Cheesecake Factory’s Chicken Marsala. So, follow along below for step-by-step instructions, tips and tricks to perfect the recipe, and answers to some common reader questions.

Why This Recipe is So Great

Going out to dinner can be fun, but being able to recreate those restaurant flavors in your kitchen is such a satisfying way to enjoy a meal, and right from the comfort of your home! After making this chicken marsala, your home will feel like everyone’s new favorite restaurant in town.

• Comes together in just under an hour!
• Practice layering flavors in this recipe for exceptional taste
• Rich taste without feeling heavy
• Pairing suggestions to make it a true Cheesecake Factory copycat
• Short list of ingredients

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Try this incredible Cheesecake Factory-inspired Chicken Marsala recipe and impress your taste buds with every bite. Recreate the magic of their famous dish right in your own kitchen!

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time35 minutes mins

Total Time55 minutes mins

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Cheesecake Factory Chicken Marsala Recipe

Servings: 4

Author: Mackenzie

Ingredients

• 1½ lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 4 breasts)
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour, for dredging
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 tbsp butter, unsalted
• 8 oz porcini or baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 oz prosciutto, thinly sliced (optional)
• 1 cup Marsala wine
• ½ cup chicken stock
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
• salt, to taste
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

• Measure, chop, and prepare all of your equipment and ingredients.

Prep & Fry the Chicken:

• Place each chicken breast in a plastic bag or between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound them until they are approximately 1/4 inch thick. Set aside.
• In a shallow bowl, combine the flour, freshly ground black pepper, and a large pinch of salt. Mix well.
• In a shallow platter or small bowl, combine all-purpose flour, freshly ground black pepper, and salt to taste. Mix well.
• In a large skillet, heat half of the olive oil and butter over medium-high heat.
• Dredge both sides of the pounded chicken breasts in the flour mixture, shaking off excess flour. Fry each side in the hot pan for about 3-5 minutes or until golden brown. Fry in batches if necessary. Set aside on a plate.

Sauté the Vegetables:

• Add the remaining olive oil and butter to the pan. Once hot, add the prosciutto (if using) to the pan, and fry for a minute to release the fat. Set aside with the chicken.
• Add the mushrooms, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown (about 3-5 minutes). Add the shallot and garlic, with some salt and pepper, and cook for about a minute, until fragrant.

Make the Marsala Sauce:

• Add Marsala wine to the pan and allow it to boil until it is reduced by about half. Scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan to incorporate into the liquid.
• When the Marsala is reduced by half, add the chicken broth and heavy cream to the pan along with a large pinch of salt and black pepper.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and allow the sauce to simmer, uncovered, for about 10-15 minutes. The sauce will thicken slightly.

Finishing the Dish

• After about 10-15 minutes, when the sauce has noticeably reduced and thickened, add the prosciutto (if using) and chicken back to the pan along with any juices on the plate.
• Allow the pan to simmer for a couple of minutes until the chicken is warmed through.
• Stir in the fresh parsley, serve warm, and enjoy!

Notes

• For a richer flavor, just before adding the chicken back into the pan, stir in 2 tablespoons of butter to the sauce. Once melted, add the chicken and its juices back to the pan and proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Step-by-Step Instructions

This chicken marsala is a recipe built on layering: layering flavors so that each step adds to the previous. By cooking in this way, you are using the ingredients to complement each other. Do this instead of cooking many ingredients separately, which may or may not go well together, to create exceptional flavor in all your home cooking. Follow along with these step-by-step instructions to learn how to layer your flavors and use the ingredients and your kitchen skills to their full potential.

Step 1: Prepare Ingredients

Measure, chop, and prepare all of your ingredients and equipment before you continue with the recipe. This will make cooking a breeze, so you don’t forget anything!

Step 2: Prep & Fry the Chicken

Place the chicken breasts in a plastic bag or between two pieces of plastic wrap, and pound them until they are approximately 1/4-inch thick. Set aside.

In a shallow bowl, add the 1/4 cup of flour and season with freshly ground black pepper and salt. Mix well.

In a large skillet, heat half of the olive oil and butter (1 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp butter) over medium-high heat. A cast-iron skillet is my favorite pan to use for this recipe!

Dip the pounded chicken breasts in the flour mix, shaking off any excess, and place them in the hot pan.

Fry each side for about 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown. Do not overcrowd the pan; fry in batches if necessary. Set the chicken aside on a plate.

Step 3: Sauté the Vegetables

Add the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil and 2 tbsp of butter to the same pan used to fry the chicken. Once melted and hot, add the prosciutto (if you’re using it) to the pan and fry for about a minute. Remove from the pan and set it aside with the chicken.

Add the 8 oz of sliced mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, or until they begin to brown.

Add the minced shallot, garlic, salt, and pepper, and cook for about a minute, until fragrant.

Step 4: Make the Marsala Sauce

Add 1 cup of Marsala wine to the hot pan and allow it to boil until it is reduced by about half. Scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan to incorporate them into the liquid.

Note: This is called deglazing: adding a liquid such as wine, broth, or water to a hot pan after having cooked other ingredients. It will help to lift any of the browned, flavorful bits stuck on the bottom of the pan and dissolve them into the sauce for more richness!

When the Marsala is reduced by about half, add the 1/2 cup of chicken broth and 1/2 cup of heavy cream to the pan. Season with salt and black pepper.

Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and allow the sauce to simmer, uncovered, for about 10-15 minutes. The sauce will thicken slightly and reduce.

Watch this quick video to see just how deglazing helps to lift all those browned bits to then be used in a tasty sauce.

Tip: For a richer sauce, after simmering, add 2 tbsp of butter to the pan. Stir to melt and incorporate before moving on to the next step.

Step 5: Complete the Dish

After the sauce has simmered for about 10-15 minutes, add the chicken and prosciutto (if using) back to the pan along with any juices on the plate.

Allow the pan to simmer for a couple of minutes to heat up the chicken.

Stir in the 1/4 cup of fresh parsley (save a little for garnishing the plates, too!)

Serve warm with your favorite food & drink pairing and enjoy!

Expert Tips for Best Flavor

Chicken marsala truly is a simple dish packed with flavor from the chicken, mushrooms, shallots, wine, and butter. But what takes this from basic home cooking to restaurant-level comes down to technique. Check out these small adjustments below that can make a huge impact on the final flavor of your dish.

Pound the Chicken Evenly (But Not Too Thin)

Even thickness is far more important than super-thin chicken. Aim for about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. This will ensure that the chicken cooks quickly without drying out. If you pound the chicken too thin, the recipe will suffer from dry, overcooked chicken. And if one end is thicker than the other, you’ll either overcook the thin side or undercook the thick side.

If this is your first time flattening chicken breasts, or even to give yourself a refresher, watch this video below for a helpful technique!

Season in Layers

Seasoning in layers instead of just once throughout a recipe creates depth. By seasoning the flour that you use for the chicken, you are adding flavor to this recipe before you even begin cooking. You add more salt and pepper multiple times throughout this recipe so that the ingredients can slowly absorb flavor. These small steps make a noticeable difference in the final flavor of a dish.

As well, a great practice is to always taste your sauces just before they’re finished so you can adjust the sauce at the end with a final pinch of salt and pepper as needed.

Brown the Mushrooms, Don’t Steam Them

If a pan is too crowded or the heat is too low, mushrooms (and many other foods) will steam instead of brown. This gives them a more rubbery and watery consistency, which can lead to a watery sauce, and is not what we’re looking for in this dish. Cook them in a single layer and stir them occasionally to allow them time to sit and brown. Browning the mushrooms intensifies their texture and wonderful earthy flavor.

Use Real Marsala Wine

Marsala wine is a fortified Italian wine that can range from dry to sweet in flavor. You will often find cooking Marsala in many grocery stores, which I only recommend using as a last resort. Cooking Marsala tends to be too salty and has more of a flat flavor.

Opt for an Italian Marsala wine. This will lead to the nutty, caramelized flavors that we want in this chicken marsala. A dry option will give you nice depth, and a sweet Marsala will create a slightly sweeter final sauce.

Be sure to reduce the wine by about half in the recipe before adding the broth and cream. This helps to concentrate the taste of the Marsala and remove any harsh alcohol flavors.

Cheesecake Factory Approved Pairing Suggestions

Chicken marsala is rich but not heavy, and earthy but still slightly sweet. What makes this chicken marsala recipe a true Cheesecake Factory copycat is, of course, the exceptional sauce, but more so, how you pair it. If you remember ordering their chicken marsala at the restaurant, you will have a couple of choices on how it’s served: farfalle or mashed potatoes. That’s what will really replicate the restaurant experience right at home.

Farfalle, or bowtie pasta, is the classic side to accompany the chicken marsala copycat recipe. After frying your chicken, put a pot of salted water on the stove, so that by the time it’s boiled, and the pasta is cooked, your sauce should be in the final minutes of simmering. The perfect way to make sure everything is served hot and fresh!

Toss the pasta with a bit of olive oil or butter and some parsley. Serve the chicken and sauce on top of the pasta to allow the pasta to absorb that delicious sauce.

Another good option to give that restaurant-style feel to your dish is to serve it with some creamy mashed potatoes and roasted greens, such as asparagus or green beans.

To sip along while you savor the flavors of this dish, pair it with something bright and refreshing to balance out the rich sauce. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, or Sauvignon Blanc are perfect complements to this dish. For a non-alcoholic pairing, enjoy some sparkling water or iced tea with a squeeze of lemon.

Chicken Marsala FAQs

From ingredient substitutions to storage tips, readers have asked, and we’ve answered! Read on for some helpful questions and answers below. If you have more lingering thoughts about this chicken marsala recipe, be sure to leave your question in the comments section!

Can I Make Chicken Marsala Without Wine?

You can make chicken marsala without wine; however, the flavor won’t be the same. Marsala wine is one of the main ingredients in this sauce, so to substitute it, you want to use something that can help to replace some of the acidity and depth that the wine brings.

Increase the chicken broth from 1/2 cup to 1 cup and add the juice from half of a lemon to the sauce (about 1-2 tbsp). Use freshly squeezed lemon juice for the best flavor. No need to reduce the chicken broth, as you would have the Marsala wine in this recipe.

Or, instead of lemon juice, you can add 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar to the recipe along with the chicken broth and heavy cream.

Can I Make This Recipe Gluten-Free?

This chicken marsala recipe is super easy to turn into a gluten-free favorite! Simply replace the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free option like this King Arthur 1:1 substitution. You can also replace the flour with cornstarch, which gives a nice crispy coating to the chicken. The rest of the ingredients in the recipe are naturally gluten-free; just be sure to double-check the labels on some ingredients like chicken broth.

Can I Use Chicken Thighs Instead of Breasts?

This is a great substitution if you already have chicken thighs on hand. Thighs add extra juiciness and even more flavor to the chicken marsala. Because they are much thicker than chicken breasts, they will require slightly longer cooking time. Allow them to fry for a few more minutes. As well, return them to the pan with the sauce sooner than you would with the chicken breast, so they have more time to simmer in the sauce and finish cooking.

How Long Does It Last In the Fridge?

Store any leftovers from this chicken marsala in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep for 3-4 days and often tastes even better the next day when the flavors have had more time to deepen! Reheat on the stove and add a splash of water or broth if needed to help loosen the sauce.

Chicken Marsala: Simple & Delicious

Trying to replicate restaurant dishes at home can seem intimidating at times, but the truth is, you don’t need a big recipe book to do so. You just need a little time in the kitchen and a handful of ingredients. It’s so much more satisfying to sit down to a home-cooked meal that tastes even better than what you would get from a restaurant. And the best part is, it costs a fraction of what you would pay!

Chicken Marsala is one of those dishes that feels sophisticated but is built on simple techniques that you’ll find yourself using again and again in future recipes. Knowing how to deglaze a pan is an easy way to take any sauce up a notch, so you don’t miss out on those lovely browned bits that add so much flavor to a dish!

Seasoning your dish as you cook adds incredible depth and layers of flavor. Try these out in this recipe and in future cooking adventures, too! And be sure to let other readers know how it worked out for you by leaving a comment down below!

How Did You Serve Up This Recipe?

Leave a comment below to let other readers know how you enjoyed this recipe! Did you serve it Cheesecake Factory-style with bowtie pasta? Or enjoy it alongside a glass of Chardonnay? Let us know and connect with other homecooks (and Cheesecake Factory lovers), too!