Healthy and actually good
Chicken Marsala is a recipe I literally make over and over – and over – again. This recipe is a Monica Simon classic because it has EVERYTHING I look for in a go-to recipe– aka it’s a simple, healthy week-night meal that definitely does not taste like it’s healthy.
For me, it’s way too hard to stay disciplined when the healthy food I’m eating tastes terrible. It just is.
I’m sure you guys know what I mean – you decide you’re going on a new health kick. You whip up that kale salad and chomp away. You’re thinking to yourself “wow I am SO healthy. I am the FACE of health”. All is good and well UNTIL you snap – you just can’t take it anymore. You are so hungry and so unsatisfied that you just HAVE to have something with taste — and thats when you go from being “the face of health” to eating two bowls of pasta and a pint of Ben & Jerry’s.
Finally, there is a solution to the weeknight woes of trying to eat well: my chicken marsala. It’s straightforward, easy, and – best of all – it’s healthy without tasting healthy.
With every bite, you will feel as though you are indulging and your dinner ACTUALLY fills you up (what a concept!). This is why I KNOW chicken marsala is going to be a big recipe in your arsenal.
Marsala can be easily prepped in advance.
The recipe is a definite crowd pleaser. Whenever my fiancé and I have dinner guests, this is one of our hottest menu options. Our friends love the flavor and are always so impressed by the fact that I cooked a wine sauce ;).
It’s an easy menu item because you can cook it in bulk and reheat it on the stove any time over the next few days and it will taste just as good as it did fresh. One cook sesh. Dinner for the whole week. Boom
Pro Tip #1 – Screw the flour
When I first started making this recipe, I was in college and there was a bit of a learning curve. I used to do the whole “dredging in flour” thing for the chicken (coating the chicken in egg yolk, rolling the egg covered chicken in a bowl of flour, and then baking). Gotta tell ya – not necessary.
For one, it takes FOREVER. For two, it dirties up way more dishes. I’m all for dirtying up a dish or two but only if it adds flavor, and I have found the flour really doesn’t add much flavor to this dish TBH. A little flour is good for thickening the sauce, but this recipe uses much less than if you were to dredge the chicken as well.
Using non-dredged (i.e. plain baked or grilled) chicken is faster and healthier, and the delicious sauce is the only thing anyone is tasting anyway.
So screw the flour – it’ll save you time. And when your boyfriend/girlfriend/fiancé/significant other asks you to help him/her meal prep this for their dinners this week, instead of grimacing, you will gladly acquiesce 😉 (LOL sorry Bren – but you feel me)
Pro Tip #2: Be patient with the sauce!
As far as making the sauce goes – be patient. You’re not doing it wrong, it just takes time for the sauce to reduce. (ALTHOUGH make sure you get marsala wine and not red cooking wine – another college mistake face palm — they all look similar OKAY it could happen to anyone).
If you’re new to sauce reduction, check out this link for some helpful tips!
Of course if you really start to get impatient with the sauce reduction, you can always sift in a little bit of flour and/or add in a tablespoon of butter to thicken it up more quickly.
Pro Tip #3: Separate batches to speed the process
Lastly, Brendan and I love hella sauce. – especially if I’m meal prepping for the week ahead. So if you are planning to cook in bulk and you want more sauce, I recommend cooking the sauce in separate batches. It takes a very long time to reduce when trying to do 3-4x the normal quantity of sauce in one pan and I have found that the quality is better in separate batches.
I hope you guys enjoy!!!!!! Comment below and let me know how it goes!
Chicken Marsala
Ingredients
- 4 thin-sliced chicken breast
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 12 oz baby bella mushrooms sliced
For the Sauce:
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tbsp shallots finely chopped
- 1 cup marsala cooking wine
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
To make the chicken:
- Preheat the oven to 425°.
- Put chicken on a baking dish and season it with salt and pepper. Put it in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
- Once finished baking, cut into thin strips and set aside.
To make the sauce (while chicken cooks):
- In a frying pan, sauté mushrooms in olive oil over medium heat until mushrooms have softened. This typically takes about 8 minutes. Once softened, set aside.
- In the same frying pan, sauté shallots in olive oil over medium heat. When shallots are translucent, add in minced garlic until fragrant - Be sure not to burn the garlic! This is why you add it in second.
- Once the garlic is fragrant, add chicken stock and marsala wine. These are a 1:1 ratio so make sure you have equal of both regardless of how much you make.
- Cook the sauce over medium-high heat for approximately 20 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken.Optional: If the sauce is taking a long time to thicken, add butter and flour. Sift the flour in to prevent it from clumping up.
- Once the sauce is thick, add the mushrooms and chicken and serve!
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