Learn how to make *Chicken Marsala from scratch* — no cream needed! This easy homemade Chicken Marsala recipe shows you how to create that rich, restaurant-style flavor using simple ingredients. Tender chicken breasts are lightly pounded, sautéed until golden, and simmered in a savory mushroom and Marsala wine sauce that’s naturally creamy — without a drop of cream if you want it to be.
Don’t have Marsala wine? No problem — you can substitute *sherry, Madeira, or port wine* for a similar flavor. Out of fresh mushrooms? Canned mushrooms work just fine! And if you *prefer* a creamier version, I’ll explain how to replace the heavy cream with alternatives you *may have* in your fridge for a luscious finish.
This classic Italian-American dish is quick enough for a weeknight but elegant enough for company. Serve it over pasta, mashed potatoes, or rice for the perfect comfort meal made completely from scratch. I’m serving it with quick roast potatoes that cook on the side while you’re cooking the chicken.
👉 *What you’ll learn in this video:*
* How to keep chicken breasts juicy and tender
* How to make Chicken Marsala without cream
* Best ingredient swaps for wine, mushrooms, and cream
* Simple tips to balance sweetness and savoriness in the sauce
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For a printable recipe visit: https://skipthejunk.com/2025/10/chicken-marsala-without-cream-a-lighter-homemade-classic/
Ingredients (2 Portions):
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6–7 oz each)
1/4 cup of salt per 2 quarts of water (brine)
1 tablespoon sugar ( into the brine, optional, helps with browning)
2 tablespoons olive oil or clarified butter
1 tablespoon butter
1 small shallot or ½ small onion, finely chopped
6 oz (about 170 g) mushrooms, sliced (button, cremini, or portobello)
½ cup Marsala wine (or substitute with sherry, Madeira, or port wine)
½ cup chicken or vegetable broth (preferably low sodium)
1 teaspoon cornstarch or potato starch, mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water (for thickening)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)
Optional if using cream instead of starch:
½ cup heavy cream (alternative thin sour cream or cream cheese with a little water – makes a nice replacement)
Method:
Brine the chicken (optional but highly recommended):
In a bowl, dissolve the salt and sugar in cold water.
Add the chicken breasts and let them soak for 20–30 minutes in the refrigerator.
Remove the chicken, rinse lightly, and pat dry with paper towels.
Flatten the chicken:
Place each breast between two sheets of plastic wrap or parchment paper.
Gently pound to about ½ inch thickness for even cooking.
Season and sear:
Season both sides with a little salt and pepper.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Sear the chicken breasts for 3–4 minutes per side until golden brown and just cooked through.
Remove from the pan and set aside on a plate.
Sauté the mushrooms and shallots:
In the same pan, add butter.
Sauté the shallot (or onion) for about 1 minute, then add the mushrooms.
Cook until the mushrooms release their liquid and start to brown, about 5–6 minutes.
Deglaze and simmer:
Pour in the Marsala wine and scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen any browned bits.
Let it simmer for about 2 minutes to reduce slightly.
Add the chicken broth and bring to a gentle simmer.
Thicken the sauce:
Stir in the starch slurry (cornstarch + water) while whisking gently.
Simmer for another 2–3 minutes until the sauce thickens to a silky consistency.
Finish the dish:
Return the chicken breasts to the pan and spoon the sauce over them.
Let everything heat together for another 2 minutes.
Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
Serve:
Garnish with fresh parsley.
Serve hot over mashed potatoes, roast potatoes, pasta, or rice.
💡 Tips & Variations
+ No Marsala wine? Try dry sherry, Madeira, or port wine instead.
+ For a dairy-free version, skip the butter and use olive oil only.
+ If you prefer a creamier texture, stir in 1 tablespoon sour cream or cream cheese at the end (optional).
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Ever wonder how restaurants keep chicken breasts this juicy and this tender? Today I’m showing you the trick and we’re making a creamy, rich chicken masala with no heavy cream at all. This is my easy chicken masala recipe from scratch. No fancy ingredients, no culinary degree needed. You’ll just need chicken breasts, mushrooms, masala wine. I’m using a little bit of onion. And you’d need some heavy cream if you want to use that. I’ll mention possible replacements and additions as we go along, and I’ll use one ingredient that lets you skip the heavy cream entirely. As usual, you’ll find the recipe in the description. Let’s start with the chicken. And here’s the first restaurant secret. Keeping chicken breast moist is not a matter of luck. It’s about even thickness and careful cooking. If you don’t have the dexterity to bend your fingers up, use a small cutting board or as I’m doing a bench scraper. That will keep your hands safe and then use a long knife long enough to cut the chicken. Cut it in the middle to about half an inch at the end. But there’s one thing a restaurant usually doesn’t miss. They brine their chicken breast. It’s a simple brine with 1/4 cup of salt to two quarts of water. Stir to dissolve. Once dissolved, you put in your chicken breast, cover it, and put it in the fridge for at least half an hour. Ideally, it’s a few hours or even overnight. In the meantime, let’s take care of the remaining prep. That’s just dicing your onion and slicing your mushrooms. Of course, you can use canned mushrooms or you can buy pre-sliced. After brining, pull your chicken out and pat it dry with a couple of paper towels. Caution, don’t splatter around. This is still raw chicken, so you don’t want to contaminate your kitchen. Last step before we cook the chicken is to dust it with flour. That gives it a little bit of a crust and it thickens the sauce later on. Heat some clarified butter over medium heat. And if you want to know how to make the clarified butter yourself, let me know down in the comments. Carefully insert your chicken. Sear each side of the chicken for 3 to four minutes or until golden outside and juicy inside. If your chicken isn’t exactly the same thickness, just extract the thinner pieces first. There we go. Let this sit aside. And now for the fun part, the Marsala sauce. But first, let’s roast the mushrooms to get some extra flavor. Use a pinch of salt to support the sweating process. You want to extract some moisture out of those mushrooms. Once your mushrooms start to get some color, add your onions and let those develop some flavor and color, too. Before we delaze the pan, feel free to hit the like button, leave a comment, and subscribe to the channel. It really helps me out. Time to delaze the pan with some Marsala. If you don’t have any at home, you can use cherry or madera instead. You could even use port wine, although that would make the sauce very, very dark. See, all the bits and pieces are coming off the bottom. The pan’s pretty much clean. Normally, you would add heavy cream now and fill up with a little bit of chicken or vegetable broth. If you don’t have heavy cream at home, you can use cream cheese or sour cream. Both would give it a little bit of a tangy note, but both would work to thicken the sauce and make it nice and silky. I’m just going to add a little bit of vegetable broth. In order for me to thicken this and make it a nice and silky sauce, I’m adding starch. Do this in small increments and stir in between until you have the desired consistency. It should be a little bit on the liquid side because you want to reduce it down a little more. I think this is already good. Time to return the chicken. This wasn’t fully cooked yet. So, let this simmer for another 2 or 3 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked. Time for a little taste test. M. The vegetable broth brought just enough salt, so I don’t even need to season this anymore. This is perfect already. Final touch is to add a little bit of parsley. Let’s serve it up. You can pair this with mashed potatoes, pasta, or just a warm piece of bread to mop up the sauce. I’ve cubed the potato earlier and tossed that with a little bit of oil and salt and roasted that in my oven at 400° for about 30 minutes. So now I’m having nice roast potatoes, crunchy on the outside, mushy on the inside to go with this. Add your chicken. Spoon over some of those mushrooms with the sauce. And if you’re ready for the next recipe, don’t stop here. Click the playlist on the screen right now to watch more affordable dinner recipes.
Dining and Cooking