This Instant Pot Chicken Marsala is made with juicy chicken cutlets that are cooked in mushroom and Marsala wine sauce. This flavorful dish comes together in your pressure cooker in less than 30 minutes!
Quick chicken meals are my favorite to make in the pressure cooker. We love the Sweet Garlic Chicken and my Instant Pot Chicken Thighs.
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Why You'll Love This Dish
If you never had Chicken Marsala in your life, you are missing out. This Italian-American dish is easy to make and packed with flavor! I browned the chicken first, then made the sauce base and pressure-cooked everything together. Lastly, I thickened the sauce and served this delicious dish with pasta or mashed potatoes.
You can use chicken breast, boneless thighs, or bone-in skin-on chicken thighs to make this. I think even pork cutlets will work! It's the sauce that makes the dish. The sweet and nutty Marsala wine, which tastes like dried fruit and brown sugar, has a deep flavor that complements the mushrooms so well. The chicken is infused with all of the flavors during pressure cooking. The results are outstanding!
If you want to make an easy dish but one that is impressive, try this recipe. You will love it!
Ingredients:
- chicken breasts - I used boneless skinless chicken breasts and sliced each lengthwise to make cutlets.
- mushrooms - For this dish, I prefer baby Bella mushrooms.
- Marsala wine - This wine gives the dish that signature flavor. You can find it in the grocery store, next to cooking wine and vinegar. I used the Holland House brand and it was great!
- chicken stock - Necessary for deglazing the pot and it's the liquid that will allow the Instant Pot to build up pressure. You can use water as well.
- onion and garlic - The veggies add more flavor to the sauce.
- flour - I used it to dredge the chicken just before browning. It creates a beautiful brown color and gives it a nice texture. You can skip it to keep the dish gluten-free.
- cornstarch - Mixed with water, this ingredient will allow us to make a delicious sauce with all of the liquid leftover from cooking the chicken.
How to make Instant Pot Chicken Marsala?
- Cut each chicken breast lengthwise into two cutlets, season with salt and pepper, and dredge in flour.
- Brown in olive oil, right in your Instant Pot. Remove onto a plate.
- Add garlic, onion, and mushrooms to your Instant Pot and saute until fragrant.
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- Add chicken stock and Marsala wine to the veggies in your pressure cooker.
- Close the lid, set the valve to sealing, and set the timer to 7 minutes.
- Once the cooking time is done, remove the chicken cutlets onto a plate and thicken the sauce by adding cornstarch mixed with water.
What to serve with this dish?
This dish can be served over rice, pasta, mashed potatoes, or roasted potatoes. We enjoyed it with mashed potatoes and roasted broccoli. Crusty bread pieces help soak up every last drop of the delicious sauce.
Marsala wine substitutes:
Marsala wine has a distinct flavor and I highly recommend using it in this dish. You can find it next to cooking wines and vinegar in your grocery store. Some cooks recommend the following substitutes:
- dry sherry
- grape juice with a little bit of brandy
- dry white wine with brandy.
Recipe FAQs:
Yes! You can use boneless chicken thighs and keep the cooking time the same or use bone-in skin-on chicken thighs and increase the time to 12 minutes.
Both actually! This sweet wine can be sipped on and used in cooking, to make a delicious sauce like we did in the dish above.
Absolutely! Add ½ cup of heavy cream to the simmering sauce and stirring often, cook until creamy and thickened.
More Instant Pot Dinner Recipes:
To learn more about the Instant Pot, check out my Guide for Beginners. If you experienced the “burn” message while using your IP, check out my Instant Pot Burn Message post to learn how to fix the issue and prevent it in the first place.
If you like this recipe and make it, let me know in the comments below! Don't forget to rate it if you enjoyed it!
Instant Pot Chicken Marsala
Ingredients
for the chicken:
- 2 medium chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ¼ cup flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
for the sauce:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 8 oz. white or baby Bella mushrooms
- ½ cup chicken stock
- ½ cup Marsala wine
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
- parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Make sure that your stainless steel insert is in your Instant Pot. Press "saute" setting and wait 2 minutes.
- Add oil and butter to your Instant Pot and let it melt.1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Cut each chicken breast lengthwise, to make two cutlets. Season with salt and pepper and dredge in flour.2 medium chicken breasts, ¼ cup flour, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Brown each chicken cutlet on each side. Remove onto a plate.
- Add more butter to the Instant Pot. Add garlic, onion and mushrooms and saute until fragrant, about 3 minutes.1 tablespoon unsalted butter, 3 garlic cloves, ½ cup chopped onion, 8 oz. white or baby Bella mushrooms
- Press "cancel/off" button. Add chicken stock and wine to vegetables. Stir well.½ cup chicken stock, ½ cup Marsala wine
- Place chicken in the sauce. Close the lid, set valve to "sealing" positions (the newer IP models do it on their own).
- Make sure the IP is set to cook at HIGH pressure. Set timer to 7 minutes.
- The IP will beep and it will start coming to pressure. That can take about 5 minutes.
- Once the timer is done, press "cancel/off" button and let the Instant Pot release pressure naturally.
- Once the pressure pin drops, carefully open the lid away from your face.
- Remove the chicken and set on a plate.
- Mix cornstarch with water and add to the sauce. Stir and let it sit for a few minutes to thicken.1 tablespoon cornstarch, 2 tablespoons water
- Serve chicken with sauce over mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, rice or noodles.
Notes
- You can use bone-in skin-on chicken thighs to make this dish. Increase cooking time to 12 minutes.
- For boneless chicken thighs, the cooking time stays the same.
- Please note, that the nutrition value can vary depending on what product you use. The information below is an estimate. Always use calorie counter you are familiar with.
Muttsrule says
Wow! I made this tonight without marsala (yeah, I know...) I used more stock to replace the marsala and doubled the sauce. I used a fair bit of Italian seasoning. Served it over rice but I think mashed potatoes would be ideal. FABULOUS! Thank you, Anna!
Anna says
That's wonderful! I absolutely love that you adapted the recipe. I can't wait to try it myself!
Jennifer says
Do you use dry or sweet marsala for this recipe?
Muttsrule says
Dry. Unless you want it sweet.
Jennifer says
If I wanted to use chicken tenders how long would I cook them?
Regina says
I made this the other night and it was really good. I used a mixture of shiitake mushrooms and baby portobellos. Delicious!
Anna says
Thank you so much, Regina!
Nancy says
I just made this and for myself I would increase the wine amount as I didn’t even taste it but I like my Marsala to taste like Marsala. It was delicious anyhow and I didn’t need to thicken sauce at all.
Winner winner chicken dinner
Anna says
Thank you for trying my recipe, Nancy!
Becky says
I saw your substitutes for Marsala wine. I only have Barefoot brand Merlot. Will that work or can I add something with it to give the same or similar flavor? Thanks
Kathi Wolf says
How would I make this keto friendly?
Loann says
Followed the recipe as is and it's delicious! next time, I’m going to triple the recipe!
Anna says
Yay! I am so glad you like it, Loann! Thank you for giving it a try!
Sandy says
What do I cook at if I want to throw some fresh green beans in at the end?
Anna says
Hi Sandy! Green beans cook really fast in the Instant Pot and since you need to let the Instant Pot release the pressure naturally, it will overcook the beans. I would just steam them in the microwave and serve on the side.
betty says
If I double the chicken, do I double the ingredients and cooking time? Would like leftovers.
Anna says
Hi Betty! You can double the chicken and sauce ingredients, but the cooking time stays the same. Let me know how you like it!
Kaci says
I cannot wait to try this recipe!
Anna says
I hope you love it, Kaci!
Donna Murphy says
wonder if I can make this gluten free- just omit the flour?
Anna says
Hi Donna! Yes, you can skip the flour or use gluten-free flour, like rice flour. Hope this helps!
Kellie Hemmerly says
Always searching for recipes for my Instant Pot and this one is a winner! So easy and flavorful....a hit with the kids, too!
Anna says
Thank you so much, Kellie!
Becky Hardin says
Adding this delicious dish to my must makes! Looks like it will be a huge hit at my house.
Anna says
Thanks, Becky!
Krissy Allori says
Yay! I love having new instant pot recipes to try.
wilhelmina says
This turned out perfectly! Thanks for the delicious, easy dinner!
Natasha says
This looks so incredibly delicious!! On the meal plan for next week!