Instant Pot Chicken Marsala

You can make our Chicken Marsala Instant Pot recipe with chicken cutlets, marsala wine, butter and NO cream of mushroom soup. We are using fresh mushrooms this time for a healthier meal. We will share how to make it with frozen chicken in Instant Pot too.

If you have never made this classic dish with homemade mushroom gravy you are in for a real treat. Not only does it taste like the one at Olive Garden but it is done in about 15 minutes to fork tender and just one of our easy Instant Pot recipes we love.

What does chicken marsala taste like?

Maybe you have heard of this dish but it is too expensive to order when you go out. No worries, this will taste surprisingly similar. The sauce is slightly sweet, especially when reduced and thickens. Using boneless skinless chicken breasts, it is a tasty meal served alongside Instant Pot white rice or pasta.

ou can make it as one of our easy Ninja Foodi recipes with the lid that isn’t attached or use any other brand of pressure cooker you have too… Wonder how to make it yourself at home in a jiffy? We have the answers y’all. Let’s get started with the basics.

Instant Pot Chicken Marsala with Frozen Chicken

You could use frozen if they were already sliced thin and broken apart from one another (1 chunk wont cook properly). Unfortunately you would have to skip the first step of sauteeing and instead just throw them in after that step. Increase the time by just 1 minute, that is the only difference!

Ingredient Notes

Let’s talk poultry for a minute shall we? I do like to save money but sometimes it isn’t that much more to buy what you need already done. What I mean is if you can find boneless skinless on sale it may not be much more expensive than with bones so get those. This go around I thought chicken cutlets would be best (and cheap that day). I bought a few extra to make air fryer chicken cutlets later too.

1. All purpose flour is to create a light breading on the outside
2. Butter or use dairy free stick alternatives to make the sauce creamy
3. Onions diced are great for texture and flavor, I like white or yellow
4. Minced garlic will add flavor to any dish
5. Marsala wine you can find at the store by the vinegar to add a pop of flavor to the gravy
6. Cornstarch is used to thicken sauce, arrowroot flour is a gluten free alternative
7. Seasonings like salt and pepper of course we use at the end

From there you can serve with pasta cooked al dente separately or with Ninja foodi rice.

What can I use instead of Marsala wine?

What if you don’t have or want to use wine to make this? That is totally okay. Note that the flavor will be different if you substitute in broth instead for sure but will still be a killer dish for sure. The sauce will be a bit thinner as well but could be thickened with a little roux with cornstarch and water whisked together at the end.

Can you use chicken thighs instead of breasts?

You can use bone-in chicken thighs could be used as well. or white but cutlets are what is typically used. This can be found at the store or you can thinly slice boneless skinless breasts yourself. This way you can saute to brown the outsides but the insides will stay tender and juicy when done. With this rich mushroom sauce you’ll love every bite.

Tips for Success

You will want to coat the outside of your thinly sliced chicken breasts with seasoned flour to create a sort of light “breading” that can get a bit crispy when you saute in the first step. Always remember after doing this you want to remove meat and scrape off browned bits (means deglazing).

Once this is complete you will add add all other ingredients back in and close the lid and steam valve, this is necessary for it to reach high pressure and start the cooking.

In order to make the sauce thicker and creamy you will add heavy cream or whisk water and cornstarch until smooth and add that when done. This must be done at the end especially if you opt for adding cream or it will curdle.

I like Thin Chicken Breast slices because they soak up more of the sauce. If you are new to pressure cooking, or sauteeing in your pot you need to understand how to avoid the burn message. The way you do this is to ensure that after you brown meat, you eliminate stuck on food. I always use wooden spatulas and spoons when cooking in my IP so that you don’t scratch your pot.

What vegetable goes good with chicken marsala?

Really anything goes with this, that is up to you but here are a few suggestions. A side salad is easy to throw together of course. You can serve this over rice and just be done, but veggies are nice on the side as well. Personally I like corn on the cob or air fryer vegetables. They can both be made at the same time and will be ready together.

We like to serve alongside spaghetti squash pasta low carb “noodles”, pasta or rice when done.

Other Instant Pot Recipes You’ll Love

We make a lot of easy chicken recipes like this one like our Instant Pot chicken and rice which is a casserole style dish. With vegetables, tender creamy rice with bite size meat cooked together it’s incredible.

Give Instant Pot chicken and potatoes a whirl once you fall in love with this one. A one pot meal cooked together makes it an under 30 minute dinner. We have a lot more easy Instant Pot chicken recipes you can try after these.