Creamy Instant Pot Chicken Marsala

This Creamy Instant Pot Chicken Marsala recipe is so quick and easy to make! Tender chicken smothered in a rich sauce made with mushrooms and Marsala wine – all done in less than 30 minutes!

Also, don’t skip this amazing recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala!

chicken marsala topped with creamy sauce and mushrooms

Easiest Ever Instant Pot Chicken Marsala

Chicken Marsala is one of the first meals I ever ate that made me feel like a fancy adult. I was probably about twelve but, dang, I sure felt mature for a minute. I mean, chicken Marsala is on the menu at every nice Italian restaurant, it must be fancy, right?

My homemade take on this classic is full of rich flavors, has the creamiest homemade marsala sauce, and is done in less than 30 minutes. Yes, you heard that right. All of that flavor in LESS. THAN. THIRTY. MINUTES. You can thank your Instant Pot for that.

What is Chicken Marsala?

Chicken Marsala is a popular Italian-American chicken dish. It’s a variation of Italian scaloppina, which is any thinly sliced meat that is coated in flour, sautéed, and topped with a reduction.

In Chicken Marsala, there’s thinly sliced and seasoned chicken breasts lightly pan-fried in olive oil, then topped with a rich, creamy, and nutty mushroom wine reduction.

That’s all. Simple. Easy. Delectable. Nothing fancy, it just looks and feels fancy.

preparing chicken breasts and mushrooms in the instant pot

What You’ll Need to Make Chicken Marsala

You’re going to love these sautéed chicken breasts with mushrooms and a rich wine sauce cooked in your instant pot.

Here’s what you’ll need:

boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Italian Seasoning
garlic powder
sweet or smoked paprika
butter
olive oil
garlic
sliced mushrooms
low sodium chicken broth
Marsala wine
water and corn starch
heavy cream
salt and fresh ground pepper

Marsala Wine Substitutes

Marsala wine is a fortified wine that comes from Sicily. It has a nutty, deep, and rich flavor. It’s thick and can be either dry or sweet. Dry Marsala is used in savory dishes while sweet Marsala is used in desserts.

If you don’t have or can’t find Marsala, you can substitute any of the following:

dry dark sherry
Madeira wine
port wine
sweet vermouth
or a mixture of dry white wine and cooking sherry

top view of chicken marsala in the Instant Pot

How to Make this Easy Chicken Marsala Recipe

Prep: Lightly spray your chicken breasts with cooking oil and season them with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper.
Set your Instant Pot to “Saute”.
Saute: Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and add the olive oil.
Add the chicken breasts to the hot oil. Cook them for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until the chicken is browned.
Remove chicken from the Instant Pot and set it aside.
Add: Melt remaining butter in the IP and stir in the garlic. Cook it for 10 seconds.
Add the mushrooms and cook them for 2 minutes.
Stir in the chicken broth and wine. Continue to stir and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
Transfer the chicken back to the Instant Pot.
Cook: Lock in the Lid.
Turn the vent to the sealed position, click on MANUAL and set on HIGH for 8 minutes.
Pressure release: After 8 minutes, do a quick release and when the valve drops, remove the lid.
Take the chicken out of the IP and set aside.
Sauce: Set your IP to “Saute”.
In a small bowl combine the water and cornstarch then whisk until it’s thoroughly incorporated.
Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the sauce inside the Instant Pot and continue to cook for a minute or two, or until the sauce has thickened.
Whisk in the heavy cream. Continue to whisk until well incorporated so that the cream doesn’t start to curdle.
Taste the sauce for salt/pepper and adjust accordingly.
Serve: Pour the sauce over the chicken breasts.
Garnish with parsley and serve.

Tips for the Best Chicken Marsala

Follow these simple tips if you want the best homemade, better than from the local Italian restaurant, Chicken Marsala:

Don’t skip the pounding step. It’s important that your chicken breasts are pounded thin and even. This makes your chicken so, so, so tender.
Many chicken Marsala recipes will include a step where the chicken is lightly coated in flour. I skip that step for this instant pot chicken Marsala. Instead, to thicken the sauce, I use the cornstarch mixture.
When choosing your mushrooms, consider both flavor and texture. The mushrooms add mega flavor to this dish but you also don’t want them to be mush.
Traditional chicken Marsala does not include heavy cream. I use it in mine because I really like my sauce to be a bit more rich and creamy.

close up of chicken with cream sauce and mushrooms

Serving Suggestions

Like any chicken breast recipe, this is great served with a starch and a veggie. Chicken Marsala is great with potatoes, mashed or roasted. I love to glide these little parmesan roasted potatoes through the Marsala wine sauce. It is so good! And, obvi, any mushroom sauce is so good over mashed potatoes.
You can also serve chicken Marsala over linguine or fettuccine.
If you want it to be a bit lighter, you can serve over zoodles or cauliflower rice.
For veggies, I really like buttered string beans with Chicken Marsala. I’d also really dig some roasted vegetables or Brussels sprouts.

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers

To store your leftover chicken Marsala, let the chicken breasts come to room temperature. Then place them in an airtight container and pour the mushrooms and sauce over them. This will keep the chicken from drying out.
Store your chicken Marsala in your fridge for 3 to 5 days. If you choose to freeze it, just make sure your airtight container is freezer safe and store them in the freezer for about 3 months.
To reheat, simply place the chicken and sauce in a pan and reheat them over medium-low until warmed through.

More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes

ENJOY!

Tools Used in this Recipe

Creamy Instant Pot Chicken Marsala

This Creamy Instant Pot Chicken Marsala recipe is so quick and easy to make! Tender chicken smothered in a rich sauce made with mushrooms and Marsala wine – all done in less than 30 minutes!

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 4

Calories: 444 kcal

Author: Katerina | Diethood

Ingredients

4 (1-pound total) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to a 1-inch thickness
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 cup Marsala wine, (use chicken broth for low carb/keto option)
½ cup water
¼ cup corn starch
¼ cup heavy cream, (add more for a creamier and thicker sauce)
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Lightly spray chicken breasts with cooking oil and season with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper.
Set Instant Pot to “Saute”.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter and add the olive oil.
Add chicken breasts to the hot oil; cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until chicken is browned.
Remove chicken from the Instant Pot and set aside.
Melt remaining butter in the IP and stir in garlic; cook for 10 seconds.
Add mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
Stir in the chicken broth and wine; mix and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
Transfer chicken back to the Instant Pot.
Turn vent to the sealed position; click on MANUAL and set on HIGH for 8 minutes.
When time is up, do a quick release and when the valve drops, remove the lid.
Take chicken out of the IP and set aside.
Set the Instant Pot to “Saute”.
In a small bowl combine water and cornstarch; whisk until thoroughly incorporated.
Whisk the corn starch mixture into the sauce inside the Instant Pot and continue to cook for a minute or two, or until sauce has thickened.
Whisk in the heavy cream; continue to whisk until well incorporated so that the cream doesn’t start to curdle.
Taste sauce for salt/pepper and adjust accordingly.
Pour sauce over the chicken breasts.
Garnish with parsley and serve.