The Easiest Healthy Chicken Marsala
This chicken marsala has all of the flavors of the classic but is made to be healthier, paleo, and whole30 friendly!
What is Chicken Marsala?
Chicken marsala is a classic Italian comfort food dish made with chicken cutlets that are lightly floured, along with mushrooms and a savory sauce made from marsala cooking wine. It’s traditionally served with pasta to make the main dish.
I think I’ve done enough gushing about Italian food on this blog, but just in case… I love Italian food. Growing up, always went to Italian restaurants at least once a week, and even though I almost always got pizza or pasta, I eventually started ordering chicken marsala. This decadent dish is made with Marsala wine, mushrooms, and flour chicken cutlets, and I loved ordering it!
This version of chicken marsala is a bit untraditional as it’s made without marsala wine to keep it whole30, but it still has the same flavor and comfort! No flour, no alcohol, no dairy!
The Ingredients for this Recipe
- Chicken cutlets. You can either buy chicken cutlets at the butcher counter or simply make them at home by slicing chicken breasts into cutlets!
- Chicken broth. This is the base of the sauce.
- Sherry vinegar. This is the substitute for marsala wine in the recipe to make this recipe whole30 compliant. You could also use wine if desired!
- Arrowroot starch. Arrowroot is used as a grain-free substitute for flour!
- Baby Bella mushrooms
How do you make easy & healthy chicken marsala?
- Coat the chicken. Add the salt and pepper to the chicken cutlets on both sides and dredge in arrowroot starch until fully coated.
- Sear the chicken breasts. Drop the chicken cutlets into a heated pan with hot oil and cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side, or until crispy.
- Make the mushroom sauce. Using the same pan, add the minced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for another 4-5 minutes or until softened. Pour in the chicken broth and sherry vinegar and bring to a low simmer.
- Combine the chicken and mushroom sauce. Add the chicken back to the pan and cook for 6-8 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Top with parsley and salt further to taste.
How do make chicken marsala without wine?
An awesome option to use instead of wine is sherry vinegar! It still has the acid that you’d need from the wine, but without any alcohol.
Can you use something other than sherry vinegar?
You can also use balsamic vinegar for a similar flavor.
Can you just use marsala wine instead?
Of course! If you tolerate it and would prefer to use it, go for it.
What do you serve with chicken marsala?
- Pasta of your choice (like spaghetti squash, zucchini noodles, or gluten-free pasta if tolerated)
- Roasted or sauteed zucchini
- Broccoli or broccolini
Can you use something other than arrowroot starch?
Personally, I think arrowroot yields the best results, but you can also try to use tapioca starch instead.
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The Easiest Healthy Chicken Marsala
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 35
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: one pot meals
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This chicken marsala has all of the flavors of the classic but is made to be paleo, whole30, and AIP compliant!
Ingredients
- 3–4 tbsp olive oil (substitute avocado oil)
- 1 lb chicken cutlets
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper (omit for AIP)
- 3 tbsp arrowroot starch
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
- 1 tbsp parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Using a large deep pan, heat 3 tbsp of oil on medium heat.
- Add the salt and pepper to the chicken cutlets on both sides and dredge in arrowroot starch until fully coated.
- Drop the chicken cutlets into the hot oil and cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side, or until crispy and internal temperature reads 165 F. Set the chicken aside.
- Using the same pan, add the minced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add more oil if needed along with the mushrooms and cook for another 4-5 minutes or until softened.
- Pour in the chicken broth and sherry vinegar and bring to a low simmer.
- Add the chicken back to the pan and cook for 6-8 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and thickened.
- Top with parsley and salt further to taste.
Notes
Please note all nutrition information is an estimation.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 167
- Fat: 14.4g
- Carbohydrates: 9g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 2.6g
This recipe originally appeared on Unbound Wellness is 2019 and was republished in 2020 with new photos.
So yummy! I come back to this again and again for a reliable easy comfort meal
can you make this a day ahead? (for a dinner party)
Sure! I would reheat it in the pan when you’re read to serve
This was yummy!
I could not find sherry vinegar so I used white balsamic which tasted lovely. Prior to adding to the pan, I added the arrowroot to the bone broth to make a slurry and give the mushrooms that creaminess.
In an effort to use less oil, I roasted chicken breasts (pounded out to about 1/2 inch thick) in a greased pan with bone broth, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, thyme, salt — 400°F for about 35-40 min and basted every 10 min.
I served the mushrooms over the chicken along side some lemony asparagus and crispy roasted sweet potatoes.
It was a hit! Thanks for the inspiration!
So glad you enjoyed!!
This was amazing….my kids were licking their plates.
Absolutely amazing!! Simple to cook and oh so good. Added cooked broccoli on the side for me and rice for the kids.
this was delicious!
Love the recipe, thanks for sharing. For some reason my sauce is very snotty when using arrowroot starch. How can I prevent this from happening?
Sorry to hear that! Arrowroot can get a little gummy, but an easy way to counteract it is just adding a bit more liquid and simmering from a couple more minutes to thin it out.
This is yet another delicious recipe you have shared. I used jovial’s cassava spaghetti pasta and it couldn’t get any better.
Next time, I am going to flatten the chicken breast. I had thick chicken breasts and it took longer to cook. This is a recipe I will be making often.
If I can’t do sherry vinegar which would you recommend? Ideally I am supposed to just us apple cider but I do treat myself to others just not alcohol based ones.