Gluten-Free Chicken Marsala {without cream}
This gluten-free chicken marsala is a lighter version of a classic! It’s made without cream and without wine!.
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. I love making gluten-free versions of recipes like Gluten Free Calamari, Gluten-Free Italian Wedding Soup, and more!. 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 lighter version of chicken marsala will satisfy your cravings and leave you feeling nourished! No flour, no wine, no cream!
Table of contents
Reader Reviews
- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – “So yummy! I come back to this again and again for a reliable, easy comfort meal “- Julie
- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – “This was amazing….my kids were licking their plates.” – Dawn
- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – “Delicious! The whole family LOVED it! Such a treat!” – Jillian
How do you make chicken marsala without wine or cream?
An awesome option to use instead of wine is sherry vinegar! It still has the acid you’d need from the wine without any alcohol.
As for the cream, this recipe is still plenty flavorful without the added heavy cream, and is formulated so you can simply leave it out and not have to worry about any substitutes.
Recipe Ingredients
- 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 a substitute for Marsala wine in the recipe to make it without wine. You, of course, could also use wine if desired!
- Arrowroot starch. Arrowroot is used as a grain-free substitute for flour!
- Baby Bella mushrooms
Substitutions and modifications
- Marsala wine. You can easily still use Marsala wine in this recipe!
- Tapioca starch. This will swap 1:1 for the arrowroot starch in this recipe.
How to make Gluten Free Chicken Marsala
Step one. Slice the chicken into cutlets and coat in arrowroot starch.
Step two. Drop the chicken cutlets into a heated pan with hot oil and cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side, or until crispy.
Step three. Using the same pan, add the minced garlic, then 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.
Step four. 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.
Recipe FAQS
Traditionally, you won’t always find cream in chicken marsala. However, a lot of recipes do use it to make it creamy and thick!
This recipe uses arrowroot starch to coat the chicken, which will also help thicken the sauce. If you want to thicken the sauce further, you can make an arrowroot starch slurry with 1 tsp of arrowroot starch and a splash of water. Whisk to combine and add it to the sauce to thicken. You can continue to add more for a thicker sauce.
Chicken Marsala is traditionally coated in flour to make it crispy, but this version uses arrowroot starch instead, which is gluten-free!
What do you serve with chicken marsala?
- Pasta of your choice (like spaghetti squash, zucchini noodles, or gluten-free pasta if tolerated)
- Roasted or sautéed zucchini
- Broccoli or broccolini
More Gluten-Free Italian Recipes to Try
Gluten Free Chicken Marsala (Without Cream)
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Ingredients
- 3-4 tbsp olive oil, substitute avocado oil
- 1 lb chicken cutlets
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ 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.
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.