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.
I hope I’m not sounding totally stupid but what are chicken cutlets?
What can be used in place of Sherry vinegar? Don’t have anything like that in my house.
This looks amazing and I cant wait to try it!! What would you suggest I plate it with? I am AIP
Thanks, Brittany! It’s great with zucchini noodles or a side salad 🙂
I’m doing a January Whole30 and wanted to make this as a meal prep lunch for a few days since my husband doesn’t like mushrooms so I can’t make it for dinner. How long do you think it would last in the fridge? It looks delicious and I love mushrooms! 🙂
It would probably be good for 3 days, maybe 4!
Delicious! The whole family LOVED it! Such a treat!
Thank you so much, Jillian!! So glad you liked it!
I haven’t tried this yet but will. I so appreciate your recipes. I’ve done two things that changed my life for the better. Since I’ve been off nightshades and using light emitting diode pads I can actually do the veggie slicing, dicing and grating without pain. I am learning how to prepare meals that don’t make me feel like I constantly have the flu. You are helping me enjoy cooking again and I feel really good. I lost 10 pounds which = yay bonus! I attribute all this to you and my photobiomodulation pads. Doing both now makes all the difference. Michelle, I can’t thank you enough.
Thank you so, so much for the amazingly kind words! I am SO happy you’re feeling amazing! Sending tons of love!!
This was awesome, my whole family loved it. Not sure if shallots or onions are AIP friendly as I am just looking into it, but we thought it would be great with that added. Having great meal options like this make the AIP diet not seem so bad!
Thank you so much, Vanessa! Shallots and onions are totally AIP 🙂
This was great! Only sub I made was marsala wine instead of the sherry vinegar. Will be in the regular rotation for sure!
Thank you so much! So glad you liked it!
So delicious! My 18month old and husband loved it too! Thank you for a great recipe! So excited to try more of your recipes!
SO glad you all liked it, Jackie!! Thank you so much!!
I really enjoyed this! Made it with white wine. What veg do you like to serve it with? I think I made salad last time but now I’m thinking roast green beans or broccoli?
So glad you liked it!! I think it pairs well with broccoli! 🙂
This was fantastic! I used King Arthur GF flour and it turned out perfect. Even my ridiculously picky 14yo son loved it!
YAY! Thank you, Cindi!! So happy it was a hit 🙂
This is delicious! I wasn’t sure how to plate it, so I made some glass noodles and put the chicken on top. I also sauteed some onion and carrots. It made another gourmet meal!
This looks so good! Is there a good substitute you could recommend for the sherry vinegar?
You can try balsamic 🙂
Maybe I’m not seeing this on my screen well. Is the finished chicken supposed to be crunchy? Sometimes I try for crunchy & it turns goopy. I learn by pictures, not the greatest cook, but trying! ????
It’s not really crunchy, but the arrowroot helps to slightly crisp it. Chicken Marsala is in a sauce so it’s not really crunchy.
I think your carb count is off. Arrowroot has 28 carbs in a 1/4 cup. If this makes 4 servings that would mean at least 7 grams of carbs.