This stuffed chicken marsala recipe is so simple and yet the taste is knock your socks off impressive. Crispy chicken stuffed with cheese, cherry tomatoes and creamy mushroom wine sauce make the perfect dinner.
There are times in life where you settle into a place while also knowing that it’s not your forever spot. That this is an interim place, a holding spot that is exactly where you need to be right now and yet you know already that it isn’t where you will end up ultimately. And then there are times when you settle in and know that something will be a part of you for as long as you can imagine.
This chicken dish is one of those forever places….ha! just kidding….sort of.
In all seriousness though this past week we launched the kitchen shop and brand spanking new design here on the blog and I have to say…I feel like I’ve found my forever! Food and design and beautiful products all mushed into one happy place? Yes.
It’s not the easiest career choice I can think of and instant fame and fortune certainly haven’t come pouring through my doors right off the bat. But I think that judging the success or failure of a project instantly is such an easy thing for us to do. It’s a silly concept, we wouldn’t go to the gym once and then wonder why we don’t look like a body builder. Yet I find myself doing that with other parts of my life so often.
And as someone who battles with the perfectionistic streak continually I am reminded by my slow and steady husband that persistence and hard work never return void. I am so excited to be back to work here on the site writing and photographing and then immediately eating all the good food. I can’t wait to see where we are in a years time!
This recipe was inspired from a few fellow bloggers and at the last minute I decided that stuffing the chicken thighs with feta cheese seemed like a potentially ridiculously delicious idea.
Turns out it I was right, the pungent feta plays off the sweet creamy marsala sauce and the mushrooms and tomatoes settle into the simmering sauce releasing their slightly acidic juices. Holy yum.
For all my feta haters out there you could totally substitute almost any cheese here as long as it melts reasonably well. A french goat milk cheese, swiss cheese or even shredded cheese could totally be tucked in. You could even omit it but you really shouldn’t because umm….cheese.
Clocking in at under an hour too it’s totally one of those dishes that feels way fancier than it really is and the fact that it cooks up in one pan? Bring it on.
Serve it over hot buttered noodles, rice, polenta or mashed potatoes for a perfect dinner. (Yes you cook these separate so technically the entire meal is done in two pots, or a rice cooker. See my notes on why I don’t cook my noodles in the sauce on this dish.)
This dish legitimately could make someone fall in love with you, win a future mother in law over or be a perfect make it up to you dinner when you have been so busy that real dinner has been neglected a few too many nights in the past month….or year.
So happy to be back here and I can’t wait to cook with you this year!
This stuffed chicken marsala recipe is so simple and yet the taste is knock your socks off impressive. Crispy chicken stuffed with cheese, cherry tomatoes and creamy mushroom wine sauce make the perfect dinner.
6-12tablespoonsof cheese I use feta but goat cheese, mozzarella, etc would all work great
1/2cupflour
2-3tablespoonsbutter
2onions diced
1head garlic peeled and minced
8ouncesmushrooms sliced
1 16ozbottle marsala cooking wine, see sub notes
1cupcherry tomatoes
1/2tablespooncornstarch
1/4cupheavy cream
Serve with: hot pasta polenta or mashed potatoes
Instructions
1. Pound the chicken thighs with a mallet or rolling pin to even them and help them cook faster. Fill each thigh with cheese, just enough that it is full but doesn’t ooze out when you fold in half (about 1-2 tablespoons). 2. Season the flour with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and carefully roll the folded chicken in the mixture coating all exposed sides. 3. Preheat your pan over medium heat and add a tablespoon or two of butter. Sear the chicken carefully rolling them without letting the filling fall out about 5 minutes on each side. Remove to a plate and set aside. 4. Add another tablespoon of butter if needed and sweat the onions, garlic, and mushrooms down for 3-4 minutes over medium heat. 5. Add 3/4 of the bottle of marsala wine and bring to a simmer. Add cornstarch to a 1/4 cup of cool marsala wine and whisk until no longer lumpy. Whisk into the sauce. Add the heavy cream and season to taste with salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. 6. Add the reserved chicken and scatter cherry tomatoes over the pan. 7. Cover with lid and simmer until chicken is cooked through. Thin the sauce with additional marsala wine if needed. 8. Serve over pasta, polenta or mashed potatoes.
Notes
Substitutions: If you only have a bit of marsala wine you can substitute chicken stock for most or all of it and it’s still tasty.One Pan Pastaness: I removed the chicken from the pan before I added the cooked pasta to make it easier to combine everything, then topped it with the sauce and chicken.You probably could boil your noodles in the same pan in the whole one-pot pasta concept. But if your chicken needs to cook a bit longer because your chicken is bigger than mine or you put the heat slightly warmer than mine etc, your pasta will end up mushy and your chicken uncooked. So it’s really best to cook your starch separately and add it at the end.
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Hi, I’m Dani! I’m most importantly mama to 3 wild little dudes. I spend my days cooking, photographing and exploring the Pacific Northwest. I'm a full time food blogger and online business coach.
Thanks for sharing this great recipe! I often make chicken and mushroom and it was getting boring, but with this recipe, it got an all-new flavor! I didn’t have marsala so I used chicken stock as you suggested and it was great, thanks!
Thanks for sharing this great recipe! I often make chicken and mushroom and it was getting boring, but with this recipe, it got an all-new flavor! I didn’t have marsala so I used chicken stock as you suggested and it was great, thanks!
I just discovered I love mushrooms and can’t get enough of them. This dish looks awesome!
Thanks Mandy! We love mushrooms around here too and this is a great way to use them up <3 <3
This looks fantastic! I love a good Chicken Marsala recipe!
What a lovely dish. I love, love, love that you tucked cheese inside it! And congratulations on all the recent developments!
This chicken dish looks absolutely mouthwatering – beautiful photography!
Thank you Kelly!