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Chicken Marsala is one of those Italian-American classics that always feels a little special — earthy mushrooms, rich Marsala wine sauce, tender Chicken — but this Slow Cooker version makes it completely weeknight-doable. Four ingredients, almost no prep, and dinner practically makes itself.
Why You’ll Love It
Only 4 ingredients — no roux, no standing at the stove, nothing complicated
The sauce goes on everything — mashed potatoes, egg noodles, rice, whatever you’ve got
Great for picky eaters — the mushrooms get so soft they almost melt into the sauce
Reheats beautifully — leftovers are genuinely good the next day, maybe even better
Looks like you tried harder than you did — it smells incredible and tastes like a restaurant made it
A Few Notes on Ingredients
The Marsala wine — just get it. I know some people try to substitute it out and it’s not the end of the world, but if you can find it, use it. It’s in the wine aisle or sometimes near the cooking wines. Sweet or dry both work; I tend to use dry because the soup already adds plenty of richness, but the sweet version is great too.
The condensed cream of mushroom soup is what makes this a Tuesday-night recipe instead of a Saturday-afternoon project. Use it straight from the can, don’t dilute it. Some people have opinions about condensed soup. Those people are welcome to make a roux. I’m not.
For mushrooms — cremini or white button, both fine. I usually buy whatever’s on sale. Sometimes I grab the pre-sliced kind because I’m not trying to add more tasks to my evening. If you love mushrooms the way I love mushrooms, go ahead and double the amount. Nobody complains.
Chicken breasts work great here, and thighs work even better if you want something a little more forgiving. Both are delicious; the thighs just stay a little more tender if you accidentally let it cook too long, which I have done, more than once, I’m not going to pretend otherwise.
Ingredients
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 4 medium — or thighs, see above)
8 ounces sliced mushrooms — I sometimes use more, closer to 12, depends on my mood
1½ cups Marsala wine
1 can (10.5 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup, not diluted
Let’s Make It
Spray your Slow Cooker. This is one of those steps I used to skip and then spent twenty minutes scrubbing afterwards, so I don’t skip it anymore.
Put the chicken in the bottom in a single layer. If your breasts are really thick — and they always seem to be these days, I don’t know what they’re feeding them — you can slice them horizontally so they cook more evenly. I do this probably half the time. The other half I just let them go and it works out fine.
Scatter the mushrooms over the top. Don’t worry about being neat about it.
In a bowl, whisk together the Marsala wine and the condensed soup. It’s going to look a little lumpy at first, just keep going — it comes together. Pour the whole thing over the chicken and mushrooms. Make sure everything’s coated.
Put the lid on. Cook on LOW for four to six hours, or HIGH for two and a half to three and a half hours. I usually do LOW because I set it up in the morning before I leave, so it has plenty of time. On days when I’ve remembered this meal at 3 PM, HIGH works fine. The chicken needs to hit 165°F internally — I use my instant-read thermometer, which I finally broke down and bought a few years ago and now I can’t imagine not having it.
When it’s done, taste the sauce and add salt and pepper if it needs it. The soup brings some salt already so I usually don’t add much. If you want the sauce thicker — and sometimes I do, it depends on what I’m serving it over — you can stir a tablespoon or two of cornstarch mixed with a little cold water into the slow cooker and let it cook on HIGH for another twenty minutes or so. Or stir in some heavy cream at the end for something richer. I’ve done both on different occasions and both are good.
I usually slice or gently shred the chicken right in the slow cooker and stir it back into the sauce. It soaks everything up and gets almost silky. Serve it with plenty of that sauce spooned over the top — don’t be stingy with it.
If You Want to Change It Up
A full pound of mushrooms and a splash of cream at the end makes it taste more “restaurant-y” — worth trying if you want something a little more indulgent.
If you can’t find Marsala wine, dry sherry is your best substitute. Chicken broth will technically work but it’s going to taste more like regular chicken and less like Marsala. Still good, just different.
You can add a small sliced onion in with the mushrooms. I do this sometimes when I have one sitting on the counter that needs to be used. It adds sweetness and body to the sauce.
Leftovers
Keeps in the fridge three or four days, easy. I put it in whatever container is clean and has a lid — I’ve had the same mismatched collection of containers for going on fifteen years, they’re all fine. Reheat gently on the stove or just microwave it; the sauce stays good.
I’ve also frozen this — put the uncooked ingredients in a zip bag, froze it flat, thawed it in the fridge overnight, and dumped it in the slow cooker in the morning. Worked great. That was a particularly smart week. Most weeks are not that week, but it’s nice when it happens.