Olive Garden is one of my favorite restaurants of all time. The bottomless soup and salad, the sangria, the excellent prices, and all the freshly grated Parmesan cheese I can take. But I’ll admit, sometimes I get an Olive Garden craving during the week when there just isn’t time to pack up the whole family to go eat at a restaurant. So I love knowing I can create just as delicious of a dinner at home, without the fuss or extra time. In fact, this Stuffed Chicken Marsala is complex in taste but easy to make without much time at all. This gives me time to make my own sangria, and that makes me even happier.
You don’t have to pound out the chicken breasts as you do in other recipes. Instead, you’ll split the chicken breasts in half horizontally and grill them for about 4 to 5 minutes. Then you’ll stuff it with cheese filling and cover it with Marsala and mushroom sauce.
The best way to save time with this recipe is to pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees. As soon as the sauce and filling are ready, put it all together as described in the recipe below, and place the chicken breasts in the oven for about 15 minutes.
Be sure to check our notes below to help you create the best mushroom Marsala sauce possible.
| Prep Time | Cook Time | Total Time |
| 20 min | 20 min | 40 min |
Ingredients
Pan-seared chicken breasts
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Chicken Marsala Sauce
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup dry Marsala
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
Mushrooms
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic optional
Cheese filling for stuffed chicken
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese
- 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 2 teaspoons minced parsley
- 2 teaspoons minced sundried tomatoes
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
Pan-seared chicken
- Split the chicken breasts in half horizontally, and season with salt and pepper. Add olive oil to a skillet, and saute the chicken breasts over medium heat. The chicken should be almost cooked through; this should take about 4 to 6 minutes on each side. Match up the chicken pieces for assembly, and set aside.
Cheese filling
- Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl, and mix them well.
- Place a couple of tablespoons of the cheese filling between the two pieces of cooked chicken. Keep the chicken warm by placing it into the oven. You may want to brush a little olive oil on the top piece of chicken so it doesn’t dry out.
Chicken Marsala Sauce
- Using the same pan the chicken was cooked in, add flour and butter. Don’t clean the pan first, as the chicken flavoring will add to the sauce. Whisk the flour and butter, and cook for about 1 minute on medium heat.
- Add Lambrusco brand dry Marsala wine, and stir until the sauce thickens and bubbles slightly.
- Add in the heavy cream, and allow the sauce to reduce. Then, season the sauce with salt and pepper.
Mushrooms
- In a separate skillet, melt a tablespoon of butter, and then add the mushrooms. Season the mushroom slices with a small pinch of salt and black pepper as they cook. Saute them until they begin to brown, and then add them to the Marsala sauce. Stir them together so the flavors blend well.
Chicken Assembly
- Place a stuffed chicken breast onto a plate, and then generously pour the Marsala and mushroom sauce over the chicken. Serve hot, and enjoy.
Notes:
- Marsala is a specific dry white wine made in Italy. If you don’t have Marsala on-hand, you could substitute it with another dry white wine.
- Be careful not to overstuff the chicken- you want it to cook all the way through without the chicken becoming dry. You can also brush a light layer of olive oil over the chicken before placing it in the oven to help curb any dryness.
- Wait to pour the Marsala and mushroom sauce over the chicken until after you cook it in the oven.
- For more Olive Garden dishes, try our Olive Garden Alfredo Recipe and Zuppa Toscana soup recipe.
Nutrition
