This chicken saltimbocca marsala recipe is a mashup of two classic Italian restaurant dishes. Chicken saltimbocca – chicken topped with prosciutto – and chicken marsala – chicken in a mushroom and wine sauce. It is a Frankenstein hybrid that tastes better than I could have imagined. We served ours with homemade gnocchi.

The recipe for chicken saltimbocca marsala is really born of my boyfriend’s desire to serve our homemade gnocchi with chicken marsala. But Gabe truly is an overachiever-in-the-kitchen, so we couldn’t just make a traditional chicken marsala. We had to bump up the flavor by topping the chicken with prosciutto and mozzarella cheese. That’s when I came up with the name “chicken saltimbocca marsala.” Chicken saltimbocca is an Italian dish in which thinly pounded chicken cutlets (or veal cutlets) are topped with fresh sage and prosciutto, then sautéd in a light white wine sauce. We changed the recipe around a bit for our mashup. We left out the sage and subbed for fresh thyme in the marsala sauce. And of course we added mozzarella cheese, because everything tastes better with cheese.

The term “saltimbocca” literally translates to “jump in the mouth.”

This refers to the punch of flavor that this chicken packs. Combine saltimbocca with marsala sauce and you truly get a powerhouse of a dish. Marsala sauce gets its flavor from earthy mushrooms and sweet tangy wine. We chose to add prosciutto for saltiness, thyme for freshness, and cream to balance the heavy wine. While this mash-up of two restaurant quality dishes may sound like it’s going to be super complicated and time consuming, it really is quite simple.

First chicken breasts get butterflied and pounded out for the optimal crispy-crust to chicken ratio. They’re then dusted in flour and seared until done. Finally they are covered in salty prosciutto and creamy mozzarella cheese and broiled just until the cheese is golden and bubbly. Once the chicken is cooked, we use the same pan (holding on to all those crispy bits that stick to the bottom) to sauté prosciutto, mushrooms, garlic and shallots. Then comes the wine, a bit of chicken stock, cream, and fresh thyme. Cook the sauce down and you’re done. Pair this dish with fresh gnocchi as we did, or any selection of fresh pastas (like my homemade chickpea pasta), or even alongside mashed potatoes.

Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Chicken Saltimbocca Marsala

Butterfly and pound out chicken breasts. This provides the ultimate chicken-to-crust ratio. Here’s a great how-to.
Keep some extra chicken stock on hand to add if the sauce gets too thick. This way your sauce has the perfect consistency.
Use low moisture mozzarella AKA the cheap stuff, not fresh mozzarella. Lower moisture = crispier chicken.

The cheap prosciutto is also fine. The taste of the expensive DOP prosciutto di parma will only get lost.
Salt the sauce at the end. This will keep your mushrooms from steaming, and help you control the salt content.
Add a splash of heavy cream. Normally marsala sauce doesn’t have it, but it is a nice balance for the wine.

Chicken Saltimbocca Marsala

This chicken saltimbocca marsala recipe is a mashup of two classic Italian restaurant dishes: chicken saltimbocca – chicken topped with prosciutto – and chicken marsala – chicken in a mushroom and wine sauce

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4

Ingredients

Chicken Saltimbocca

For the chicken

1 1/2 lb chicken breast
8 oz mozzarella cheese low moisture
4 oz sliced prosciutto (about 6 slices)
flour as needed
salt and pepper
olive oil

For the marsala sauce

4 cloves of garlic minced
2 shallots minced
1 tbsp butter
8 oz crimini mushrooms sliced
2 cups marsala wine
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp fresh thyme
olive oil
salt and pepper

Instructions

Preheat the broiler in your oven. Liberally season chicken with salt and pepper. Lightly coat chicken in flour. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, sear chicken breasts in olive oil until browned and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Remove chicken breasts.
Top each piece of chicken with a slice of prosciutto and mozzarella cheese. Place under broiler until cheese is bubbly and melted, 5-7 minutes.
In the same pan used to sear the chicken, melt butter and more olive oil. Sauté garlic and shallots until golden, 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until they are soft and browned, 5 minutes.
Add wine and chicken stock and scrape up the bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Cook the wine until the sauce is starting to thicken slightly, 10 minutes.
Stir in cream and fresh thyme and cook another 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Use the sauce to top chicken saltimbocca and serve with pasta, gnocchi, or your starch of choice.