Chicken Marsala – Instant Pot Style
We eat a lot of chicken in our house because there’s just so much you can do with it. Curry one day, shredded on a pizza, a roast dinner then a dish like this Chicken Marsala – every one with a different taste! This Instant Pot Chicken Marsala also makes use of one of my favourite kitchen gadgets.
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What is Marsala wine?
Marsala wine can be either dry or sweet and is a red wine similar to Port or sherry. It comes from a specific region of Sicily around the city of Marsala and has Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) status. This means that it is like champagne – only wine produced in this region can call itself Marsala.

The wine is made from a number of grapes and is usually 15-20% alcohol. There are different types of the wine, depending on colour, sweetness and how old they are. A few examples include:
- Oro – golden colour
- Ambra – amber in colour, has a sweetener in it
- Rubino – ruby colour, uses grapes including Perricone and Nerrello Mascalese
- Fine – at least 1 year old
- Superiore – at least 2 years old
- Vergine – at least 5 years old
Serving Marsala wine
On its own, Marsala wine was traditionally usually served as an aperitif between the first and second courses of the meal. Nowadays, the drier versions are served with spicy cheese, Parmesan, blue cheeses such as Gorgonzola as well as fruits or pastries. Sweeter versions work as dessert wines served at room temperature.
Marsala wine is also used in cooking and the dry version is usually what is chosen. Marsala sauce uses the wine reduced down until it is really thick and has onions or shallots added then mushrooms and herbs. This is the basic sauce behind Chicken Marsala.
Sweet Marsala wines are also used in some famous Italian desserts such as Zabaglione and Tiramisu.

Instant Pot Chicken Marsala
This recipe uses the Instant Pot but there’s no reason you couldn’t adapt it to use a slow cooker or even a sauté pan. I’m just always looking for more ways to use the IP because it is clever and is sitting there on the kitchen bench – got to justify buying those gadgets!!
If you don’t go with the Instant Pot, remember it will take longer to cook because you don’t have that pressure cooker facility. And always make sure the chicken is over 70 degrees C (160 F) before serving. We have a handy little temperature probe to stick into the meat and check before serving!
Make this traditional dish with Marsala wine using the Instant Pot You could serve this with vegetables or a potato dish such as mashed potatoes or even a baked potato. And if you are me and like loads of sauce on your chicken, simply increase the amounts to make sure you have more!Chicken Marsala – Instant Pot Style
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
