What to Serve with Chicken Marsala

Published Categorized as Guide, Sauces Tagged

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Chicken Marsala is an Italian dish made with Marsala wine and mushroom sauce. Marsala is used to create a thick sauce that often contains onions, shallots, followed by a variety of spices. There are many ways to enjoy your chicken marsala, you can have it served with some well-prepared veggies, or choose between delicious starches to accompany your meal. Perhaps you prefer plain white rice, or a flavour-filled risotto, maybe you’d want to pair the Italian dish with some pasta, whatever the choice there’s no denying the deliciousness that flows from every flavourful bite that you take of chicken Marsala.

Table of Contents

What Is Chicken Marsala?

Marsala is a fortified wine made in Sicily, Italy near the village of Marsala. It is commonly used for cooking and baking and is available in varying levels of sweetness. Marsala tends to have a nutty, brown sugar flavour with a hint of dried fruit and ranges from slightly sweet to very sweet. Because of this Marsala is commonly served alongside dessert, and is quite useful in adding depth to sauces, and tastes exceptional when added to puddings.

What Side Dishes go With Chicken Marsala?

Chicken Marsala can be served with vegetables, pasta, rice, salad or bread it depends on what you would like to experiment with. Alternatively, you could opt for a simple plate of noodles instead of pasta as they are light and quick to make. Chicken Marsala also pairs very well with mashed potatoes.

Usually, we would pair mashed potatoes with a generous drizzle of gravy and maybe some roast chicken or steak. In this case, the Marsala sauce acts as a gravy substitute and can be poured over the flaky potatoes, to make a delicious meal.

What Vegetable Dishes Go With Chicken Marsala?

There are more than a few types of vegetables that complement chicken Marsala well. Broccoli is an appetising vegetable with its slightly sweet and earthy flavours, which can be thoroughly enjoyed whether you wish to roast or sauté them. you can choose to have a bowl of boiled white rice, with creamy chicken marsala finished with a side of sautéed crunchy green beans. Spinach is a light and refreshing vegetable and can be added to the chicken Marsala as a final ingredient, don’t worry the flavours of spinach mix very well with Marsala sauce, satisfying you delightfully.

What Salads go well With Chicken Marsala?

Salads are quite simple and quick to make, which is why it’s so perfect to eat with chicken Marsala. You can choose to make a standard salad with olives, tomatoes. oregano, olive oil, Spanish onions, cucumbers, lettuce and any other ingredient you desire, for a crunchy, light and refreshing side dish. Or if you are feeling experimental, you can try Caprese salad – which consists of tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, and balsamic vinegar.

What Types of Pasta to Serve With Chicken Marsala?

Since our main meal is of Italian origin, why not pair it with an Italian side? You can choose from store-bought pasta such as fettuccine or linguine. Unless you really wish to push yourself you can choose to make some homemade pasta. Homemade pasta is surprisingly pretty easy to make; if you don’t own a pasta maker don’t worry a simple rolling pin will do the job nicely.

Egg noodles are softer and more buttery versions of pasta, the only thing that separates them from being called pasta is the fact that egg noodles require 2 to 3 times more eggs than regular pasta. The egg helps expand the noodles to absorb more flavour thus being a perfect side to eat with chicken Marsala.

What to Serve with Chicken Marsala

What Types of Rice goes With Chicken Marsala?

It’s no secret that plain white rice has the amazing ability to soak all flavours from soups, stews, curries and much more. This is why it is a perfect way to enjoy chicken Marsala, the creaminess of the sauce combined with the pillow-soft texture of the rice makes the perfect mouth-watering side dish for your main meal.

Fried rice is another wonderful way of using rice to make an enjoyable meal that will leave you eating every last morsel. Cauliflower rice is a healthy alternative to rice and a great way of eating and enjoying one of the much-appreciated vegetables.

How to Serve Chicken Marsala?

Chicken Marsala makes a wonderful and delicious meal on its own but can be even better with complimentary side dishes. Chicken Marsala can be eaten alongside a bowl of roasted carrots or sautéed veggies. Marsala sauce can be drizzled over the top of boiled rice so that the flavours are absorbed within the fluffy grains of rice allowing the creaminess of the sauce to be appreciated with each bite.

What Goes With Chicken Marsala?

Chicken Marsala is a heavenly dish, made by combining tender caramelised chicken, and savoury mushrooms, covered in a creamy, nutty sauce that is made from Marsala wine. Although none can deny that chicken Marsala is a delightful meal on its own, there are a variety of side dishes that will transform the meal into delectable perfection. Its creamy consistency makes it perfect to spread over plain white rice, or even pair it with veggies like courgette, cauliflower, mashed potatoes or a side of fresh salad.

If you’re wondering what sort of menu would make sense for chicken Marsala then let’s make a small overview of what you could serve with chicken Marsala.

  • Rice
  • Risotto
  • Egg Noodles
  • Almond Noodles
  • Bread Rolls
  • Cheesy Garlic Bread
  • Mashed Potatoes
  • Caprese Salad
  • Salad
  • Five-bean Salad
  • Asparagus
  • Spinach
  • Garlic Parmesan Carrots
  • Pasta

Rice

Chicken Marsala is so beautifully creamy, that it makes so much sense to eat with a bowl of plain white rice. You can add a small chunk of butter to the steamy white rice for a more creamy buttery flavour, but the creaminess of the chicken marsala is already more than enough.

What to Serve with Chicken Marsala

Risotto

Risotto is an Italian dish consisting of herbs and vegetables, add in some asparagus and buttery cheese and voila! You have a delicious Italian meal.

Egg Noodles

Noodles can be paired with just about anything, it only takes 6 minutes to cook so you don’t have to worry about waiting to tuck into your meal. A perfect soft side dish for chicken Marsala, you can either mix the chicken marsala in with the noodles to add some flavours or pour the desired amount of chicken Marsala beside your egg noodles.

Almond Noodles

Whilst we’re on the topic of noodles, why not try almond noodles? They are much lighter and only take 15 minutes to make. They are made with rice noodles mixed with broccoli, carrots, cabbage, spinach, sesame seeds, and smothered in an almond butter dressing. So deliciously refreshing!

Pasta

Pasta suits chicken Marsala very nicely, any kind of pasta can match well with your main meal, but some people prefer the longer type of pasta. To make this delectable pasta dish with chicken Marsala, you can mix pasta with olive oil or butter, roasted tomatoes and sprinkle some cheese on top. Furthermore to prepare a plate of pasta chicken Marsala, you should cut the cooked chicken into small pieces, place them on the pasta then pour the creamy chicken marsala sauce over it.

Bread Rolls

Bread is a wonderful choice for scooping up the creamy buttery sauce of chicken Marsala. This would also work really well with brown bread, baguette, tiger bread or brioche bread which is a slightly sweet pillow soft pastry, when dipped in chicken Marsala it’ll absorb the flavours of the Marsala sauce beautifully, pick up a piece of chicken and let the flavours do the talking.

What to Serve with Chicken Marsala

Cheesy Garlic Bread

Cheesy garlic bread is a commonly appreciated amongst food lovers. The easiest way to make this would be by rubbing a clove of garlic over toasted slices of bread and coating it generously with olive oil and butter. Or you could opt for store-brought garlic bread, pop it in the oven for about 10 to 15 minutes, then enjoy.

What to Serve with Chicken Marsala

Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are one of the best side dishes you could eat, they have a creamy flavour and light fluffy texture that beautifully balances the rich Marsala sauce. You can make this by combining potatoes, butter, milk and spices. I always like to eat mashed potato on its own because of how gloriously creamy it is, but in this case we’re going to pour some marsala sauce over the mashed potatoes, and let the delightful creaminess take over.

Caprese Salad

An Italian salad fit for an Italian meal, not only does this follow the theme of the main – chicken Marsala – this salad delivers a fresh, light, sweet and tart taste, from tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, and balsamic vinegar. Once you feast your eyes upon the plate popping with colour, there’s no doubt you’ll find it undeniably appetising.

Salad

Salads are commonly eaten with any meal, so with chicken Marsala, a refreshing crunchy vegetable salad would be a delightful idea. Just mix tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, oregano, feta cheese, onions, salt, pepper and olive oil. You can add any other ingredient you desire.

What to Serve with Chicken Marsala

Five-bean Salad

I think we can all agree when we say that salads pair well with everything, but this five-bean salad is equally as delicious. Simply add green beans, red beans, chickpeas, black beans and cannellini beans to a large bowl, and mix with mustard dressing. If you want to add some spring onions and red peppers to the mix then go ahead, you can never go wrong when an extra crunch is added to your salad.

Spinach

Spinach is a nutritious vegetable and matches well with chicken Marsala. To prepare the tasteful side dish, simply sauté spinach with olive oil, garlic, salt and some cheese, or you could choose to mix the spinach with the chicken marsala whilst it is being prepared as its final ingredient. The flavours of cooked spinach combined with chicken Marsala make a pleasant taste in your mouth.

Asparagus

Another great choice amongst veggies that taste particularly exceptional with chicken is asparagus. These long crunchy stalks are nicely contrasted with the tender chicken. They can be served steamed or sautéed, with added flavouring such as cheese and lemon sauce for some finger-licking satisfaction.

Garlic Parmesan Roasted Carrots

A side dish of crispy and extra-crunchy garlic parmesan roasted carrots prepared in less than 30 minutes, can be eaten on its own and enjoyed with any main meal. This nutritious dish only requires olive oil, parmesan cheese, minced garlic and panko bread crumbs.

What Are The Ingredients Used In Chicken Marsala?

The sauce in chicken Marsala is creamy, rich and absolutely scrumptious, here are the ingredients needed to make this delightful meal:

  • Chicken
  • Mushrooms
  • Marsala cooking wine
  • Chicken broth
  • Heavy whipping cream
  • Ground mustard, garlic powder, and parsley
  • Salt and pepper
  • Olive oil

So What Sides Go With Chicken Marsala?

Chicken Marsala can be served on its own but tastes even more wonderful when paired with all sorts of vegetables, rice, pasta and salads. The flavours are appetisingly enhanced when different textures are introduced to the table as complimentary sides.

FAQs

What Starch Goes With Chicken Marsala?

Chicken Marsala pairs well with starchy foods, such as pasta, noodles, or mashed potatoes.

What Kind of Wine Goes in Chicken Marsala?

Marsala wine is used to create a nutty, rich and caramelised sauce for the chicken Marsala.

Is Chicken Marsala a French Dish?

Chicken Marsala is an Italian recipe, however food historians believe that the dish had been strongly influenced by French chefs who arrived in Italy during the 19th century.