Dairy Free Chicken Marsala Pasta
Classic Chicken Marsala is one of those restaurant dishes that feels completely off-limits when you're avoiding dairy — creamy, glossy sauces almost always hide butter or heavy cream somewhere. This version solves that problem elegantly by swapping in dairy-free butter and leaning on the natural richness of dry Marsala wine, chicken broth, and starchy pasta water to build a sauce that's genuinely silky and deeply savory. Pounded chicken breasts get a light flour dredge and a hard sear in olive oil until golden, while cremini mushrooms are cooked down until deeply browned and almost meaty in texture. The Marsala and broth reduce together with fresh thyme into something that smells absolutely incredible and coats every strand of fettuccine. That reserved pasta water is the quiet hero here — it loosens the sauce just enough to make it cling to the noodles without turning watery. Sliced chicken nestled right on top and a handful of fresh parsley to finish makes this feel like a proper restaurant plate, and it comes together for four people without any complicated techniques or hard-to-find ingredients.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the pasta
- 12 oz fettuccine or linguine
- 1 tsp salt
For the chicken
- 1 ½ lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large), pounded to ½-inch thickness
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For the Marsala sauce
- 2 tbsp dairy free butter
- 10 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced ¼-inch thick
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup dry marsala wine
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ cup reserved pasta water
For serving
- 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add 1 tsp salt and the fettuccine and cook according to package directions until al dente, tender with a slight resistance at the center. Before draining, scoop out 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta water and set it aside. Drain the pasta in a colander and set aside.
- 2
While the pasta cooks, season the pounded chicken breasts on both sides with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper, then dredge each piece in the 1/4 cup flour, shaking off any excess.
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