This is the BEST recipe from Olive Garden for a Stuffed Chicken Marsala with homemade mashed potatoes. Keep reading for tips and tricks on how to make this an amazing dinner that will win over even the pickiest of eaters.

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Published January 20, 2023
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Budget-friendly Meal

Olive Garden is our favorite restaurant. Or it was, until my cooking and baking skills far outweighed the need or desire to go out.
With four kids and one income, going out for dinner will quickly take over a large portion of our weekly food budget. So, instead of going out and blowing our budget, this frugal momma sought out the BEST copycat recipe to remake this amazing dinner.

On our first date, Tyler took me to Olive Garden and he had this Stuffed Chicken Marsala with mashed potatoes. Eighteen years later, this is still his favorite recipe.

Recipe

Ingredients for Chicken Marsala

Filling:
1/2 cup smoked Gouda, shredded
8-oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp fresh garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/3 cup green onions
1 cup Greek Yogurt, plain
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Sauce:
2 Tbsp Oil
2 Tbsp butter
1 onion, diced
24-oz Marsala wine
8-oz heavy cream
2 pints mushrooms

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Directions for Chicken Marsala

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, then spray a 9 X 13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.

2. Butterfly the chicken breasts at the thickest part and then set them aside on a platter.
Because the chicken is going to be stuffed, sauteed and then baked, this step does not need to be neat and tidy.
Literally just cut the chicken in half keeping one side whole, making sure to not cut through the entire chicken breast.

3. In a medium bowl, add the shredded smoked Gouda, Mozzarella and Parmesan.
For the quickest shredding, use a Cuisinart Food Processor! These three blocks took under 1 minute to fully shred.
Click the link below to check out food processors on Amazon. They shred cheese, make pizza dough, sauces and blend so well.

4. To the shredded cheese, add 1/2 cup breadcrumbs and then mix well to combine.
By adding the breadcrumbs, it will help the filling to come together and not be all runny and then leak out of the chickens.

5. Add the Greek yogurt to the cheese and then stir well to combine.
The original recipe calls for sour cream, however, our family switched to Greek yogurt many years ago.
Greek yogurt is fat free and healthier, in my opinion, than sour cream.
Honestly, choose whichever you have or use or like.

6. Mince the garlic and then add it to the cheese and mix well.
Garlic lately has been really rough and not that great in the stores.
Instead of fresh garlic, I have bought jars of minced garlic that stores great in the fridge.

7. Add crushed red pepper flakes to the cheese, and then stir well.

8. Season the cheese filling with salt and pepper.

9. If desired, mince green onions and then add it to the cheese filling mixture.
Instead of adding green onions, Pancetta was added to the cheese filling.
While at the grocery store this week, there were no green onions, so those were sadly left out of this recipe.
If desired, you can also add dried chives as an alternative to fresh green onions.

Stuff the Chickens

10. Open one chicken, that has been filleted open, and place the desired amount of filling in and then gently close chicken around the filling.
Place the stuffed chicken onto a platter, then finish stuffing the rest of the chickens.

11. In a large skillet, warm 2 tablespoons oil and then place the stuffed chicken breasts in the skillet and sauté on each side until golden brown.
Use a tong to flip the stuffed chicken marsala as you cook it.

12. Using the tong, remove the chicken breasts from the skillet and place them in the prepared baking dish.

13. Bake the stuffed chickens in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Make the Chicken Marsala Sauce

1. On a cutting board, dice the onion and then set it aside.

2. In the skillet where the chicken was cooked, add 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons oil and then add the onions and sauté until tender.

3. Stir the bottom of the pan to loosen the chicken drippings into the onions.
However, if you like me, used a ribbed pan to sauté the chicken and now are using a different pan, just skip this step.

4. Wipe the mushrooms clean with a paper towel, and then slice them thin and place them into a bowl aside.
I do not recommend using a damp cloth to wipe mushrooms as it can cause them to become slippery.

5. When the onions are tender, add the mushrooms and then sauté until the juices release, around 5-7 minutes.

6. Deglaze the mushrooms and onions with 1/2 cup Marsala wine, making sure to scrape up any bits off the pan.
If you do not have Marsala wine, feel free to use any dry white wine you have on hand.
The store did not have it in stock, and we had white wine which worked just fine.

7. Add the rest of the wine and then heat to a simmer on medium heat.

8. Add the heavy cream and then mix well to combine.

9. Reduce the heat and then simmer until the sauce is reduced by half.

Make the Mashed Potatoes

1. Firstly, wash the potatoes in a sink colander and then set the potatoes on a cutting board.

2. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the potatoes and then dice them to 1-inch cubes.

3. Place a steamer basket in a large pot on the stove and then add water so the water just touches the steamer basket.
And of course, this momma forgot to take pictures while making the mashed potatoes.
What a day, oh what a day!
When rinsing the potatoes, I like to keep them off the base of the sink. Gross. Even with a cleaned sink, I still get the heebie-jeebies about the germs in the sink. This over the sink colander rests over the sink and keeps your food from touching the sink.

4. Place the diced and peeled potatoes in the pot and then turn the heat to medium-high.

5. Cover and then cook the potatoes until a knife is inserted into the potato easily.

6. When the potatoes are done, use a spoon to remove them from the pot and place them into a large bowl.

7. Add butter to the potatoes and also heavy cream and then blend with a hand mixer until smooth.

8. If desired, add garlic, salt and pepper to taste.

Plate the Stuffed Chicken Marsala

1. Remove the stuffed chicken from the oven and then let it rest for 5 minutes.

2. Spoon mashed potatoes onto the plate and then add the mushroom sauce and add a stuffed chicken.

If desired, add shredded cheese on the top of the potatoes and then enjoy!
~Monica

Stuffed Chicken Marsala Recipe

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