This post may contain affiliate links.
Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala takes the fancy restaurant classic and turns it into a dump and go dinner, juicy seared chicken thighs slow cooked with baby bella mushrooms, garlic, fresh thyme, and a silky marsala wine sauce, and the first time I made it on a hectic weeknight the whole house smelled like a trattoria by dinnertime. If your crock pot is your best friend, our lemon garlic crock pot chicken thighs deserve a spot in the rotation too.
Ten minutes of searing buys you a rich, savory marsala dinner that cooks itself.
Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 2 to 4 hours on high
- ⏳ Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 6 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 315kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Savory garlic and thyme chicken in a lightly sweet marsala mushroom sauce
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, on par with our slow cooker chicken and dumplings
Quick Answer
Season and sear chicken thighs until golden, then place them in the slow cooker and top with sliced mushrooms. Whisk together marsala wine, chicken stock, garlic, and thyme and pour it over everything. Cook on high for 2 to 4 hours or low for 4 to 6, add asparagus in the last 20 minutes, and thicken the sauce with a cornstarch slurry if you like it richer.
Jump to:
- Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala FAQs
- Other Recommended Slow Cooker Recipes
- Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala (Chicken Thighs)
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Searing first means real marsala flavor. Those golden browned edges on the chicken add the deep savory base that slow cookers alone cannot build.
- Thighs are made for the crock pot. Dark meat stays juicy through hours of gentle cooking where chicken breasts would dry out.
- The sauce builds itself. Marsala wine, stock, garlic, and thyme simmer with the mushroom and chicken juices into a sauce that tastes like it took all day, because it did.
- Asparagus goes in last. Twenty minutes at the end keeps it tender crisp and bright green instead of army green and mushy.
- The cornstarch slurry is optional insurance. If you want a sauce that coats the back of a spoon, a quick slurry at the end thickens it without changing the flavor.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Ten minutes of hands on time, then the slow cooker does everything else.
- It tastes like a fancy restaurant dinner but uses one pot and pantry staples.
- It is a complete meal with protein and vegetables, just like our slow cooker Mississippi steak bites, so sides are optional.
Key Ingredients
A short ingredient list does a lot of heavy lifting here.
- Chicken Thighs: Bone in or boneless both work. Thighs stay juicy through the long cook, which is why we do not recommend swapping in breasts.
- Marsala Wine: Use a dry marsala from the wine aisle, not the sweet dessert style or the salty cooking wine by the vinegars.
- Baby Bella Mushrooms: They hold their texture in the slow cooker and soak up all that winey, garlicky sauce.
- Fresh Thyme: A tablespoon of fresh minced thyme perfumes the whole crock. Dried works in a pinch at a third of the amount.
- Asparagus: Added at the end so it cooks tender crisp and turns this into a true one pot meal.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
Make this marsala your own with these easy swaps.
- Creamy marsala: Stir in 1/2 cup of heavy cream with the cornstarch slurry at the end for a creamy version.
- Different vegetables: Green beans or broccoli florets can stand in for the asparagus in the last 20 to 30 minutes.
- No wine: Swap the marsala for more chicken stock plus a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Different, but still delicious.
- Extra mushrooms: Double them. Nobody has ever complained about too many marsala mushrooms.
- Creamy chicken lovers: If this is your flavor family, our marry me chicken is the skillet cousin to try next.
How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala
- Season the chicken thighs well on all sides with salt and pepper, then sear them in olive oil over medium heat until golden brown on all sides.
- Place the seared chicken thighs into the slow cooker.
- Add the sliced mushrooms on top of the chicken.
- Whisk together the marsala wine, chicken stock, garlic, and thyme, then pour it over everything. Cook on high for 2 to 4 hours or on low for 4 to 6 hours.
- About 20 minutes before the chicken is done, add the asparagus and cook until tender crisp.
- For a thicker sauce, remove the chicken and asparagus, set the slow cooker to high, and whisk in a cornstarch slurry until thickened. Serve everything with plenty of sauce.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Do not skip the sear. It is the only browning this dish gets, and it makes the difference between good and restaurant good.
- Use dry marsala, not sweet. Sweet marsala turns the sauce syrupy. Dry keeps it savory with just a whisper of sweetness.
- Check doneness at the early end. Slow cookers run hot and cold. Thighs are done at 165 degrees Fahrenheit but stay silky up to 185.
- Trim the asparagus woody ends. Snap one spear by hand and cut the rest of the bunch at the same spot.
- Thicken at the end, not the start. Cornstarch added early breaks down over the long cook and leaves the sauce thin anyway.
- Let the sauce rest 5 minutes before serving. It settles and clings to the chicken better.
- Double the sauce for mashed potato night. Trust us on this one.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Creamy mashed potatoes are the classic landing pad for all that marsala mushroom sauce. Buttered egg noodles, rice, or polenta are just as happy to catch every drop.
For sides with some crunch, try our oven roasted brussel sprouts or a crisp green salad with homemade buttermilk ranch dressing. Leftover sauce over loaded mashed potato cakes the next day is a lunch worth planning for.
Going full comfort dinner? A crispy baked potato split open and loaded with marsala chicken and sauce is a complete meal in itself.
Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala FAQs
Use a dry marsala from the wine section of the store. Sweet marsala is for desserts and will make the sauce cloying, and the salty grocery store cooking wine near the vinegar has added sodium that throws off the seasoning.
You can, but reduce the cook time to about 2 hours on high or 3 to 4 on low and check them early. Breasts dry out much faster than thighs in the slow cooker, which is why thighs are our strong recommendation here.
Cook on high for 2 to 4 hours or on low for 4 to 6 hours. The chicken is safe at 165 degrees Fahrenheit, and thighs get even more tender as they climb a bit past that. Add the asparagus in the final 20 minutes.
Remove the chicken and asparagus, turn the slow cooker to high, and whisk in a cornstarch slurry of 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water. You can also pour the sauce into a saucepot and thicken it on the stove even faster.
Store cooled leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave with a splash of stock to loosen the sauce back up.
Yes, freeze the chicken, mushrooms, and sauce in freezer safe containers for up to 3 months, though the asparagus is best eaten fresh. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat gently so the chicken stays tender.
Keep the crock pot working: our slow cooker baked potatoes turn out fluffy steakhouse style potatoes with zero oven time.
Make it a full slow cooker dinner with our creamy slow cooker creamed corn with green chiles on the side.
When you want the oven to do the work, our chicken foil packets cook chicken and potatoes together with no pans.
Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala (Chicken Thighs)
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs
- Kosher salt to taste
- Fresh black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 ounces baby Bella mushrooms sliced
- 1/2 cup marsala wine
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme minced
- 1 bunch asparagus cut into 2 inch sections woody ends removed
- Cornstarch slurry if needed
Instructions
- Season chicken thighs well on all sides with salt and pepper. Sear chicken thighs over medium heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil until golden brown on all sides. You can do this in your slow cooker if you can sear in it, or in a large skillet. Place chicken into slow cooker.6 chicken thighs
- Add the mushrooms on top. In a small bowl, whisk together the wine, stock, garlic, and thyme. Pour on top of everything. Cook on high for 2-4 hours or on low 4-6 hours until desired tenderness.6 chicken thighs
- 20 minutes before the thighs are done, add in the asparagus to cook until tender crisp. If you would like a thicker sauce, take out the asparagus and chicken, set aside. Place slow cooker on high, uncovered and add the cornstarch slurry, whisk and cook until thickened. You can also pour the sauce into a saucepot over medium-high heat and thicken with cornstarch slurry whisked in.6 chicken thighs
Video
Notes
- You can use bone in or boneless chicken thighs for this recipe.
- Our choice of mushrooms are baby Bellas but you can use what you can find.
- If you find your sauce too thin you can remove your chicken and vegetables and make a slurry of water and cornstarch to thicken it up.
- This recipe can be frozen, see my tips above on how to do that.
- You can cook on high 2 hours or low for 4-6 hours depending on your agenda.
Nutrition
Love This Recipe?
Follow @ThisSillyGirlsKitchen on Instagram and @danadevolk on Pinterest for more!
This was my first time ever trying Marsala Chicken and wow!!! The chicken thighs were so tender and this paired so well with mashed potatoes. Thank you for the delicious recipe!