Veal Marsala
intro
Tender thin-cut veal cutlets smothered in a glossy, savory Marsala wine and mushroom sauce, a beloved Italian-American restaurant classic simple enough to make at home.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep and dredge veal
Pat 680g veal scaloppine completely dry with paper towels, then season both sides evenly with 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Mix 60g all-purpose flour with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a shallow dish. Lightly dredge each veal cutlet in the seasoned flour, shaking off all excess to leave a thin, even coating, then set dredged cutlets on a clean plate.
Sear the veal cutlets
Heat 30ml extra-virgin olive oil and 28g (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter in a large heavy-bottomed stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat until butter foams and just turns pale golden, about 2 minutes. Working in 2 batches to avoid crowding the pan, add veal cutlets and sear for 90 seconds per side, until light golden brown on both sides and reaching an internal temperature of 63°C (145°F). Transfer seared veal to a clean plate, tent loosely with aluminum foil to keep warm.
Cook mushrooms and aromatics
Reduce pan heat to medium, add the remaining 28g (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter to the same skillet with leftover pan drippings. Once butter melts, add 225g sliced cremini mushrooms, cooking for 5 minutes and stirring occasionally, until mushrooms release all their liquid and turn deep golden brown at the edges. Add 60g minced shallots and 6g minced garlic, cooking for 30 seconds more until fragrant, taking care not to burn the garlic.
Deglaze pan with Marsala
Pour 180ml dry Marsala wine into the skillet, increase heat to medium-high, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up all browned fond bits from the pan bottom. Simmer the wine for 3 minutes until reduced by half and smelling rich and nutty. Pour in 120ml low-sodium chicken broth, continuing to simmer for 4 more minutes until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.
Combine veal and sauce
Return the seared veal cutlets and any accumulated resting juices from the plate back into the skillet with the thickened sauce. Reduce heat to low, turn the cutlets to coat evenly in the sauce, and let them warm through for 2 minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning with an extra pinch of salt or pepper if needed.
Garnish and serve immediately
Turn off the stovetop heat, sprinkle 8g (2 tablespoons) of freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley evenly over the veal and sauce. Serve right away, spooning 2-3 tablespoons of the mushroom Marsala sauce over each cutlet, paired with creamy mashed potatoes or buttered egg noodles to soak up the rich sauce.
Tips
2.Use dry Marsala wine for this recipe, not sweet Marsala, which will make the finished sauce cloyingly sweet and unbalanced for a savory dish.
3.After dredging veal in seasoned flour, shake off all excess coating: too much residual flour will create a gummy texture on the meat and make the sauce overly thick and starchy.
OMG this Classic Veal Marsala was a total game changer for our Sunday family dinner! I was worried the medium difficulty rating meant it’d be too fussy for my basic weeknight cooking skills, but it came together in exactly 30 minutes like the recipe said. The Marsala wine reduction was so rich and buttery, my kids asked for seconds before they even finished their first plate. 10/10 will be making this for our next neighborhood potluck!
Solid recipe, but I had to mix up a tiny cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce up—mine was super runny after simmering for the full time listed. Flavor was still totally on point though, my wife said it tasted just like the veal marsala we get at our favorite little Italian spot downtown.
SO good. I made this for date night last night and my boyfriend was half-joking that he’d propose just for the cooking. The mushroom and Marsala combo is chef’s kiss, I served it over garlic mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus. Will absolutely be adding this to my regular meal prep rotation.
Quick question before I make this tonight! Can I substitute chicken cutlets for the veal? My grocery store was completely out of veal this week and I really don’t want to drag two toddlers to a third store just for one ingredient.
I’ve tried so many veal marsala recipes over the years and this one is hands down the best. I swapped the pancetta for prosciutto because that’s what I had leftover in the fridge, and it still turned out incredible. Pro tip: don’t skip the fresh parsley garnish at the end, it cuts through the richness of the sauce so well!
Was super skeptical making an Italian dish on my cast iron instead of firing up the grill, but man, this delivered. I pounded the veal extra thin like the recipe said, got a perfect golden sear on each side, no weird chewy bits at all. My teen son who swears he hates “fancy restaurant food” ate three servings. Wild.
Pretty good, but I wish the recipe noted how long to let the veal rest after cooking! I cut into mine right after taking them out of the pan and they lost a ton of juice, which made the sauce a little watery on my plate. Flavor was great though, totally my bad for rushing it.
Made this for my in-laws who are visiting from Jersey and are insanely picky about Italian food, and they RAVED about it. I was so nervous the whole time I was cooking, but the steps were super straightforward even for a medium difficulty recipe. Served it with buttery egg noodles, and there were zero leftovers left on the table.
Pro tip from someone who’s made this a few times now: skip the cheap cooking Marsala from the grocery store vinegar aisle and grab a bottle of actual drinkable dry Marsala from the liquor store. It’s only a couple bucks more and the depth of flavor it adds to the sauce is a total game changer. Don’t sleep on it!
Made a big batch of this for meal prep on Sunday and it held up so well all week for work lunches! I stored the sauce separate from the veal cutlets so they didn’t get soggy, heated it up in the microwave for 90 seconds, and it tasted just as good as it did the first night. Total weekday win for this busy guy.
Is there an easy swap to make this dairy free? I have a dairy allergy and I’ve been craving veal marsala forever, but the butter in the sauce has me worried I won’t be able to make it work.
Took this to my neighborhood potluck last weekend and people were coming up to me asking for the recipe all night. The only little tweak I made was tossing in a handful of chopped sun-dried tomatoes to the sauce for a little extra tang, and it was chef’s kiss. SO good, will be making this on repeat for months.