The Best Wine Substitutes For Chicken Marsala

The story of chicken Marsala is a poignant one, as it's believed to have been created by a Sicilian chef living with a French family that had been displaced by the Napoleonic wars. They were understandably longing for a taste of home, so he created the deliciously creamy dish with the addition of a wine made from local Sicilian grapes. Marsala wine is still a regional speciality made by aging a mix of white wine and brandy and then adding other ingredients to create a truly unique flavor. 

What if you have your heart set on making chicken Marsala but find that you're out of this specific wine? Fortunately, there are a number of substitutes that you can use, including some staples that you might keep on hand. Since Marsala wine is made from white wine and brandy, it makes sense that you can use these two to create a Marsala wine stand-in. Getting the ratios right is key. Many recipes call for around ⅔ cup Marsala wine. If that's the case, you can swap in about ¼ cup white wine and just a teaspoon of brandy. 

Many recipes will also suggest that you shouldn't substitute anything in place of Marsala wine and that it makes your recipe something other than chicken Marsala. Let's be honest here, though: We don't live in a perfect world, and sometimes, swaps are a must. With that said, let's look at a few more options.

There are different types of Marsala wine, ranging from sweet to dry, gold to ruby, and aged from one to more than 10 years. Here's where you'll find a lot of flexibility. Some insist that a dry Marsala wine is best for using in savory dishes like a chicken in Marsala cream sauce, but others say a sweet wine will work just as well. That's good news! Variety within the realm of Marsala wine means that there's plenty of room for experimentation with substitutions.

Sherry, port, and Madeira are all fortified wines; like Marsala, port is traditionally made with the addition of brandy. These can be substituted for Marsala wine without making adjustments to the recipe, and if there's anything better than a delicious ingredient swap, it's a simple one. (Pro tip: Fortified wine is the secret to upgrading many of your other favorite soups and sauces.)

These fortified wines make great substitutions, but there's also a delicious, nonalcoholic substitution you can make, too. It starts with white grape juice: Take your recipe's measurement of wine, cut it in half, and add that amount of white grape juice and roughly two tablespoons of sherry vinegar and one tablespoon of vanilla extract. You can never have too many substitutions at hand!