Chicken Lombardy features marsala wine and mozzarella cheese on top of a buttery pan seared chicken and mushroom dish. It sounds fancy with its rich combination of wine and cheese, but you’ll soon discover it’s shockingly simple!
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Despite the fact that I regularly share Italian family recipes passed on from my husband’s grandma, I can’t claim this decadent (but shockingly easy) dish as a family recipe.
In fact, no one really can although there is a rumor this dish was once on Olive Garden’s menu.
That said, I can’t find anything to back up this claim other though they do sometimes name dishes after regions in Italy and Lombardy is, in fact, a region in Italy.
Other rumors claim this recipe is not in fact Italian at all but came from Wisconsin and was named for famed Vince Lombardi.
No one seems to know where it came from, but I can say it’s honestly one of the best Italian American recipes to come out of my kitchen in the past decade.
We’re talking dredged, seared chicken in a rich, luscious wine sauce.
It makes an appearance on our table at least once a month.
What’s the difference between chicken Lombardy and chicken marsala?
Chicken Lombardy and chicken marsala are both very similar.
They both have pan seared chicken and mushrooms in a buttery wine sauce.
But chicken Lombardy invites mozzarella and Parmesan to the party before it bakes, creating a cheesy chicken dish that’s to die for.
Ingredients
To make this you’ll need:
- Mushrooms– Baby bella mushroooms. Save yourself some time and buy a pre-sliced package. If you can’t find these, you can sub sliced white button mushrooms.
- Butter– Divided
- Chicken– Boneless, skinless chicken breasts with the excess fat removed.
- Flour– All purpose to dredge the chicken in
- Chicken broth– You could use stock if you prefer. You can also use store bought or homemade chicken broth.
- Wine– Marsala wine. If you can, buy a bottle of wine that you would drink and skip the cooking Marsala wine. The cooking wine has a lot of added salt, etc. that make it taste not as good as the drinking wine.
- Salt and pepper
- Cornstarch and water– This combination combine to form what’s called a ‘slurry’ that is used to thicken the sauce.
- Cheese– Shredded mozzarella and shredded Parmesan
- Green onions– Thinly sliced
How to Make
Making chicken Lombardy is definitely beginner friendly!
To do it, start by cutting each chicken breast evenly in half, lengthwise.
Then, place one piece of chicken in between two sheets of heavy duty plastic wrap and pound it gently with a meat mallet until it reaches 1/4″ thickness.
Repeat for all the pieces of chicken.
Once the chicken is pounded, melt the two tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
Sauté the mushrooms in the melted butter for 3-5 minutes, or until tender.
Once they are tender, transfer the mushrooms to a waiting plate and set them aside.
Add the flour to a flat plate or large shallow dish.
Dredge each piece of chicken in it, making sure it’s evenly coated.
In the same skillet you cooked the mushrooms in, melt two tablespoons of the remaining butter.
When the butter has melted, add two pieces of chicken to the skillet and turn up the heat to medium high.
Cook the chicken until nicely browned on one side, flip and repeat.
Transfer the browned breasts to a waiting plate.
Repeat this until you’ve browned all the chicken.
Stir the broth and wine into the drippings in the skillet, using a sturdy spoon to get up all those yummy browned bits and deglaze the pan.
Season with salt and pepper and bring the mixture to a boil.
Once it boils, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until it thickens slightly.
In a small bowl, whisk together the corn starch and water to make a slurry.
Whisk this into the skillet sauce, and let it simmer another 1-2 minutes- until nicely thickened.
Remove the skillet from heat, and set aside.
Transfer the chicken breasts to a lightly greased 9×13 baking dish, overlapping a bit if necessary to fit them all.
Spread the sauteed mushrooms evenly out over top.
Pour the sauce evenly out over top of the chicken and sprinkle the cheeses evenly out over top, followed by the sliced green onions.
Bake the prepared chicken at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and slightly golden brown.
Serve and enjoy!
What to Serve with Chicken Lombardy
Like chicken marsala, chicken Lombardy pairs amazingly with pasta.
It’s also so good with Creamy Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, a salad, and garlic bread.
Can I make this ahead of time?
Yes!
To do it, prepare the chicken as directed but store the chicken and sauce separately in air tight containers in the fridge until you are ready to bake the dish.
Once you are ready to bake the dish, you will need to reheat the sauce and possibly thin it with a bit more chicken broth.
Then, assemble the casserole dish as directed above.
When ready bake at 450 until warmed through and the cheese melts and turns slightly golden brown.
Storing Leftovers
Store leftovers in air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheat in an oven safe dish in a hot oven until warmed through.
Tips and Tricks
- Don’t skip pounding the chicken. This tenderizes it and ensures it will cook properly. Plus it makes sure that you get the best chicken to sauce to cheese ratio in each bite!
- You could add a clove of pressed garlic into the pan with the mushrooms for a little extra flavor.
- If you serve this with pasta, I recommend using linguine, fettucine, or penne noodles. You want to avoid thinner pasta for this dish.
Other Delicious Italian Chicken Recipes
Chicken Lombardy is a favorite take on chicken marsala with its cheesy upgrade.
Make it and enjoy!
Looking for other Italian chicken recipes?
Try these:
- Slow Cooker Creamy Italian Chicken
- Carrabba’s Chicken Bryan
- Creamy Chicken Florentine And Farfalle
- One Pot Chicken Marsala Pasta
- Chicken & Tomato Pesto Gnocchi
If you’ve tried this CHICKEN LOMBARDY, or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!
Chicken Lombardy
Ingredients
- 8 oz pkg sliced baby bella mushrooms
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
- 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup Marsala wine
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 1/2 tbsp corn starch + 1 tbsp water
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 2-3 green onions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Cut each chicken breast evenly in half, lengthwise. One at a time, place a piece of chicken in between two sheets of heavy duty plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a meat mallet, flatten the breast out to a 1/4" thickness. Repeat for all the pieces of chicken.
- Melt the two tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in the mushrooms and saute for 3-5 minutes, or until tender. Remove the cooked mushrooms to a waiting plate or bowl, and set aside.
- Add the flour to a flat plate. Dredge each piece of chicken in it, making sure there's an even coat.
- In the same skillet you cooked the mushrooms in, melt two tablespoons of the remaining butter. Add two pieces of chicken, and up the heat to medium high. Let the chicken cook until nicely browned on one side, flip and repeat. Transfer the browned breasts to a waiting plate.
- Add another tablespoon of butter to the skillet, and brown another two breasts. Repeat the steps until all the chicken is browned, and all transferred to the waiting plate.
- Stir the broth and wine into the drippings in the skillet, whisking to deglaze the pan and get up all those yummy browned bits. Season with salt & pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, or until thickened slightly.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the corn starch and water to make a slurry. Whisk this into the skillet sauce, and let it simmer another 1-2 minutes- until nicely thickened. Remove the skillet from heat, and set aside.
- Transfer the chicken breasts to a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish, overlapping a bit if necessary to fit them all. Spread the sauteed mushrooms evenly out over top.
- Pour the sauce evenly out over top of the chicken. Then sprinkle the cheeses evenly out over top, followed by the sliced green onions.
- Bake the prepared chicken at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and slightly golden brown. Remove the dish from the oven, and serve immediately.
Notes
- Don't skip pounding the chicken. This tenderizes it and ensures it will cook properly. Plus it makes sure that you get the best chicken to sauce to cheese ratio in each bite!
- You could add a clove of pressed garlic into the pan with the mushrooms for a little extra flavor.
- If you serve this with pasta, I recommend using linguine, fettucine, or penne noodles. You want to avoid thinner pasta for this dish.
Nutrition
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Dianna says
Super tasty and easy to make.
Deb says
Excellent recipe the Marsala added such a good flavor
Kris Shepherd says
Check Southern Living November 1978 submitted by Joe Broussard of Lafayette, LA.
Charlene Marley says
Very good and easy. I also doubled up on the sauce.
Nickie says
This is really good. Will make it again for sure. Easy to make and make sure you double the sauce.
Tracey says
Absolutely brilliant- simple to make and full of flavour!
Jeanne says
Since the chicken was pounded thin then browned on each side, I couldn’t imagine cooking an additional 15-20 min in the oven. I added the cheeses then broiled at 450 just a few min until cheese was melted and slightly browned. Any longer would have over cooked the chicken.. it was fabulous!
Brent says
One of my favorites discovered only months ago. The family loves it served with a side of spaghetti . So easy to prepare too.
Diane says
There is a dry and a sweet marsala ….which one is used please???
Melanie says
I’m so excited to find this recipe. It does sound very similar to what Olive Garden’s “Chicken Marsala” used to be. It was a lightly breaded breast with mushrooms and Marsala sauce served over Angel hair pasta. It was my favorite but has come and gone and been through several revisions since then. I can’t wait to try it!
Carol Ganter says
Easy to make and so delicious. We have shared this recipe with others to enjoy as we did. Looking forward to making other recipes of yours.
karen bragg says
This was excellent. Served it with angel hair pasta and green beans. I made less chicken since there was just 2 of us but made all the sauce and actually increased it a little. This had a nice deep flavor with the marsala. It would be perfect for company. We will have this again.
Doreen says
I don’t like mushroom ,what do I substitute it with
4sonsrus says
There isn’t really a good substitute for it in this recipe that I can think of. If you’re really opposed to including it, then I’d just omit it.
Terry D. says
This recipe is EXCELLENT!!! I have been making it for a couple years and each time it gets RAVE reviews, with everyone wanting the recipe! Thank you for sharing! Terry
Patricia says
Delicious, I double the sauce, big family favourite!
Kathie Peffer says
YUMMALICIOUS!
Nikki Ham says
Made this recipe , doubled up sauce and placed it on top of angel hair pasta sprinkled a dash of fresh rosemary and thyme … mmmmmmm
Wendy says
Is there a way to prepare ahead of time when entertaining and just pop in the oven?
Chris says
Was wondering same thing, gonna try to make ahead and stop when time to bake…anyone else try it this way? Want to just pop it in the oven before company arrives.
Carol says
Can it be prepared the day before up to the baking part?
Alyssa says
I’m so excited to try this! I love chicken lombardy! I used to work at Olive Garden and it was featured in the “northern tour of Italy.” I don’t know if it was ever it’s own dish, but yes! It was at Olive Garden!
Paige says
A friend served it for our dinner. He gave me the recipe. I use chicken tenders which is best for small appetites. This recipe is SO delicious. I want to lick the plate. I let the dog lick it instead.:>)
Pam says
This is delicious!
Karen White says
Great recipe. Added 2 cloves of garlic.
Lynne says
Can’t wait to try the chicken Lombardy. It looks delicious
Anne says
Super delicious. We substituted white wine for the marsala wine and it turned out great!
Cammie Kristy says
Yummy! I made this last night (I did double the sauce recipe and used chicken strips). We both loved the flavor. I’ll be making it again. Depending on how much you cook your chicken in the pan, you may not want to bake it for that long. We also used the broiler for a couple minutes to brown it a bit.