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Chicken Lombardy

Name: Chicken Lombardy
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
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

By4sonsrus Published onMarch 18, 2019January 27, 2023 Updated onJanuary 27, 2023

157 Comments

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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:

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