Meat & Pork

Serving

Pork Marsala

Name: Pork Marsala
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Meat & Pork
Ingredients: 1 1/2 lb pork cutlets, pounded thin; 1/2 cup all-purpose flour; 1 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp black pepper; 3 tbsp olive oil; 3 tbsp butter, divided; 8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 3/4 cup Marsala wine; 3/4 cup chicken stock; 1/4 cup heavy cream; 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Thin pork cutlets pan-seared and simmered in a savory Marsala wine and mushroom cream sauce.

35 minutes

Serves 4

Dinner

12 min prep

19 min cook

Contains common allergens

Dairy Wheat

In the app, Listahan checks these against your household automatically.

Instructions

6 steps

1
Season flour with salt and pepper on a plate. Dredge the pork cutlets in the flour, shaking off excess.
2
Heat olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the cutlets in batches until golden and cooked through, about 2-3 minutes per side; remove and set aside.
3
Add remaining butter to the skillet and cook mushrooms until browned, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute.
4
Pour in the Marsala wine and simmer 2 minutes to reduce slightly, scraping up browned bits. Add chicken stock and simmer 4 minutes.
5
Stir in the heavy cream and simmer 2 minutes until slightly thickened. Return the cutlets to the skillet and spoon sauce over top to warm through.
6
Garnish with parsley and serve.

Pork Marsala — plated and served — Serving moment. How Pork Marsala looks plated and ready to eat — a representative photo, not a step in the recipe.

Listahan Family Score™

63/100

Works for many families

Allergen-friendly 80

Kid-friendly 55

Weeknight-easy 54

Budget-friendly 68

Great leftovers 65

Pantry-friendly 48

Score reflects how well this recipe fits a typical busy household. In the app, your Family Score is personalized to your household's allergens, kids, and pantry.

Nutrition

per serving

815

Calories

57 g

Protein

17 g

Carbs

52 g

Fat

Estimated per serving. Actual values depend on the brands and portions you use.

Listahan cooking guide

Chef notes & practical guide

Technique notes, ingredient swaps, serve-alongside ideas, storage guidance, and equipment for this recipe.

Cultural context

Marsala is a fortified wine from western Sicily, where it has long been used both for drinking and cooking. In North American Italian-style home cooking, the Marsala pan-sauce treatment often means thin cutlets, browned mushrooms, and a quick reduction that turns the skillet drippings into dinner.

Listahan note

This version keeps the pork thin so it cooks fast, then builds the sauce in the same skillet with mushrooms, Marsala wine, stock, and a small pour of cream. The goal is a savory, spoonable sauce that coats the cutlets without hiding their browned edges.

Technique cues

Shake off extra flour before the pork hits the pan. A light coating browns cleanly and helps the sauce thicken, while a heavy coating can turn pasty.
Give the mushrooms time before adding garlic. They need several minutes to release moisture and brown, and garlic tastes better when it is not asked to survive that whole stretch.
Simmer the Marsala before adding stock and cream. A short reduction takes the raw wine edge down and pulls the browned bits into the sauce.

Kitchen flow

Parallel prep: Slice the mushrooms and mince the garlic while the pork rests after pounding; once cooking starts, the skillet moves quickly.
Make-ahead: Pound and flour the cutlets shortly before cooking, and slice the mushrooms earlier in the day if you want the dinner rush to feel calmer.
Leftover move: Slice leftover pork and spoon it with extra sauce over buttered egg noodles or toasted bread.
Cleanup rhythm: Wipe flour from the counter before searing, then soak the skillet after serving so the creamy sauce releases easily.

Ingredient brief

Role, handling, and swap guidance for each key ingredient.

Pork cutlets

Main protein

Purpose: Thin cutlets cook quickly and give the sauce plenty of browned surface to cling to.

Handling: Pound them to an even thickness so the edges do not overcook before the centers are done.

Adaptation: Thin pork chops can work if pounded; pork tenderloin medallions give a softer bite and cook just as fast.

All-purpose flour

Light dredge

Purpose: The flour encourages browning and gives the pan sauce a little body.

Handling: Season it evenly with the salt and black pepper, then shake each cutlet well after dredging.

Adaptation: Cornstarch makes a lighter, crisper coating, but it browns quickly and needs a careful eye.

Cremini mushrooms

Sauce base

Purpose: Cremini mushrooms bring a deeper, earthier flavor than white mushrooms and stand up well to Marsala.

Handling: Slice them evenly and cook until browned, not just softened.

Adaptation: White mushrooms are milder; a mix of cremini and shiitake adds more savory depth.

Marsala wine

Signature sauce flavor

Purpose: Marsala gives the sauce its rounded wine sweetness, nuttiness, and restaurant-style depth.

Handling: Pour it into the hot skillet and scrape firmly so the browned bits dissolve into the sauce.

Adaptation: Dry Marsala keeps the dish more savory; sweet Marsala makes the sauce rounder and slightly richer.

Chicken stock

Sauce volume

Purpose: Stock stretches the Marsala into a full pan sauce without making it taste thin.

Handling: Simmer it after the wine so the sauce reduces before the cream goes in.

Adaptation: Vegetable stock gives a lighter sauce, while pork stock makes the dish taste heartier.

Heavy cream

Finishing richness

Purpose: A small amount of cream softens the wine and helps the sauce coat the pork.

Handling: Add it near the end and simmer gently so the sauce stays smooth.

Adaptation: Half-and-half gives a lighter finish but may need gentler heat and a shorter simmer.

Technique notes

Cook the pork in batches if the skillet is crowded. Crowding drops the heat and gives you pale cutlets instead of a golden crust.
Keep the sauce at a simmer after the cream goes in. Hard boiling can make the sauce look broken and can over-tighten the pork.
Return the cutlets only long enough to warm through. The pork is already cooked, so this final step is about coating, not simmering.

Ingredient swaps

Wheat-flour swap: Use cornstarch or a cup-for-cup gluten-free flour blend in place of all-purpose flour; either one changes the crust slightly, so keep the coating thin.
Cream-light direction: Use half-and-half instead of heavy cream for a lighter sauce, and simmer gently so it stays smooth.
Mushroom upgrade: Replace half the cremini mushrooms with shiitake mushrooms for a deeper, more savory sauce.
Weeknight shortcut: Buy thin pork cutlets and skip most of the pounding, but still even out any thick spots before dredging.

Serve alongside

Buttered egg noodles
Garlic mashed potatoes
Roasted asparagus with lemon
Arugula salad with shaved Parmesan
Dry Italian white wine
Sparkling lemon water
Unsweetened iced tea

Serving suggestions only — check pairings for your household's allergens.

Storage & reheating

Refrigerate the pork and sauce together in a sealed container for up to 3 days.
Reheat gently in a covered skillet with a splash of chicken stock until the sauce loosens and the pork is hot.
Freeze the cooked pork and sauce up to 2 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat slowly to bring the sauce back together.

Equipment

Large skillet
Meat mallet
Tongs
Shallow plate for dredging

Make this household-aware

Listahan Pro checks this recipe against your household's allergens, finds pantry-aware swaps, builds the shopping list, and helps you plan the week around it.

Get the app