Juicy chicken and mushrooms in a madeira cream sauce under melty cheese and asparagus… all you need is mashed potatoes to go with it. This creamy Chicken Madeira is one of the most popular menu item at the Cheesecake Factory. It is popular for good reason! We love recreating our favorite restaurant copycat recipes like this one from Olive Garden!
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The madeira cream sauce has incredible flavor. You will want to dip your bread into the pan before the night is over and get every last drop of it. This Chicken Madeira recipe tastes fancy and will impress your family, dinner guests or your special someone for a date night in! This is one of our favorite copycat recipes.
Everyone in our family loved this Chicken Madeira, even the baby! My Mom was particularly impressed (she was trained as a chef so naturally when Mom is impressed, I’m beaming!).
This made for a lovely and fancy dinner and there was nothing overly difficult about it. Now you can also enjoy homemade Chicken Madeira for a fraction of the price!
Watch How to Make Chicken Madeira Recipe:
We went to the Cheesecake Factory on our Anniversary for my husbands’ first (and my second) time ever and ordered their world famous Chicken Madeira. It was love at first bite and we just knew we had to recreate this dish at home.
We made a copycat Chicken Madeira, except I love the homemade version even better! And, when you make it at home, you can feed a family of 4 for the cost of 1 serving at the restaurant. This is why we love copycat recipes so much!
Ingredients for Easy Chicken Madeira Recipe:
These simple ingredients work together to make a memorable one-pan dinner. If the wine section of your grocery store does not have Madeira, check at the liquor and wine store – I purchased this bottle for $6. If you aren’t able to find Madeira wine, you can substitute with Marsala wine which is also a sweet wine although it will taste more like chicken marsala ;).
How to Make Copycat Chicken Madeira:
1. To blanch asparagus: Remove fibrous stems from asparagus by snapping them off (watch video above). To blanch asparagus, fill a medium pot with 6 cups water, bring to a boil and add 1 Tbsp salt. Add asparagus and boil uncovered until crisp tender and bright green (2-3 minutes then remove immediately from hot water and set aside).
2. Place a large heavy (oven-safe) pan over medium/high heat and melt in 2 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp oil. Add thickly sliced mushrooms and cook 5 minutes until soft. Stir in diced onion and cook 3 minutes. Add minced garlic cloves then season with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper and 2 Tbsp fresh parsley. Cook another 2 minutes then remove mixture to a plate and wipe skillet clean with wet paper towel.
3. Slice chicken breasts in half lengthwise and pound each cutlet between plastic wrap until no more than 1/4″ thick. Season chicken breasts all over with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Place same pan over medium/high heat and add 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp oil. When butter is finished foaming, add chicken breasts and saute 3 to 4 minutes per side or until golden brown and cooked through. Remove chicken from pan to the same plate as mushrooms.
4. In the same pan, add 1 1/2 cups Madeira and boil until reduced by half (5 minutes of vigorous boiling), scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Add 1 1/2 cups beef broth and boil until 2/3 cup liquid remains or about 1/4 of it’s original volume (10 min). Reduce heat to medium, add 1/2 cup cream and simmer until sauce thickens (2 min). Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste and turn off heat.
5. Return chicken to the pan, turning it to coat in the sauce. Top with mushrooms, asparagus and sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella cheese over the top. Broil 3-4 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven, garnish with fresh parsley.
Are you hungry yet? This dish always gets rave reviews at the dinner table and it’s so good paired with Mashed Potatoes. I hope it becomes a new favorite for your family.
Our Most Popular Chicken Recipes:
- Chicken Avocado Salad – our #1 most popular chicken recipe
- Spatchcock Chicken – the juiciest way to roast a whole chicken
- Garlic Butter Stuffed Chicken – you won’t believe what’s inside!
- Stuffed Chicken Parmesan – a classic chicken recipe just got better
Chicken Madeira Recipe (Cheesecake Factory Copycat)
Ingredients
- 1 lb Chicken Breasts (2 large)
- 1 lb asparagus, blanched*
- 3/4 tsp sea salt, divided, and black pepper to taste
- 3 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, divided
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 16 oz button mushrooms, thickly sliced
- 1 small or 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped, plus to garnish
- 1 1/2 cups Madeira Wine, sweet white wine*
- 1 1/2 cups low sodium beef stock or broth
- 1/2 cup Whipping Cream, heavy or regular
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
Instructions
- To blanch asparagus: Remove fibrous stems from asparagus by snapping them off. Fill a medium pot with 6 cups water, bring to a boil and add 1 Tbsp salt. Add asparagus and boil uncovered until crisp tender and bright green (2-3 minutes then remove from hot water and set aside).
- Place a large heavy (oven-safe) pan over medium/high heat and melt in 2 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp oil. Add sliced mushrooms and cook 5 min until soft. Stir in diced onion and cook 3 min. Add minced garlic cloves then season with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper and 2 Tbsp parsley. Cook another 2 min then remove mixture to a plate and wipe skillet clean with wet paper towel.
- Slice chicken breasts in half lengthwise and pound each cutlet between plastic wrap until no more than 1/4" thick. Season chicken all over with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Place same pan over medium/high heat and add 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp oil. When butter is finished foaming, add chicken breasts and sauté 3 to 4 min per side or until golden and cooked through. Remove chicken from pan to the same plate with mushrooms.
- In the same pan, add 1 1/2 cups Madeira and boil until reduced by half (5 minutes vigorous boiling), scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Add 1 1/2 cups beef broth and boil until 2/3 cup liquid remains or about 1/4 of it's original volume (10 min). Reduce heat to medium, add 1/2 cup cream and simmer until sauce thickens (2 min). Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Return chicken to the pan, turning it to coat in the sauce. Top with mushrooms, asparagus and sprinkle with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese over the top. Broil 3-4 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven, garnish with fresh parsley.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
This chicken madeira recipe is easy and so good – just the way it should be. And, it’s so smart to dine in, especially if you are feeding a crowd!
My husband and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary with this dish. 14 years feels just few by and we now have an 8 year old and 2 year old. WOAH!! I am so thankful that we are best friends after all these years and that we not only love, but really like each other – and we work side by side day after day. The longer I am married to my husband, the more I just want to be around him and with him. Our date nights are few and far between but they are a treat!
Q: What is your favorite celebration dish and restaurant? I’d love to hear about it in a comment below!
P.S. If you love one-pan chicken recipes, make sure to check out this reader favorite (EASY) pesto chicken!
Would you please share what brand of Madeira wine you used? Hoping that might make it easier to find. Thank you!
Hi Heather, we have a photo of it in the recipe post. For this recipe, we used a $6 wine called the Paul Masson California Madeira wine.
If I can’t find Madeira wine what other wine can use as substitute
Hi Christine, We haven’t tried another substitution since the Madeira wine is what makes the flavor. If you are looking to make it completely wine-free, you could use more broth, but the flavor profile wouldn’t be quite the same. There are other wines, but they’re just not the same.
This meal was absolutely AMAZING! The family asked for it to be added to the rotation list, which is huge when you have a 13 and 8 year old! I can not wait to try more of your recipes!!!
That is the best when kids love what we moms make. That’s so great!
Is the sauce supposed to thicken? Mine is really runny. But overall very good
Hi Nancy, It is a light cream sauce. You can thicken it by simmering longer, but it is meant to be a light sauce and not thick. I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I made this a month ago with a Pinot Grigio because I couldn’t find Madeira wine. I thought it was delicious. I went to CF and ordered chicken Madeira. Either they made it different than it’s supposed to be, it lacked flavor. There were no onions, or cream sauce. Way to sweet for me. I liked your version the best. Won’t order CF version again.
I’m so glad you loved it more than Cheesecake Factory! That is an amazing review and thank you!
I love you page! I used your madeira sauce recipe to recreate a dish a relative used to make and I miss so much. I used filet mignon instead of chicken, no asparagus, and served over simple spaghetti aglio e olio. It was amazing and reminded me of that dish. Thanks you!
Yum! That sounds delicious! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
Best recipe EVER!!! We don’t go out very often and this chicken Madeira was my go to at the Cheesecake Factory… thanks to you I can do this at home anytime… and all my little ones loved it…. this is definitely a keeper!
Aww, that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I’m all smiles
Question: I have a glass top stove and I am afraid to use cast iron on it due to scratching and potential breakage. What can I use instead?
Hi Pan, a seasoned stainless steel pan (which is more non-stick) or any oven-safe pan will work here.
Made this tonight. First thing my husband said was “ this one is a keeper”. It was delicious!
Wow, that’s so awesome! Thanks to you both for your wonderful feedback.
I want to make chicken Madeira for 6 people. I don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. What can be done in advance? Can I cook the mushrooms and chicken before company arrives and make the sauce fresh while they are here. What would you recommend?
Hi Diane, yes to make the entire dish ahead, let it cool to room temp then refrigerate. Before serving, complete that last step of putting it in the oven until hot and the cheese is melted over the top. You might need a few extra minutes in the oven since it is going in chilled from refrigeration. I suggest checking the chicken temperature with an instant-read thermometer to make sure it reaches the correct internal temperature of 165˚F.
Thanks. That would work well and keep me in the party entertaining. It can heat while we have appetizers. I’m using your recipe for Shrimp in lettuce wraps with peanut sauce as the appetizer. My guests will all be so impressed. Both recipes are so delicious!!
One of our favourite “special” dinners at home is tarragon cream chicken. It is just heavenly. Pure comfort!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Just curious, why not chicken broth instead of beef broth?
Hi Beth, It could be substituted for chicken broth successfully if you have it on hand.
Natasha, this was probably my favorite chicken recipe of all time. The asparagus was so good with the sauce. Who am I kidding, everything was good with that sauce. Once again, thanks for the recipe.
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
Hi Natasha,
I’ve always wanted to try this but I’m not allowed to cook with alcohol… even tho I understand it burns off in the cooking process. What non alcoholic substitutes will give the closest flavour? Could you please suggest what proportions as well. Thank you so much!
Hi Rez, most of the alcohol is cooked out in the pan, so you get the added flavor, and the sauce ends up with an insignificant amount of alcohol, which isn’t really a concern. My children loved this. We haven’t tried another substitution since the Madeira wine is what makes the flavor. If you are looking to make it completely wine-free, you could just use more broth, but the flavor profile wouldn’t be quite the same.
This was my first try at making chicken Madeira, and the only comparison I could make was to Cheesecake Factory! It’s like the only thing I order from there. Lol It came out sooooooo much better than Cheesecake Factory!! I will def save this recipe and add it as my one of my staple meals. My boyfriend def enjoyed it too. The sauce came over very savory, and worked as a nice gravy to my mashed potatoes.
Wow, what an amazing review! Thank you so much for your perfect rating and feedback.
Tonight is Valentine’s Day and this is my 5th time making this!! Chicken Madeira is my FAVORITE dish at Cheesecake Factory, we would have ordered this in otherwise… but I love this more. I don’t even need the potatoes! After the first time, my husband didn’t need to be convinced to finally get an oven safe pan. EVEN BETTER THE NEXT TIME!! Thank you for sharing this!
Wow, that is so awesome! I’m really happy to hear that you are loving this recipe. Thanks for your wonderful comments and review!
I plan on making this dish this weekend but we do not eat meat – only fish. I presume I could substitute cod for chicken right? any difference on cooking time?
Hi Tony, great question. I haven’t tried this with fish to advise on cook time. If you happen to experiment, I would love to know how you like this recipe.
I made this recipe today. It was a hit. Your recipes never disappoint. Thanks!
I’m happy to hear that, Dan. Thank you so much for sharing!
I made this tonight for dinner and my family rated it a 10! I’m thankful for the Madeira substitute in the comments below, as I could not find it anywhere but the Sauvignon and apple juice worked great! Love your blog and recipes, thank you!
I’m so happy that worked! Thank you for that wonderful feedback.
Hi! My son helped me made this for dinner tonight. It was super delicious, thank you for sharing.
Aww, that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I’m all smiles