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!
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
I loved the recipe, but I have to tell you, when I added the Madiera to my pot, it went on fire! I had to put the cover on to stop the flames.
I hope nothing serious happened. Make sure to add next time when you’re cooking on low heat.
Thank you for the recipe, Natasha! It turned out great, but I’ll make a couple of small changes next time. First, I should have used half an onion per the recipe instead of a whole one, to avoid overpowering the Madeira. Second, I’ll drain the mushroom mixture in a colander to keep the sauce from becoming a little runny.
Sounds good, those minor changes will work too! Thank you for sharing, David.
So good. I will make this again. Had to reduce the wine and beef stock much longer than it said in recipe instructions.
Thanks for sharing, Kim. No worries, feel free to do that next time and it will still be delicious!
I haven’t tried this yet, but I am 75 minutes into making this and I still am waiting in the liquid to reduce, return everything to the Ian, etc. I’m sure it will be amazing, but total time needs some adjustment?!
How did it go? In the video thhe sauce is intended to stay pretty thin and isn’t thick like an alfredo sauce.
What brand of madeira and marsala? I’ve found that despite the type, the recipes can very significantly.
Hi Kell! I’ve used different brands before. You can reference the image above to see the bottle I used for this recipe.
My family love this meal! I have cooked it often… but tonight the alcohol caught fire giving me quit the fright. If cooking on a gas burner have the lid to your pan at hand.
Oh no! I’m glad nothing serious happened.
This is my absolute favorite dish. It tastes exactly like the CF version. I am so happy that I can now have this at home instead of waiting for a special dining out occasion. I have done it with Madeira and Marsala and both are incredible. I made the recipe exactly as written, no substitutions. When eating it at the restaurant, it seems like it would be intimidating to try and make at home, but the instructions were clear and easy to follow. I now get to enjoy this several times a year.
Hello Erice, great to hear from you and thank you for sharing that with us. We’re glad that you enjoyed both versions!
I also made it and it came out ok. I’d really like the sauce ingredients that they serve with it
Excellent copycat recipe. I used boneless thighs (love the flavor over breast meat). My father, who doesn’t prefer chicken, even enjoyed it. Bought a nice bottle of Madeira from local liquor store. Made my beef broth from Better Than Bouillon base (it’s so rich tasting). Used sliced baby portobellos. Added a handful of capers to the sauce (is a great touch! TRY THIS). Added the asparagus and cheese as last step before the gas broiler. Came out sizzling. Made roasted garlic and chive mashed potatoes as a side. Food coma afterwards. Will definitely make again.
Hi Martin! That sounds wonderful. I’m so glad you loved the recipe! Thank you for sharing your experience with the recipe.
Hi,
Everything turned out well except I think I burnt the sauces. I did what you said with the Madeira 5 min and beef broth 10 min on high heat. Then I added the cream later on medium heat. I am wondering what I could do differently…
Hi Nikki! I’m sorry to hear that. It could be the type of pan used since heat is distributed differently depending on the type of material it’s made of. You could try using lower heat or a different pan.
I’ve made this dish with your recipe several times, and it’s a favorite! I’m glad you were able to replicate their dish. My favorite side is mashed potatoes – goes so well with the sauce. (Tried rice tonight and not quite as good as the potatoes.) Thanks for the recipe!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your excellent review, Lois! I’m so glad you found a favorite on my blog!
I just made this. It was amazing. Restaurant quality for sure. I used chicken tenderloins and perconi dried mushrooms I followed the recipe to a T. It was amazing make this if you want to impress someone
Thanks for following the recipe, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
This recipe is amazing. I increased the servings and like how the recipe auto adjusted.
I also made extra sauce as I wanted to serve pasta with it instead is the asparagus. One other thing I did was to add a heaping tablespoon of tomato paste before I added in the heavy cream. My family raves about the dish.
Hi Patty! I’m so glad you love the recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Natasha could you do this in an electric pressure cooker and if do how long for please?
Hi! I have not tested that to advise. I think it could work but you’d have to experiment with it.
Hi Natasha! will it still be good without asparagus? Thanks
you!
Yes, it will! 🙂
This recipe was so delicious! My husband and I really loved this dish. Very tasty and easy to prepare.
So glad you enjoyed it, Terry! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Good dish. The sauce seemed like it might be much and was afraid it would be too heavy, so I reduced the liquids; reduced the proportion of Madeira to broth, and used only a small amount of half-and-half. I also added some thyme to the sauce. I suspected the sauce would be too thin so I added some flour to the hot pan before the liquids, but it still turned out thin. Nevertheless, the sauce was great and just the right amount with the reduction.
Hi Phyllis, as you can see in the video, the sauce is intended to stay pretty thin and isn’t thick like an alfredo sauce. I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Hello! I have made this several times and it is soooooo delicious! Would it be possible to make this with Shrimp and Scallops? If so, how would i make those substitutions?
Hi Beth! That sounds delicious. I imagine it could work but I haven’t tested it myself to advise.
It was AMAZING! I simply sautéed shrimp and scallops and added it to the pan before melting the cheese. 🤤
Sounds great, so glad you loved it!
Could you use chicken broth instead of beef broth since it is a chicken recipe?
Hi Louise, we prefer it with the beef broth, it pairs nicely with this dish, but chicken broth can also be substituted. I hope you love this recipe!
I made your recipe and followed the instructions as written, and it turned out amazing! Cheesecake Factory’s Chicken Madeira is one of my husband’s favorite foods. I’m so happy to be able to make it at home. My boys loved it too! Thank you!!!
Yay, that’s great news and yes, you can now both enjoy this recipe anytime you’re both craving for this!
Hey natasha, I don’t have a broiler in my oven. Since it seems you’re mostly just using it to meld everything together and melt the cheese, maybe could I get away with just putting it in a high oven for a few minutes?
I Dere, I bet that could work. Under the broiler, you are just melting the cheese essentially. If you test it, let me know how it goes.