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 I be able to make this the night before and then bake before serving the next day?
Hi Lauren, yes that would work, but it will need slightly longer in the oven if you are putting it in when it is cold.
I’ll bring close to room temperature. Just wanted to make sure the sauce wouldn’t get weird. Thank you!
I made this last night for my husband and I and it was awesome. Beautiful presentation as well. I will be making this many more times and share the recipe with friends and family.
I’m glad you both enjoy the recipe so much! Thanks for sharing your wonderful review Pamela!
I know this may seem like a silly question, but if the food is cooked with wine should children be allowed to eat?
Hi Tam, most of the alcohol is cooked out in the pan so you just 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 🙂
Thank you so much for your reply. Although I’m a grown woman, I’m really just learning to cook. So I lnowvthe wuestion might have seemed a little silly, but I just didn’t know. It oooks delicious and I’m ready to attempt to make 😀.
You’re welcome Tam, it’s my pleasure! 😊
What brand, model and size pan are you using? I have had problems finding the right large pan to use and I like the one in your video.
Hi Susan, it is a Staub braiser. I have a link to the specific one in the post (see step 2). 🙂
Looks Yummy.I don’t care for asparagus,would another vegetable work?
Hi Marlene, one of my readers reported great results with broccoli and another with green beans.
Wow, this was amazing!
I’m glad you love it just as much as I do! Thanks for sharing Rachel!
I don’t consume alcohol. Can I leave out the alcohol and put more stock? Can I use vegetable stock instead?
Thanks,
Hi Ayesha, It would probably still taste good with just the vegetable stock and some extra seasonings – maybe a splash of lemon juice, but it would no longer be a Chicken Madeira – the madeira wine gives it a unique, sweet flavor profile.
Although it will yield much different results, you can sub white grape juice or a mixture of grape juice, vinegar and lemon juice.
Thank you.
I ended up using vegetable broth and it was delicious.
My Favorite!!! Sometimes the sauce is thin… How do I thickien it?
Hi Shannon, to thicken up the sauce, I would cook it down a 2-3 minutes extra before adding chicken back to the pan.
Thank you I will try that! My family absolutely loves it. 🙂
Made this tonight…modified just slightly by adding some jambalaya seasoning to the broth..mine didn’t thicken up well so added a handful of bomba rice…the hubster put it to the MAKE AGAIN list…lol…
That’s great! I’m so glad to hear you both enjoy the recipe! Thanks for sharing Lucinda!
Hi! This would be perfect for a low carb diet(which I’m on). Is there a substitute for the wine?
Hi Lavi, I have made a similar sauce with marsala wine or even merlot wine (with my filet mignon) if that helps.
We don’t drink or cook with wine, is there anything I could use in place of the wine to make it similar?
Hi Ashlee, there really isn’t anything besides other varieties of wine that would provide the same depth of flavor. It would probably still taste good with just the broth and some extra seasonings – maybe a splash of lemon juice, but it would no longer be a Chicken Madeira.
I’ve tried this recepy wow was soo delicious.
I’m glad you love it Diane! Thanks so much for sharing!
Just made this. Was awesome!!!
Only change I made was boneless thighs instead of breasts (family likes dark meat), and chopped the asparagus into bite size before the broiler.
Very rich and tasty sauce. Would be a good choice for dinner guests too😉
I’m glad to hear the recipe is a HIT!! Thanks for sharing your excellent review Mary! 🙂
Tried today and it turned out delicious!!!
Awesome! I’m happy to hear that Mila! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Natasha! mogu vmesto chiken polzovat’ beef?
thank you..
Hi Mary, I would suggest following the instructions in this recipe for the beef. It depends on the cut of beef and you would need to cook it to desired doneness. I hope that helps :).
What would be a substitute for the cream?
Hi Linda, you could omit it and the recipe would still work although we do like the sauce a little creamier. I haven’t tried any substitutions so I can’t really offer any advice on that. Sorry I can’t be more helpful!
This is so good! I used Marsala wine because that’s what I had. Everyone approved. Thank you!
You’re welcome Amie! I’m glad to hear the recipe is a HIT! Thanks for sharing your great review!
The best👌🏻
I’m glad you love it Marinela! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Hello, is there an alternative wine I can use? I can’t seem to find the wine needed for this dish?
Hi Ashley, I have made a similar sauce with marsala wine or even merlot wine (with my filet mignon) if that helps.
Made this twice. It is a family favorite now. This recipe is easy and the dish is delicious! Thank you!
You’re welcome Chrissy! I’m glad to hear the recipe is a HIT with your family! Thanks for sharing your great review!