Marsala Substitute: Best Swaps for Chicken and Desserts

The best Marsala substitute is Madeira, a fortified wine that Wine Folly says has a similar taste, and in our view dry sherry is the next best choice. Both work in chicken Marsala and other savory sauces. In desserts, use a sweet Madeira, sweet sherry or Port. If you’re avoiding alcohol, chicken stock with balsamic vinegar and a little sugar is a good route for savory dishes. Whichever you use, first check whether your recipe needs dry or sweet Marsala, because that decides the swap.

Quick substitution table

Substitute	How to use it	Best for	Source
Madeira	1:1	Savory or sweet, matching the style	Wine Folly names it best; 1:1 per Spatula Desserts
Dry sherry	1:1; add a splash of sweet vermouth if it tastes too strong	Savory dishes	The Spruce Eats, Taste of Home; amounts per Spatula Desserts
Amontillado sherry	1:1	Savory sauces and marinades	Spatula Desserts
Port	1:1	Sweeter dishes	Spatula Desserts, The Takeout
White wine plus brandy	1 part brandy, 2 parts white wine, simmered with brown sugar and a touch of salt	Savory dishes	Wine Folly
White wine plus brandy, no simmer	½ cup dry white, 2 teaspoons brandy, 1 teaspoon sugar for ½ cup Marsala	Savory dishes	Spatula Desserts
Chicken stock (no alcohol)	½ cup stock, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1 teaspoon sugar for ½ cup Marsala	Chicken Marsala	Spatula Desserts
White grape juice (no alcohol)	¼ cup juice, 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract for ½ cup Marsala	Sweet or savory	Spatula Desserts

Note: The two white wine and brandy recipes are very different in strength, so taste as you go. Wine Folly’s has far more brandy, and it gives no measurements for the sugar and salt. The Daily Meal also offers a grape juice version, with 1 tablespoon of vanilla instead of 1 teaspoon. We’d start with the smaller amount of vanilla.

Chicken Marsala and other savory dishes

Chicken Marsala calls for dry Marsala. The Spruce Eats’ classic recipe uses ½ cup and warns that swapping in sweet Marsala would likely be an unpleasant surprise. It adds that dry Madeira or sherry can stand in if you can’t find Marsala, and Taste of Home’s FAQ agrees, saying that a dry sherry or Madeira can be used in a pinch, with a slightly different flavor. A second Taste of Home recipe adds Port and moscato as fortified alternatives.

Our order of preference for chicken Marsala

1. Dry Madeira. Our first choice, since Wine Folly rates it the closest in taste. Our Madeira wine guide explains that Sercial is the dry style, and Wine Folly suggests an inexpensive blend such as Finest or Rainwater for cooking.
2. Dry sherry. Spatula Desserts says it isn’t as rich or complex as Marsala but still gives a tasty result, and it says to use drinking sherry rather than cooking sherry. It calls Amontillado a very good dry Marsala substitute, and we’d pick that style too.
3. White wine and brandy. A good choice if you have both open already. Our guide to the best white wine for cooking covers which white to use.

The Takeout suggests looking at the rest of the recipe for guidance: a dry white wine or fruit-forward rosé for seafood, and a red blend for richer meats like pork tenderloin, veal or pot roast. It warns off full-bodied, tannic reds such as Cabernet Sauvignon, and it gives no amounts. Spatula Desserts also offers Pinot Noir: ¾ cup per 1 cup of Marsala, plus a teaspoon of sugar. In our view, a table wine is the option of last resort here, since it misses the caramel note that defines the dish.

Desserts and sweet recipes

Sweet Marsala is the classic choice for zabaglione and tiramisu, as our Marsala wine guide explains. Here the swap needs to bring sweetness.

• Madeira. Spatula Desserts suggests it for cannoli and tiramisu, 1:1. We’d choose a sweet style such as Malmsey, as our Madeira guide explains.
• Port or sweet sherry. The Takeout lists both, along with Madeira, for sweeter uses, and Spatula Desserts says Port is best in sweeter dishes.
• Dry Marsala. If you have the wrong bottle, Wine Folly says dry Marsala can stand in for sweet, but generally not the other way around. It gives no amounts; in a dessert, we’d add sugar to taste.

We’d avoid the stock mix here, and in zabaglione the wine is the main flavor, so a real fortified wine is worth buying. A dessert with no cooking after the wine goes in keeps most of its alcohol, so use the grape juice mix if anyone avoids it.

Alcohol-free options

• Chicken stock mix (savory). Spatula Desserts calls this probably the best alcohol-free option for chicken Marsala: ½ cup chicken stock, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar and 1 teaspoon sugar replace ½ cup of Marsala. Add it the same way you would the wine.
• White grape juice mix (sweet or savory). Spatula Desserts combines ¼ cup white grape juice, 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to replace ½ cup of Marsala. With red grape juice, it leaves out the vanilla.
• Juice and herbs. The Takeout suggests fresh herbs with lemon, lime or grapefruit juice, or pineapple or orange juice in a pinch, without amounts.

Regular vanilla extract contains alcohol, so choose a non-alcoholic one if that matters. Our guide to non-alcoholic wine explains the label terms, though none of these sources gives a ratio for it.

What to avoid

Salted cooking Marsala. Taste of Home notes that Marsala cooking wine is available at most grocery stores, but says a higher-quality bottle from the wine aisle gives a more robust sauce. Bottles sold as cooking wine are usually salted, as our cooking wine guide explains, so if it’s all you have, cut back the salt in the recipe.

Sweet Marsala in a savory dish. Wine Folly says sweet generally can’t stand in for dry, and The Spruce Eats warns of an unpleasant surprise in chicken Marsala. In our view, the same goes for Port or a sweet Madeira in a mushroom sauce.

If you can find real Marsala

For a recipe where it’s the star, the real thing is worth it. Look for a Marsala Fine or Superiore in the oro or ambra style, labeled secco for savory cooking and dolce for dessert. Our Marsala wine guide walks through the label. Fortified wines keep well once opened, so a bottle will last for many dinners; our chart of how long wine lasts after opening has the details.