There are some similarities, but chicken piccata will have lemon juice as its main flavor, is often accompanied by capers, and if wine is used to cook it, it will be a dry white wine. Whereas chicken marsala has marsala wine as the base of the sauce and often contains mushrooms, onions and herbs for flavor. Both dishes are classic Italian recipes and are famous throughout the world, but gained popularity in the United States in Italian restaurants owned by Italian immigrants. Both dishes are usually made with chicken cutlets, but you can find versions of these dishes with veal and pork as well.