Marry Me Chicken
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Marry me chicken is sure to win hearts! This creamy, flavorful chicken dish comes together in a flash, packed with rich, sun-dried tomato goodness—perfect for a quick weeknight dinner or a special meal.
Marry Me Chicken is a dish of tender sautéed chicken in a rich and creamy sun-dried tomato sauce. The recipe gained popularity after going viral on TikTok, where it was touted as so delicious, it will win the heart of anyone you cook it for.
Using ready-to-cook thinly sliced chicken breasts, my Marry Me Chicken recipe is quick and easy to make in just 30 minutes. While I can’t guarantee it’ll make someone profess their undying love to you, the balance of flavors in the dish does make it hard to resist!
Serve the chicken with garlic bread and roasted broccoli. If you’d like to add some extra greens, simply toss a few handfuls of baby spinach into the sauce before adding the chicken back to the pan.
“Quick, easy, and beyond delicious!”
What You’ll Need To Make Marry Me Chicken
- All-Purpose Flour: Used for coating the chicken, giving it a light crust that helps thicken the sauce.
- Thin-Sliced Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: Chosen for their quick cooking time and tender texture. If you’d like to use regular breasts, cut them in half horizontally to form flat fillets, then pound them until they are between ⅛ and ¼-inch thick.
- Onion and Garlic: These aromatics form the flavor base for the sauce.
- Heavy Cream: Creates a rich, creamy sauce that envelops the chicken. While heavy cream yields the best results, half-and-half can be used for a lighter version.
- Chicken Broth: Adds savory depth, complementing the creaminess of the sauce.
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes: Provide a tangy, concentrated tomato flavor that brightens the dish.
- Tomato Paste: Intensifies the tomato flavor.
- Oregano and Red Pepper Flakes: Add a touch of earthy flavor and a slight kick.
- Grated Parmigiano Reggiano: Adds a salty, nutty element. For the best flavor, stick with authentic Parmigiano Reggiano—it’s richer and more complex than domestic Parmesan cheese.
- Basil: Lends freshness and color.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Add the flour, ¾ teaspoon salt, and black pepper to a ziplock bag and shake to mix. Add the chicken, seal the bag tightly, and shake to coat the chicken evenly. Set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet. Place the floured chicken in the pan, shaking off any excess. Cook until the chicken is lightly golden brown and just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions to the skillet. Cook, stirring often, until softened and translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Stir in the cream, broth, sun-dried tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, red pepper flakes, sugar, and ¼ teaspoon salt, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and gently boil, uncovered, until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the Parmigiano Reggiano (or Pecorino Romano) and basil.
Add the chicken back to the pan, along with any juices that accumulated on the plate; reduce the heat to low and simmer until the chicken is warmed through and the sauce thickens a bit more.
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Marry Me Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 thin-sliced chicken breasts, (about 1¼ lbs/567 g); see note
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ⅓ cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, plus more for serving
Instructions
- Place the flour, ¾ teaspoon salt, and the black pepper in a ziplock bag and shake to combine. Add the chicken to the bag; seal the bag tightly and shake to coat the chicken evenly. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Place the flour-dusted chicken in the pan and cook, flipping once, until the chicken is lightly golden and just cooked through, about 3 minutes total. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions to the skillet. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened and translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds more; do not brown. Add the cream, broth, sun-dried tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, red pepper flakes, sugar, and ¼ teaspoon salt; use a wooden spoon to scrape any brown bits from the pan into the liquid. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and gently boil, uncovered, until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the Parmigiano Reggiano (or Pecorino Romano) and basil. Add the chicken back to the pan, along with any juices that accumulated on the plate; reduce the heat to low and simmer until the chicken is warmed through and the sauce thickens a bit more, 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle with more fresh basil, if desired, and serve.
Notes
Pair with
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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This is so delicious!! I can’t wait to make it again. It’s right up there with your Peruvian chicken recipe. I added some canned artichokes hearts to it. It reminds me of a recipe I used to make a few years ago with fresh artichokes, but that was way more labor-intensive.
Delicious and so easy. I didn’t have sun-dried tomatoes on their own but did have sun-dried tomato pesto. did add a little more salt. Sauce would probably go well with fish.
Hi Jenn,
Can I use chicken thighs boneless/skinless and pounded a little for this recipe?
Thanks,
Garilee
I wouldn’t recommend thighs here — I think the extra fat in them will make the sauce too greasy.
Hi Jenn. I have sun dried tomatoes with Chipotle, would these work? If so, should I omit the red pepper flakes? Thanks! Jan
Sure, Jan – I think those would work and, yes, I would omit the red pepper flakes. Enjoy!
We didn’t care for this unfortunately. It was dry , and a very tart taste!
This was absolutely phenomenal! Didn’t change a thing. The chicken came out moist and delicious.
I saw this recipe on your website a couple of days ago. I love sundried tomatoes so much that I had to make it. Last night I did it and it came out sooooooooooooooooooooo good! Happy table last night.
Hi Jenn,
I simply love everything of yours I’ve ever tried (and even test baked a couple items for your last cookbook). I was wondering if this recipe would work with boneless, skinless thighs? Thanks,
Kathleen
Hi Kathleen, So glad you like the recipes! 🙂
I wouldn’t recommend chicken thighs here. Because they’re thicker, the cook time would be different. They’re also fattier and I’m concerned that it would make the sauce too greasy. Sorry!
What do you suggest as substitutes to make this dish dairy-free? Would nutritional yeast work for the Parmesan? Plant milk for the heavy cream?
Hi Adele, nutritional yeast should work in place of the Parmesan, or you can just omit the cheese. I think plant milk will be too thin as a substitute for heavy cream. For a non-dairy option, some readers have commented that they’ve used Rich’s non-dairy coffee creamer (frozen) and Trader Joe’s unflavored non-dairy creamer. (Please keep in mind that I haven’t tried either of these.) Please LMK how the dish comes out if you make it with any of these substitutes!
Can I substitute sun dried tomato paste for the jarred sun dried tomatoes?
Hi Nancy, I don’t recommend using the paste – sorry!
Love the name of this dish, and I am certain if someone made this recipe for a romantic pursuit, their love guest would propose before they finished their meal. It was amazing and not difficult to make. I will confidently make it for guests. Thanks, Jenn.
Absolutely delicious! Made it exactly as written——so good!
My picky “don’t put gravey on anything” husband just LOVED this. It was easy to make and absolutely goof proof! I will definitely make this again. Jenn, your recipes never disapoint❤️