Marry Me Chicken

Absolutely delicious Marry Me chicken recipe combining tender chicken with a flavorful sauce that comes together in 25 minutes.

Marry me chicken is a popular chicken dish on the Internet. Is the hype real?

Spoiler. It really is. Plus, the recipe only takes 25 minutes for you to find out, so why not try it? I don’t know a man’s heart being through his stomach, mine definitely is!

My trick to make it lip-smacking good is to coat the sides of the chicken breasts in some flour – it will make them crispy and the inside meat moist and juicy.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It is done in 25 minutes. You can time yourself!
• A restaurant-quality dish in your kitchen with simple, affordable ingredients.
• One pan chicken dinner for busy weeknights that will satisfy every picky eater.
• Versatile protein. Make chicken pasta, and serve Marry Me chicken with rice, potatoes, or veggies, options are endless as chicken and creamy sauce pair well with pretty much anything.

Ingredients Notes

See the recipe card for the exact measurements and steps.

• Chicken breast. You can use boneless chicken breasts, but if you want tenderer meat you can also get boneless skinless chicken thighs – the dark meat is softer. I cooked the breasts whole, but you can also slice them into thin cutlets. Chicken cutlets are also available in supermarkets.
• All-purpose flour or gluten-free flour will thicken the creamy texture but also make a perfect crust on the chicken breasts.
• Salt and pepper
• Unsalted butter. Instead of olive oil, I use butter to cook chicken, it is an old trick to get the best and richest flavors out of the chicken and keep the meat juicy.
• Minced garlic or thinly sliced garlic for aromas and flavors. Chicken and garlic are a match made in heaven.
• Heavy cream – the base of our cream sauce, will make a rich, smooth, comforting, sauce.
• Sun-dried tomatoes or regular tomato paste or canned tomatoes if you don’t like sundried tomatoes or looking for a cheaper substitute.
• Baby spinach. An amazing way to make any meal healthier is to use some leafy greens, and baby spinach is perfect for that – tender, smaller leaves, and cooks fast.
• Freshly grated parmesan cheese for the sauce to be super cheesy and thick.

Kitchen Equipment

• Large skillet
• Optional, meat thermometer

How To Make Marry Me Chicken Recipe

1: Sear The Chicken Breasts

1. Lay the chicken out on a plate or prep tray.
2. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with the flour, salt, and pepper.
3. Melt 2 tbsp of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. (If you want to use vegetable oil, heat olive oil in the skillet over medium-high heat).
4. Once melted, add the seasoned chicken breasts and cook for 4-5 minutes – or until cooked through. The internal temperature should be 165 F.
5. They should be golden brown on both sides. Remove from the skillet and let them rest on a plate while you make the sauce.

2: Make The Creamy Sauce

1. Add the remaining butter to the same skillet with the garlic, cooking until fragrant.
2. Reduce the heat to low and add the heavy cream and sundried tomatoes. Bring to a gentle simmer.

3: Add Parmesan Cheese

Stir in the spinach and parmesan, simmering until the cheese has melted.

4: Add Back The Chicken

1. Nestle the cooked chicken into the sauce to coat before serving.
2. Drizzle additional sauce on top of the chicken to serve.

What Do You Have With Marry Me Chicken?

The best way to serve Marry Me chicken is with pasta or some noodles, but you can enjoy it with some rice, creamy mashed potatoes, or roasted veggies(broccoli, asparagus, green beans, and so on).

Some crusty bread or garlic bread on the side is really nice too, to dip into the creamy sauce.

If you want to keep it low-carb, eat Marry Me chicken with some salad.

Storage

You won’t have any leftovers, but in case you did. You can refrigerate Marry me chicken for 4 days in an airtight container.

To reheat, warm it up in the pan over medium-low heat until warm all the way through or in an oven-safe dish until the chicken’s internal temperature is 165F.

The creamy sauce can become grainy when frozen and defrosted, but you can still freeze Marry Me chicken for up to 2 months.

Substitutions & Variations

• Flavor enhancers. Jazz up seasonings and you will get different flavors. For ex., add red pepper flakes, chili flakes (less hot), Italian seasoning, or dried herbs of your choice (oregano and themes are the best herbs for this recipe).
• For adults-only chicken dinners, you can use white wine as the sauce base. It will make ultra-rich and deep flavor. Wine is also great for deglazing the pan after cooking skinless chicken breasts.
• The cream sauce can use half and half, coconut cream, or coconut milk (vegan) instead of heavy cream.
• The sauce base will have even more flavor if you add chicken broth or vegetable stock.
• Marry Me Chicken Pasta. If you want to make marry me chicken pasta, add the chicken breasts to the cooked pasta. Toss everything together to make sure the sauce coats the pasta, top with some chopped fresh basil leaves and additional parmesan cheese, and serve.

Popular Questions

Why Do They Call It Marry Me Chicken?

The anecdotal situation led to this chicken dish name. According to New York Times, one time Lindsay Funston – editor at The Kitchn cooked a dish with chicken, creamy sauce, herbs, and sun-dried tomatoes, and when her video producer tried it, he said that he could marry her for that chicken.

Apparently, it went viral because it was tastier than Ina Garten’s “Engagement Roast Chicken”.

In short, this chicken dinner is so good that it can very well lead to a proposal or at least, loving eyes and praise from your partner.

What Is The Difference Between Marry Me Chicken And Tuscan Chicken?

Both Marry Me chicken and Tuscan chicken use cream sauce with sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, cream, and Parmesan cheese.

However, in the Marry Me chicken recipe the chicken is coated in flour and seared in butter, and in the Tuscan chicken recipe, the chicken is usually just cooked in olive oil.

However, due to so many variations of the recipe, Marry Me chicken is often called Tuscan chicken.

Is Marry Me Chicken Better With Pasta Or Rice?

Marry Me chicken is a versatile protein recipe, and while people love it over pasta, you can have it with white or brown rice too to make a low-carb meal.

Why Is My Marry Me Chicken Sauce Not Thickening?

If you added extra chicken broth or stock, the sauce became too thin. You can add some flour or cornstarch or try simmering it for longer to make it thicker. Adding Parmesan cheese and slightly increasing the heat also helps with thickening the sauce.

If you love this skillet dinner recipe, you’re going to love these other easy skillet recipes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!

More Tuscan-Inspired Dinners

Creamy Garlic Tuscan Chicken

Tuscan Ravioli Soup

Rosa Sauce Chicken Penne Pasta

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