Marry Me Chicken (Chicken in a Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce)

Marry me chicken is about to become your new favorite chicken recipe! This crowd-pleaser takes juicy, tender chicken breasts and marries them with an incredible parmesan cream sauce, sun dried tomatoes, and fresh basil for a rich, flavorful main course everyone will love.

Looking for a dairy-free, paleo-friendly, and/or Whole30-compliant version of this amazing recipe? Check out our Whole30 Marry Me Chicken (Paleo, Dairy Free)!

What Makes This Recipe So Good

• If your partner isn’t already head-over-heels in love with you then one bite of this chicken recipe will have them ready to propose! Okay, maybe we can’t guarantee that, but that’s the theory behind the name! Marry me chicken is a dish so incredible that you’ll hear music, see hearts floating in the air, and feel compelled to profess your undying adoration. Serve with caution.
• Given the rich flavors of the sauce, it’s almost hard to believe how simple this recipe is! It doesn’t need any fancy sides or anything, either. I like to pair my marry me chicken with some garlic butter parsley potatoes or some air fryer asparagus. You could always serve it with a little pasta or palmini, too. Easy, satisfying, and delicious!
• This chicken dish is naturally keto-friendly, low carb, and gluten free. No adjustments needed!
• Marry me chicken is a great make-ahead option if you’re meal prepping! Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 4 days. To reheat, pop it in the microwave or warm it on the stovetop until heated through.

Key Ingredients

Chicken – What’s marry me chicken without the chicken?! We use boneless, skinless chicken breasts in this recipe, but you could easily use chicken thighs (with or without bones) instead. Bone-in chicken will make your cook time a little longer!

Sun Dried Tomatoes – A little sweet, a little tangy, and incredibly flavorful. You can use fresh tomatoes instead if you prefer or if you just don’t have sun dried tomatoes handy. They’ll have a little less flavor and tang but your marry me chicken will still be amazing!

Heavy Cream – The thickness of the heavy cream gives the sauce a little thickness. This sauce won’t be as thick as, say, an Alfredo sauce, but the heavy cream gives it a little substance. I don’t really recommend substituting this with light cream or milk since they would change the sauce consistency. If you want to lighten up the sauce, though, you could try half-n-half. The consistency would still be a little thin, but not as much thanks to the cream in the half-n-half.

Chef’s Tips

• We leave the chicken breasts whole here, but cutting them into cutlets first will shorten your cook time! Simply slice the chicken breasts in half from one side to the other (like a hamburger bun) and proceed with the recipe as written.
• For a little extra flavor, add some of the oil from the sun dried tomatoes to the skillet with the olive oil. Searing the chicken in the tomato oil gives it a really nice flavor that’s only enhanced by the sun dried tomato cream sauce.
• Freshly grated parmesan cheese will give you a much better flavor and texture than store-bought, already-grated parmesan. It’s SO easy to grate your own, too! Just grab a whole block of parmesan cheese at the store and grate it on a box grater. If you don’t have a box grater, you could use a sharp knife to slice very thin pieces of parmesan off the block.
• If you’re serving your marry me chicken immediately, cook it to 165°F internally and transfer it straight from the oven to the plate. Make sure your sides are ready to go! If you’ve got a few minutes between cooking and serving, take the chicken out of the oven when it reaches 160°F inside, then let it rest in the pan for 5 minutes or so. Since the chicken will come to temp as it rests, taking it out a little early will prevent it from being overcooked by the time you eat it.
• Taking the sauce off the heat to stir in the parmesan can keep the cheese from clumping as it melts. That’ll ensure you’ve got a beautifully smooth parmesan cream sauce for your marry me chicken! Adding the cheese in increments, stirring well and letting it melt completely before adding more, will help, too.

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