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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.
💍 Variations of This Recipe
- Looking for a dairy-free, paleo-friendly, and/or Whole30-compliant version of this amazing recipe? Check out our Whole30 Marry Me Chicken.
- We’ve also adapted this dish to be made in a slow cooker rather than on the stovetop! Find our Crockpot Marry Me Chicken recipe here.
- If you want a Marry Me Chicken that’s perfect for parties or cookouts, check out our Marry Me Chicken Salad recipe.
- In the mood for pasta? Look no further than our Marry Me Chicken Pasta!
🍗 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 one 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.
- Another possible explanation as to why this dish is named marry me chicken is because of the way the flavors marry together as they cook. A lot of the sauce components are incredible on their own, but when you pair them together, they become absolutely unbelievable. Creamy and cheesy, with bold flavors of dried and fresh herbs and tangy sun-dried tomatoes.
- 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! Of course, if you want to go a little fancier, I highly recommend my recipe for the best risotto EVER. It’s cheesy and creamy and goes along with marry me chicken beautifully.
- This chicken dish is naturally keto-friendly, low carb, and gluten free. No adjustments needed!
👩🏼🍳 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.
- 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.
🥘 More Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
- Everything Bagel Chicken with Scallion Cream Cheese Sauce (Keto)
- Instant Pot Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta Soup
- Spatchcock Chicken with Garlic-Herb Butter
- Dreamy Crockpot Chicken and Rice
- Instant Pot Chicken Carnitas
- Shredded Chicken Tacos
- Cream Cheese Garlic Skillet Chicken
- Chicken Pesto Sandwich
- Chicken and Spinach Manicotti
- The Best Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
- Chicken Roulade with Goat Cheese, Spinach, and Prosciutto
- Easy Chicken Recipes for Dinners with Few Ingredients
- Easy Sous Vide Chicken Breast Recipe
Marry Me Chicken
This crowd-pleaser takes juicy, tender chicken breasts and marries them with an incredible parmesan cream sauce, sun dried tomatoes, and fresh basil.
servings
Equipment
- Oven
- Cutting board
- Sharp knife optional
- Paper towels
- Large cast-iron skillet or similar oven-safe skillet
- Tongs
- Plate
- whisk or silicone spatula
- cheese grate
- internal meat thermometer
- Spoon or small ladle
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts see Notes
- salt to taste
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or other neutral oil
For the Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- ¾ cup chicken broth see Notes
- ½ cup heavy cream at or close to room temperature
- ⅓ cup grated fresh parmesan cheese at room temperature, see Notes
- ½-1 cup sun-dried tomatoes see Notes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes see Notes
- fresh basil chiffonaded, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit. Adjust racks as needed so skillet can sit in center of oven. Place chicken breasts on cutting board and trim as needed, then pat chicken breasts dry on all sides with paper towels.
- Generously season tops of chicken breasts with salt and black pepper. Flip chicken breasts over and generously season other side with salt and black pepper. Set chicken aside.
- Heat cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When skillet is warm, add olive oil and swirl pan to cover entire surface with oil.
- When oil is hot and shimmery, place seasoned chicken breasts in skillet. Sear chicken breasts 3 to 4 minutes, or until lightly golden in spots. Flip chicken breasts over and sear 3 to 4 minutes more. Carefully transfer seared chicken breasts to plate and set aside. Note: chicken should not be fully cooked-through at this point.
- Return skillet to stovetop and reduce heat to medium-low. Let temperature of skillet reduce, then add minced garlic. Sauté garlic 1 to 2 minutes, or until garlic is just fragrant.
- Add broth to skillet and stir, making sure to scrape up any browned bits of chicken or garlic that may be stuck to bottom of skillet.
- Move skillet to cool stovetop burner and let skillet cool slightly, then add heavy cream. Whisk or stir gently to incorporate heavy cream into chicken broth. Once liquids are blended, sprinkle grated parmesan into mixture and gently stir until cheese has melted.
- Return skillet to hot burner and continue stirring sauce mixture 1 minute or so, while skillet returns to temperature. Add sun-dried tomatoes, dried oregano, and red pepper flakes to cream sauce and stir gently to incorporate ingredients. Taste sauce and adjust salt, pepper, oregano, and/or red pepper flakes as desired.
- Bring sauce to constant slow simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Once sauce is simmering, return seared chicken breasts to skillet. Flip chicken breasts 3 to 4 times to coat all sides in sauce, then transfer entire skillet into preheated oven.
- Bake dish 12 to 15 minutes, then begin checking doneness of chicken with internal meat thermometer. Continue cooking chicken until meat thermometer reads 160°-162° Fahrenheit when inserted into thickest part of chicken.
- Carefully remove skillet from oven and set aside. Spoon sauce from skillet over tops of chicken, then allow chicken to rest 5 minutes. Chicken will cook residually, reaching food-safe internal temperature of 165°F.
- After 5 minutes, transfer chicken to serving plates. Top chicken with remaining sauce from skillet and garnish with chiffonaded basil. Serve immediately with desired sides.
Video
- Cook times will vary depending on a number of factors including the age of your equipment and the size and thickness of your chicken breasts.
- The sauce will be on the thin side. If you’d like a thicker, creamier sauce, you can thicken it with additional parmesan, flour, or a little cream cheese (at room temperature) after removing the chicken in the final step.
- Cold dairy products can clump, seize, or curdle when added to hot liquid, so make sure they’re at or close to room temperature before you begin. They can also have those reactions if they’re heated too quickly, so be sure to remove the skillet from the hot stove burner before adding in the cream and cheese.
- Serve with pasta, rice, mashed potatoes, or scroll back through the blog post for other suggested sides!
Ingredients Notes
- Chicken Breasts: Use chicken breasts that are the same size and thickness, so they cook evenly and at the same speed. If your chicken breasts are on the large side, slice them into cutlets and/or even them out with a meat tenderizer or rolling pin before seasoning them.
- Chicken Broth: If you’re watching your sodium intake or you just like a little less of it, use a low-sodium chicken broth. If you’re gluten free you’ll want to make sure you’re using a gluten-free chicken broth!
- Parmesan Cheese: Grate your own from a block of fresh parmesan. It’s super easy to do, and the results are more than worth it! Prepackaged, pre-grated/pre-shredded cheeses have added fillers and starches to prevent clumping. Those ingredients also keep the cheese from melting like it should, and makes the flavor less pronounced.
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes: The ones packed in oil work best here, but you can use dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes if you prefer. If you use the ones packed in oil, add a little of the tomato oil to the skillet when you sauté the garlic or when you add the tomatoes to the sauce. It gives the dish another layer of that rich flavor.
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: In my opinion, these don’t make the dish hot or spicy at all, and they really enhance the flavor of the sauce. If you’re sensitive to heat or just unsure, feel free to use just ¼ teaspoon or omit them altogether.
- To Chiffonade the Basil: Stack fresh basil leaves on top of each other, then roll tightly lengthwise. Use a small, sharp knife to slice the roll into thin ribbons. Slice perpendicular to roll.
- Make it Lower Fat: Use half-and-half instead of heavy cream.
- Make it Dairy Free/Whole30/Paleo: See our recipe for Whole30 Marry Me Chicken!
- Make it in a Slow Cooker: See our recipe for Crockpot Marry Me Chicken!
Approximate Information for One Serving
Serving Size: 1servingCalories: 418calProtein: 53gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.03gCholesterol: 171mgSodium: 434mgPotassium: 1209mgTotal Carbs: 7gFiber: 1gSugar: 4gNet Carbs: 6gVitamin A: 538IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 109mgIron: 2mg
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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I am planning to make this tonight with boneless skinless thighs, think it will turn out the same? Also, I don’t have heavy cream, could I use milk and a cornstarch slurry to thicken it up without compromising the dish?
Hey, Ashley! Yes, both of those swaps should work just fine!
Hi! I am very excited to make this, but do not own a cast iron skillet. What do you suggest I do? Sorry, new to cooking!
Hi, Haley! You can cook it in a regular skillet and then transfer everything to a pan or baking dish for the oven portion! Depending on the type of skillet you have, it may actually be oven-safe up to a certain temperature, in which case you could put it in the oven like we do with the cast iron.
Fantastic! I added fresh spinach and doubled the sauce .. served over white rice!
Yum, talk about a perfect presentation! Thanks so much, Mandi, I’m so happy you enjoyed this dish!
Easy, tasty, great served over rice!
A trifecta! Thanks so much for your review, Val – I’m thrilled to hear you enjoyed this recipe.
I am going to double this recipe for a dinner party. I don’t have a fry pan large enough for 12 pieces of chicken. Can I transfer this into my circular roasting pan to finish in the oven?
Hi, Ann! That should work out fine. Just keep an eye on the chicken while it’s in the oven and double check the temperature with an internal meat thermometer to be sure everything’s cooked through completely.
Also, you may want to multiply the sauce ingredients by 2.5 or even 3 to make sure you’ve got enough for all of your guests – it’s a thinner sauce and several of our readers doubled it to have enough to use on their chicken and their sides (especially pasta or mashed potatoes).
If it were possible, I would rate this as a 10. My husband said this goes on his favorites list. He has no idea it has Parmesan in it (he hates cheese)!
WOW WOW WOW! A 10! AND a favorite of a cheese-hater?! We are FLATTERED! Thank you so much for sharing that with us, Tonya, you’ve made our whole week!
Very good dish and easy to prepare. Made it for a daughter and her family and they like it as well. Thank you!
I love when we can please the whole family with one dish! Thank you so much for sharing your review, Susan, and for sharing the recipe with your daughter’s family. It means so much to us!
Hubby said it tasted like a fancy gourmet meal ☺️ super delish. Will make this one a keeper for sure!
So happy you both enjoyed this one so much, Lindsay! Thanks for leaving your review!
Awesome awesome dinner! I double the sauce portion of recipe, and serve over Bob Evans Mashed potato’s my kids LOVE this! I also have started making it ahead in the mornings, and at dinner hour my bigger kids can just reheat in the skillet on the stove until hot, nuke the mashed potatoes, and boom dinner is done.
Those mashed potatoes are a PERFECT side for this recipe!! And I love so much that y’all are able to make this one work with your needs and schedules. Thank you so much for sharing, Frittzie!
It was excellent, but for some reason my chicken was tough. Anyone else have this issue? I think next time I would cut the chicken in strips.
Hmm, if your chicken breasts were very small or very thin, they may have overcooked which would have made them tough. I’m so sorry the texture wasn’t perfect, KyLynn, but thank you for sharing your experience! If you try it again with chicken strips, please let us know how it works out for you!
Made this recipe tonight for my boyfriend so delish!! I will make for my mom and kids soon. Easy and fairly healthy. thanks so much
You’re so welcome, Dawn! Thank you for sharing your review with us. I’m so happy you and your boyfriend enjoyed it so much!