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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.

Two Marry Me Chicken breasts in a cast-iron skillet with basil and sun-dried tomatoes.

💍 Variations of This Recipe

🍗 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.
Marry Me Chicken breasts in a cast-iron skillet with basil and sun-dried tomatoes.

🥘 More Chicken Recipes You’ll Love

Marry Me Chicken breasts in a cast-iron skillet with basil and sun-dried tomatoes.
Recipe By: Cheryl Malik
4.98 from 516 votes

Marry Me Chicken

Prep 15 minutes
Cook 30 minutes
Total 45 minutes
This crowd-pleaser takes juicy, tender chicken breasts and marries them with an incredible parmesan cream sauce, sun dried tomatoes, and fresh basil.
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6 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

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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Cheryl Malik

In addition to being a certified health coach, certified yoga instructor, and mom of 3, Cheryl is also the recipe developer, editor-in-chief, food photographer, and passionate foodie behind 40 Aprons. Having spent the last 10+ years as a food blogger, she's become known for her flavorful recipes, detailed instructions, gorgeous photography, and down-to-earth approach to food and cooking in general.

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1,079 Comments

    1. Yes, you can! You can use any oven-safe skillet, too – it doesn’t have to be cast iron. If you don’t have an oven-safe skillet, cook the dish on the stovetop in a regular skillet, then transfer it to the 9×13 pan for the oven portion of the recipe. The cooking time will probably need to be adjusted depending on the pan, so be sure to use a thermometer to make sure the chicken isn’t under- or over-cooked!

      Reply

  2. PHENOMENAL. I made this for my parents and the creamy, savory, and slightly sweet flavors almost made me burst out laughing I was so happy. Excellent work on the recipe!5 stars

    Reply

    1. So glad you and your fiancé loved the chicken, Kenz! Thanks for sharing. 🙂

      Reply

  5. I don’t leave very many reviews but this one was absolutely amazing. Made a few changes. Thank you.5 stars

    Reply

  6. Great recipe, we substituted chicken for salmon which only reduced the cooking time by two minutes, but the sauce turned out great. The flavor was phenomenal sautéing the sun-dried tomatoes ahead of time with the garlic was great adaptation.5 stars

    Reply

  7. Hubby loved it. Might try it with thighs next time. I added some shallots, pine nuts and spinach.

    Reply

    1. Oooh, what great add-ins to make this recipe your own! Thanks for the inspiration, Lisa. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

      Reply

    1. The exact cooking time would depend on a few factors, but you would still just want to cook them until they’re 160°F internally and then let them rest 5 minutes.

      Reply

  10. Made this for my Italian Exchange student and she absolutely loves it! As does the rest of my family. And yes must use freshly grate parmesan. I also add a touch of nutmeg to heighten the flavor.5 stars

    Reply

    1. Oooh, making a note right now to try a little nutmeg next time I make this one myself! Thanks so much for your review and sharing that tip, Melissa.

      Reply

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