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Marry me chicken: a chicken recipe so incredible, you’ll hear bells ringing. See hearts floating in the air. Feel your cheeks blush and find yourself batting your eyelashes nonstop. Really! It’s so good that just one bite will have your dinner guest so head-over-heels they won’t be able to resist popping the question (so, uh, serve with caution). This crowd-pleaser takes juicy, tender chicken breasts and marries them with a luscious parmesan cream sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh basil for a rich, flavorful main course everyone will fall in love with.
Before You Get Started
- Fresh parmesan is the key to a really smooth, creamy sauce. Don’t use any prepackaged, pre-grated parms, with their anti-clumping fillers and starches. Those will just gum up your sauce and give it a gritty, grainy texture. Their flavor isn’t as pronounced as fresh parm, either, so really it’s a lose/lose however you look at it.
- Sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil will give your dish more flavor, but dry-packed will work fine if that’s what you’ve got. If you do have sun-dried tomatoes pack in oil, though, try adding a little of the oil to the skillet when you sear your chicken. So good!
- 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.
How to Make This Recipe
See recipe card below for full list of measurements, ingredients, and instructions.
Pan-Sear the Chicken.
Add neutral-tasting oil to a large cast-iron skillet, and place the skillet on a stovetop burner set to medium-high heat. When the oil’s nice and shimmery, lay the seasoned chicken breasts in the pan and sear them on each side 3-4 minutes. Don’t cook them too long – you don’t want them cooked all the way through just yet! Just leave them long enough that they become a little golden on both sides, then transfer the chicken breasts to a plate and set them aside.
Make the sauce.
Sauté minced garlic in the same skillet, then deglaze the pan with chicken broth or bone broth and make sure to scrape up any bits of chicken or garlic that may be stuck on the bottom. When the pan’s deglazed, take it off the heat and let it cool a bit – not so long that it’s room temperature or colder, but long enough that it won’t scald you. At that point, you can stir in the grated parm until it’s melted and totally incorporated into the liquid.
Cheryl’s Tip: Taking the sauce off the heat to stir in the parmesan can keep the cheese from clumping as it melts. Adding the cheese in increments, stirring well and letting it melt completely before adding more, will help, too.
Now back onto the hot burner with the skillet, letting the cheese mixture get hot before adding the tomatoes, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Stir those in well, then taste the sauce and make any ingredients adjustments you’d like.
Get ready to fall in love.
Add the seared chicken breasts back into the skillet, and flip them over several times or spoon plenty of sauce on top of them, until they’re absolutely smothered. Pop the whole skillet into the oven and check on it regularly, cooking the dish just until the chicken reaches 160° Fahrenheit inside. Once it does, you can take the pan out of the oven and set it aside. The chicken will need 5 minutes or so to rest and finish cooking. After that, it’s serve, enjoy, and start thinking about a wedding date!
(And yes, I’d be flattered to attend the big day – thank you so much!)
Other Versions of Marry Me Chicken
My favorite dinner ever. We make this in my house about once every other week, and it’s spectacular every time.
– John S.
What I Love About This Recipe
- Given the rich flavors of the sauce, it’s almost hard to believe how simple marry me chicken is! It doesn’t need any fancy sides or anything, either. I like to pair it with some garlic butter parsley potatoes, sautéed green beans, or some air fryer asparagus. You could always serve it with a little pasta or palmini, too. 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.
- Accommodating a specialty diet? No worries! Marry me chicken is naturally keto-friendly, low carb, and gluten free. No adjustments needed! You can also make it Whole30, paleo-friendly, and dairy free really easily.
Recipe Variations
- Change the Protein: Marry me chicken is a classic… well, chicken dish. But you can easily replace the chicken breasts with another type of protein if you’d like! Boneless, skinless chicken thighs would work well. If you’re in the mood for seafood, using salmon instead of chicken is delicious. In fact, our pan-seared salmon in a creamy red pepper parmesan sauce recipe is really similar! You could try it with shrimp, too.
- Bring the Heat: I’ll be honest – I don’t find this recipe particularly “hot” or spicy, at all. Neither do my kiddos. You’ve got different taste buds, though, so adapt as needed! If you’re at all unsure about the crushed red pepper flakes, reduce the amount down to ¼ teaspoon, or just omit them entirely.
- Make it Lower Fat: Replace the heavy cream with half-and-half. Note, though, that this will change the consistency of the sauce slightly.
- 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!
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions or variations listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Marry Me Chicken (Chicken in a Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce)
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 approximately 3–4 large 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 tablespoons minced garlic
- ¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth see Notes
- ½ cup heavy cream at room temperature
- ½ cup grated fresh parmesan cheese at room temperature, see Notes
- 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes preferably packed in oil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano more or less to taste
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes more or less to taste
Serving Suggestions (All Optional)
- chiffonaded fresh basil
- grated fresh parmesan cheese
Instructions
To Prepare and Sear the Chicken
- Place 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts on cutting board. Trim chicken if needed, then pound chicken flat until all chicken breasts are same size and thickness.
- Pat chicken breasts dry on all sides with paper towels. Once dried, generously season tops of chicken breasts with plenty of salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Flip chicken breasts over and sprinkle salt and pepper on other side.
- Place large skillet on stovetop over medium-high heat. When pan is warm, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and continue heating pan until oil is hot and shimmery, swirling and tilting skillet as needed to distribute oil across surface.
- Once 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 on other side.
- When chicken breasts are lightly golden on both sides, carefully transfer seared chicken breasts to plate and set aside. Do not drain skillet. Note: chicken should not be fully cooked-through at this point.
To Make the Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce
- Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit. Adjust racks as needed so skillet can sit in center of oven.
- Return skillet to stovetop and reduce heat to medium-low. When skillet has cooled slightly, add 2 tablespoons minced garlic. Sauté garlic 30 to 60 seconds, stirring often, or until garlic is just fragrant.
- When garlic is fragrant, add ¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth to skillet. Stir to incorporate broth, 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. Let skillet cool 2 to 3 minutes, then add ½ cup heavy cream. Whisk heavy cream into chicken broth until fully incorporated.
- When cream and broth are fully incorporated, sprinkle ½ cup grated fresh parmesan cheese into mixture. Gently whisk parmesan into liquid until cheese is completely melted.
- Once cheese has melted, return skillet to burner over medium-low heat. Continue stirring 1 to 2 minutes or until skillet returns to full temperature.
- Add 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, and ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes to cream sauce. Gently stir ingredients together until well blended. Taste sauce and adjust salt, pepper, oregano, and/or red pepper flakes as desired.
- Bring sauce to slow simmer over medium-high heat, stirring mixture occasionally to prevent burning.
To Finish the Chicken
- When sauce begins to simmer, return seared chicken breasts to skillet. Flip chicken breasts 3 to 4 times each to coat all sides in sauce.
- Once chicken is well coated in cream sauce, place skillet in preheated oven. Note: if using leave-in meat thermometer probe, insert probe into chicken before placing skillet in oven.
- Bake dish approximately 13 minutes. After 13 minutes, check doneness of chicken with internal meat thermometer. Continue cooking chicken as needed, checking internal temperature of chicken frequently, until thickest part of chicken reaches 160° Fahrenheit.
- When target temperature is reached, carefully remove skillet from oven. Spoon sauce from skillet up and onto tops of chicken breasts, then set skillet aside.
- Allow chicken to rest in skillet 5 minutes. Chicken will cook residually, reaching food-safe internal temperature of 165° Fahrenheit.
Video
- 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.
- Sauce Consistency: This recipe creates a sauce that is intentionally on the thinner side. It does not make a thick, alfredo-like sauce. If you’d like the sauce to be a little creamier, you can thicken it with additional parmesan. You can also whisk in a little cream cheese (at room temperature), cornstarch, or flour after transferring the cooked to chicken to your serving plates.
- 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.
- Cooking with Dairy Products: Cold dairy products can clump, seize, or curdle when added to hot liquid, so make sure they’re room temperature before you begin. They can also have those reactions if they’re heated too quickly, so it’s important that you remove the skillet from the hot stove burner before adding in the cream and cheese.
- 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.
- 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.
Approximate Information for One Serving
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.
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! In fact, we’ve got an entire post dedicated to that very thing. Find it here: https://40aprons.com/crockpot-marry-me-chicken/
There are two popular theories behind the name! Theory 1: It’s a recipe SO INCREDIBLE, it’ll illicit marriage proposals. Choose your dinner guest wisely! Theory 2: All of the ingredients in the sauce marry together as they cook, creating a divine, unbelievable, amazingly creamy sauce you’ll want to pour over everything on your plate.
It’s supposed to be! The sauce is rich and creamy, yes, but it won’t be as thick as, say, an alfredo sauce. Not the way it’s written in the recipe, anyway. You’re welcome to add more parmesan to help thicken up the sauce, or you can whisk in cream cheese, cornstarch, or flour – as long as you don’t use too much. Turning up the heat under the skillet can also make the sauce a little thicker without adding anything extra.
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Can I use a 9×13 pan? I don’t have a iron skillet
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!
Thanks! Making it tonight!
We hope you enjoyed it, Lindsay! 😊
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!
Thank you for the wonderful review! So glad you loved it, Langston! 🙂
Amazing! This is for sure my new favorite chicken recipe (and my fiancé sure loved it too😉)
So glad you and your fiancé loved the chicken, Kenz! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
This is a new family favorite. I like to double the recipe.
So glad you and your family love it! 🙂
I don’t leave very many reviews but this one was absolutely amazing. Made a few changes. Thank you.
So happy you enjoyed it, Renee! Thank you for sharing your review!
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.
Yum! Thanks so much for sharing, Eric!
You’d probably also enjoy our Pan-Seared Salmon in a Creamy Red Pepper Sauce. It’s very similar to this one. Here’s the link if you’re interested! https://40aprons.com/salmon-red-pepper-parmesan-cream-sauce/
Hubby loved it. Might try it with thighs next time. I added some shallots, pine nuts and spinach.
Oooh, what great add-ins to make this recipe your own! Thanks for the inspiration, Lisa. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Delicious and easy.
What could be better?! Haha, thank you so much, Cecile!
How would I adjust the cooking time if I used chicken tenderloins?
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.
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.
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.