Marry Me Chicken Pasta

A large silver skillet of penne pasta in a sun-dried tomato cream sauce with chicken and basil.

Marry Me Chicken Pasta

This dish combines our reader-favorite Marry Me Chicken with tender penne pasta in a deliciously creamy recipe everyone will fall in love with.

Prep: 15

Cook: 25

Total: 40

Yield:8 servings

Equipment

Large, heavy-bottomed pot
Large wooden spoon
colander
Cutting board
Sharp chef's knife
Large cast-iron skillet
Tongs
Large plate
whisk

Ingredients

For the Pasta

16 cups water
1 tablespoon salt table salt or fine sea salt
1 pound penne pasta uncooked

For the Chicken

1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt to taste
freshly cracked black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil

For the Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

¼ cup unsalted butter
2-3 cloves garlic peeled, minced
½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
¼ cup dry white wine or additional chicken broth
2 cups heavy cream at or close to room temperature
1 cup grated fresh parmesan at room temperature, see Notes
⅔ cup sun-dried tomatoes see Notes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes more or less to taste, see Notes
2 tablespoons chiffonaded fresh basil see Notes

Serving Suggestions (All Optional)

grated fresh parmesan
crushed red pepper flakes
chiffonaded fresh basil

Instructions

For the Pasta

Fill large, heavy-bottomed pot with 16 cups water. Place pot of water on stovetop and set heat to high. Bring water to rolling boil.
When water begins to boil, add 1 tablespoon salt and stir to incorporate. Bring water back to rolling boil.
Once water begins to boil again, add 1 pound penne pasta. Stir to incorporate, then boil pasta until al dente, approximately 1 to 2 minutes less than time indicated on pasta packaging.
Once pasta reaches desired texture, pour water and cooked pasta into colander. Drain pasta well, then set pasta aside. Note: if desired, reserve up to ½ cup of pasta water to use in cream sauce.

For the Chicken

While pasta boils, place 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts on cutting board. Sprinkle generous amounts of salt and freshly cracked black pepper onto chicken, then flip chicken over and repeat on other side.
Place large cast-iron skillet on stovetop over medium heat. When skillet is warm, add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Continue heating pan, swirling and tilting skillet occasionally to move oil across surface of pan, until oil is hot and shimmery.
When oil is hot, place seasoned chicken breasts in skillet. Sear chicken breasts 2 to 4 minutes or until bottoms of chicken breasts are lightly golden. Flip chicken breasts over and sear other side 2 to 4 minutes, or until meat thermometer inserted into thickest area of chicken breasts reads 160° to 162° Fahrenheit.
Once target temperature range is reached, transfer chicken breasts from skillet to large plate and set aside.

For the Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Let cast-iron skillet cool 1 to 2 minutes, then return skillet to heat and reduce heat to low. Add ¼ cup unsalted butter.
Once butter has melted, add 2-3 cloves garlic to skillet and stir to incorporate minced garlic into butter. Sauté garlic 30 to 60 seconds or until just fragrant.
Once garlic is fragrant, add ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth and ¼ cup dry white wine to skillet. Stir to incorporate liquids, scraping bottom of skillet to loosen any bits of chicken or garlic that may have stuck to pan, then let liquids simmer over low heat until reduced by approximately 50%.
After reducing liquid, move skillet to cool burner and let skillet cool slightly, 30 to 60 seconds. When skillet has cooled, slowly add 2 cups heavy cream and gently whisk heavy cream into chicken broth reduction.
When heavy cream is incorporated, add 1 cup grated fresh parmesan to mixture in small increments. Whisk gently after each addition to melt parmesan and incorporate cheese into liquid.
Once all parmesan has been incorporated, return skillet to low heat. Gently whisk mixture 1 minute or so, until mixture is heated through.
Add ⅔ cup sun-dried tomatoes, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, and ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes to mixture. Gently stir ingredients into cream sauce, then taste sauce and adjust salt, black pepper, oregano, and/or red pepper flakes as desired. Note: if sauce is thinner than desired, stir in 1 tablespoon of reserved pasta water then simmer sauce 1 to 2 minutes. Repeat if needed, but be careful not to add too much water.

For the Marry Me Chicken Pasta

When satisfied with flavor of sauce, add drained al dente pasta to skillet with cream sauce. Gently fold pasta into sauce until well coated.
Add 2 tablespoons chiffonaded fresh basil and gently fold basil into pasta until incorporated.
If desired, chop chicken into bite-sized pieces, then add chicken to skillet and fold chicken into pasta mixture. Portion mixture into serving bowls and serve immediately with additional grated fresh parmesan, crushed red pepper flakes, and/or chiffonaded fresh basil if desired.
Alternately, slice chicken breasts into long pieces. Portion pasta mixture into serving bowls, then top each serving with pieces of chicken, additional grated fresh parmesan, crushed red pepper flakes, and chiffonaded fresh basil if desired. Serve warm.

Notes

Skillet: If you don't have a cast-iron skillet, any skillet will do.
Chicken Breasts: I prefer to use thinly-cut chicken breasts or chicken cutlets. Whatever you use, make sure they're roughly the same size and thickness - that way they'll cook at the same rate.
Dairy Products: To keep the heavy cream and parmesan from seizing, clumping, or curdling, make sure they're room temperature before adding them to any hot liquid. Remove the skillet from the heat and let the mixture cool slightly to lessen the temperature difference.
Parmesan Cheese: For the best results, buy a block of fresh parm and grate it yourself. Prepackaged grated cheese contains starches and fillers to prevent clumping, which also keep the cheese from melting smoothly.
Sun-Dried Tomatoes: The ones packed in oil are my favorite - you can add a little of the oil to the sauce for more flavor. Dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes will work fine, though.
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: Some readers prefer to omit these entirely, especially if they're cooking for kids. I don't find that they make the dish hot or spicy, but do what works best for you, whether that's reducing the amount slightly or leaving them out altogether!

To Chiffonade the Basil

Stack fresh basil leaves on top of each other.
Tightly roll the stack lengthwise.
Use a sharp knife, positioned perpendicular to the roll, to slice the roll into several thin ribbons.

Nutrition

Recipe By:Cheryl Malik