What is Marry Me Chicken?

Marry Me Chicken is a creamy, quick, and easy tender chicken breasts recipe made with garlic, heavy cream, sun-dried tomatoes, and parmesan cheese.

This chicken dinner is so tasty that legend has it that making it for your partner will make them want to marry you if you’re not married already.

The creamy sun-dried tomato sauce is worth making again it is worthy of a marriage proposal.

Ingredients Needed

Here are the simple ingredients you need for this marry us chicken recipe:

Ingredients for Marry Me Chicken on chopping board.

Some notes on the ingredients:

Skinless Chicken Breasts: Each chicken breast should be cut in half horizontally to reduce thickness so the chicken breasts cook faster. You could also use chicken cutlets. See more ideas below.
Chicken Bouillon Powder: This really ups the flavor of the chicken, setting this recipe apart from other marry us chicken recipes.
Olive Oil: Any neutral-tasting oil would work as well.
Minced Garlic: Very Important for flavor. You could add garlic powder to the sauce as well.
Chicken Stock: Consider using low-sodium chicken stock to have better control over the amount of salt that gets into the dish. You could also use chicken broth or white wine.
Heavy Cream: Avoid using light or single cream, as you want a cream that is nice and thick.
Sun-Dried Tomatoes: Sun-dried tomatoes are tomatoes that have been sprinkled with salt, and dehydrated. This ingredient makes the dish truly special as the tomatoes have a concentrated flavor. The tomatoes also provide pops of red, making this a bright and colorful dish. We use sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil for this recipe.
Italian Seasoning: This amplifies the flavor profile of the dish.
Red Pepper Flakes: For heat and to help balance the richness of the dish.
Fresh Basil: For a pop of color and freshness, plus that flavor of fresh basil makes the dish a true masterpiece. We used basil from our herb garden. We always get excited when cooking with an ingredient from our garden!

See the recipe card below for the quantities of each ingredient.

Pan of chicken breasts in a creamy sauce.

Pantry notes

Here are substitutions and variations you could try for Marry Me Chicken.

Chicken Part – Try making this dish with other parts of chicken like chicken thighs (bone-in or boneless skinless chicken thighs), chicken drumsticks, or chicken tenders. This works really well with chicken tenders!
Roasted Red Pepper – replace the sun-dried tomatoes with roasted red pepper if you like.
Tomato Paste: You could add tomato paste if you want a deeper red color.
Vegetables – add vegetables like mushrooms, green beans, red peppers, or spinach for more nutrients.
Thicker Sauce – If you want a thicker sauce, mix together cornstarch and water and add to the sauce.
Cream Cheese: Adiing cream cheese will add thickness and richness to the sauce.
Asiago Cheese – Substitute parmesan cheese with Asiago cheese, which has a similar flavor profile to parmesan cheese and is a bit nuttier and creamier.
Fresh Tomatoes: You could use fresh tomatoes like grape or cherry tomatoes in place of sun-dried tomatoes.
Sun-Dried Tomatoes Oil. Consider using the oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes to saute the garlic, to really amp up the flavor of Marry Me Chicken.

For more satisfying chicken recipes, check out these baked thin chicken breasts and these chicken drumsticks in creamy sauce.

How it comes together

Here is how you can make Marry Me Chicken in 4 easy steps! It is a really easy recipe that will make you fall in love after the first bite!

Season the chicken with salt, black pepper, and chicken bouillon powder.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat and pan-sear the chicken for 3-4 minutes on both sides until golden brown. Remove the cooked chicken from the pan.

3. Reduce the heat to medium heat. Sautè garlic in the pan, then add all other ingredients for the sauce except the basil and half of the parmesan cheese. Stir to combine. Add the chicken back to the pan. Let the tomato cream sauce simmer until thickened.

4. Top with the remaining parmesan cheese and fresh basil or pasta.

Hint: Use a digital meat thermometer to ensure that the chicken is done. Insert the thermometer into a chicken breast. If it reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit or above, then it is done.

Also, check out these recipes for Thin Sliced Chicken Breasts and Spaghetti Bolognese Chicken.

How to serve it

Serve Marry Me Chicken with your favorite pasta. Pasta like spaghetti, linguine, or penne goes well with this dish! You could also serve Marry Me Chicken with some coconut rice and some crusty bread to soak up the sauce! For a low-carb meal, serve Marry Me Chicken with zoodles.

Also, consider pairing Marry Me Chicken with our buttermilk mashed potatoes, which is worth making again!

Yield: 4
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds chicken breasts (boneless and skinless), about 3 breasts, each breast cut in half
½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
½ teaspoon pepper, or to taste
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespooon minced garlic, from about 4 garlic cloves
1 cup chicken stock
⅓ cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ cup basil leaves, thinly sliced

Method

Season Chicken. Using a very sharp knife, cut each chicken breast horizontally in half. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the salt, pepper, and chicken bouillon powder evenly on both sides of the chicken.
Pan Sear Chicken. Place a 12-inch skillet on medium-high heat. Add the olive oil to the skillet and let it heat up for 2 minutes. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook for 3 minutes then flip to the other side and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan.
Saute Garlic. Add the minced garlic to the pan and stir. Let it saute for 30 seconds until fragrant.
Deglaze Pan. Add the chicken stock and stir to deglaze the pan.
Simmer Sauce. Add in the heavy cream, sun-dried tomatoes, ¼ cup of the parmesan cheese, the Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine. Add the chicken back to the pan. Bring to a simmer and let it simmer for about 5 minutes until the chicken is completely cooked through. Insert a digital meat thermometer into a chicken breast if it registers at least 165°F then the chicken is cooked through.
Add Toppings. Sprinkle on the remaining grated parmesan and the sliced basil leaves.
Serve. Serve with pata, mashed potatoes or rice.