Juicy chicken breasts smothered in a creamy sauce and ready in under an hour, this Marry Me Chicken recipe is a great dish to serve for busy weeknights.
Delicious chicken recipes seem to be a dime a dozen these days. I feel like I’ve tried them all, but most leave me feeling like a want something more. That certainly isn’t the case with this creamy marry me chicken.
So the idea behind this delicious chicken is that it’s “marry me” worthy. Like way to a man’s heart, marriage proposal after the first bite worthy. So I immediately knew this was something I needed to recreate.
With a unique name like Marry Me Chicken, you might think it’s only made for a special occasion; and while it’s delicious and elegant enough, it’s also great to serve to the whole family on any night of the week.
What's In This Article
What to Serve Marry Me Chicken With
Of course, the options are really endless, but I do have a few suggestions of things that pair really well with this chicken dish;
- White rice
- Polenta
- Mashed potatoes
- Egg noodles
- Green beans
- Cauliflower rice
- Angel hair pasta
- Rigatoni pasta
Ingredients
You only need a handful of ingredients to make this great recipe. Most you might already have on hand. For the complete list of ingredients, scroll down to the recipe card.
- Chicken breasts – We are going to be cutting these in half making cutlets, so I like them to be bigger in size.
- Coarse kosher salt – Different salts measure differently, so make sure to use coarse kosher or change the measurements accordingly.
- Ground black pepper – I like to use freshly ground pepper when cooking, but you can also use the pepper out of your shaker.
- Butter – To control the amount of salt in a this marry me chicken, I like to use unsalted butter. If all you have is salted, just omit the extra salt in the recipe.
- Garlic cloves – I always like using fresh garlic as opposed to garlic powder. The flavor is more pungent and it makes for a much more delicious chicken dinner.
- Flour – This acts as a thickening agent for the cream sauce. It helps to coat the chicken in that deliciously creamy sauce.
- Chicken broth – If you don’t have any on hand, it will turn out just as delicious with vegetable stock or chicken stock instead.
- Heavy cream – In order to make this light cream sauce, we whisk in a little bit of heavy cream.
- Parmesan cheese – I always choose to grate my own cheese. The pre-shredded cheese has an added element that doesn’t allow the cheese to melt smoothly.
- Sun-dried tomatoes – Find them in a jar in oil at your local grocery store.
- Bacon – This is optional, but I highly recommend for an added crunch and flavor to the marry me chicken sauce.
- Crushed red pepper flakes – Also optional, but if you’d like to add a bit of spice to this easy recipe, this is the way to do it.
- Fresh basil – This is used as a garnish, but the bright color and fragrant flavor add another element to this already delicious dish.
How to Make Marry Me Chicken
- Prepare chicken. Cut chicken breasts in half horizontally to make then thinner, leaving you with 4-6 chicken cutlets. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
- Cook chicken. Heat olive oil in a large skillet to medium heat. Add chicken, turning to brown the exterior, approximately 4 minutes on each side. Chicken might not be fully cooked. Remove to a plate and set aside.
- Melt butter. In the same skillet, with juices browned bits and oil, add the butter, allowing it to melt, then the garlic. Sauté until fragrant.
- Whisk flour. Whisk in the flour, making a roux paste. Then slowly pour in the chicken broth, still whisking, until it forms a sauce.
- Add cream. Whisk in the cream until fully blended and then the parmesan cheese, still whisking. When cheese has melted, add Italian seasoning and return the chicken back to the sauce, turning to coat.
- Simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add the sun dried tomatoes, bacon and crushed red pepper flakes, if desired. Top with fresh basil.
Variations
- Chicken – Feel free to swap the chicken breasts with boneless chicken thighs. They tend to have more flavor, but make sure to adjust the cook time accordingly. I don’t recommend bone-in chicken thighs for this marry me chicken just for sake of time.
- Spice – Add a little kick to this tuscan chicken recipe by adding some chili flakes or up the amount of red pepper flakes in the sundried tomato cream sauce.
- Fresh tomatoes – Can’t find sundried tomatoes at your grocery store? Swap in some cherry tomatoes into the decadent sauce instead and it will taste just as good.
- Fresh herbs – Rather than use Italian seasoning, or in addition to, chop up some fresh herbs like basil and thyme and add it to the delicious sauce.
Storage, Reheating and Freezing
Storage: Store any leftover marry me chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Reheating: You can reheat in the microwave or in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
Freezing: I do not recommend freezing a cream sauce. They tend to turn a little grainy when reheated.
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Baked Chicken Thighs
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Marry Me Chicken
Juicy chicken breasts in a creamy sauce and ready in under an hour, this Marry Me Chicken recipe is the perfect weeknight meal!
Servings:
Ingredients
- 2-3 large chicken breasts*
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 large garlic cloves , minced or grated
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup parmesan cheese , finely grated
- 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ cup sun dried tomatoes in oil , drained and chopped
- ¼ cup bacon , cooked and crumbled, optional
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes , optional
- 8-10 leaves fresh basil , chiffonade cut
Instructions
- Cut chicken breasts in half horizontally to make then thinner, leaving you with 4-6 chicken cutlets.
- Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet to medium-high heat. Add chicken, turning to brown the exterior, approximately 4 minutes on each side. Chicken might not be fully cooked. Remove to a plate and set aside. If you are using a smaller skillet and 6 pieces of chicken, you might need to work in batches for this step.
- In the same skillet, with juices browned bits and oil, add the butter, allowing it to melt, then the garlic. Sauté for 1 minutes until fragrant.
- Whisk in the flour, making a roux paste. Then slowly pour in the chicken broth, still whisking, until it forms a sauce. Whisk in the cream until fully blended and then the parmesan cheese, still whisking.
- When cheese has melted, add Italian seasoning and return the chicken back to the sauce, turning to coat. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the sun dried tomatoes, bacon and crushed red pepper flakes, if desired. Top with fresh basil.
- Serve over rice, creamy polenta, pasta or mashed potatoes.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.
Nutrition
Calories: 569 kcal, Carbohydrates: 12 g, Protein: 34 g, Fat: 43 g, Saturated Fat: 20 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 16 g, Trans Fat: 0.3 g, Cholesterol: 156 mg, Sodium: 1083 mg, Potassium: 805 mg, Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 2 g, Vitamin A: 1286 IU, Vitamin C: 17 mg, Calcium: 215 mg, Iron: 2 mg
This is my favourite recipe of yours of all time! Honestly, the sauce with the bacon and those sundried tomatoes – simply the best!
Yay!!!!
That looks creamy, delicious and like a perfect dinner. This is perfect for the long nights of winter.
Perfect comfort food and full of so many delicious flavours too. My family will love this.
The flavours on this sound amazing. So creamy and delicious.
Yum! Chicken with cream and Parmesan sounds like an amazing dinner.