Marry Me Chicken is a deliciously creamy chicken dish that you can serve over pasta or mashed potatoes. It is said to be so good that it will provoke a marriage proposal from your partner. Maybe it is the perfect Valentine’s Day dinner, then? But it can also be a family-friendly meal.
Want other great dishes for the two of you or a family meal? Try our Paglia e Fieno (Straw and Hay Pasta), Copycat Buca de Beppo Salmon Sorrento, French Onion Soup for Two, or our Pan-Seared Filet Mignon with Shallot Mustard Gravy. All of these meals are worthy of a special night’s meal. And for dessert why not finish with Heart Shaped Cake?
Why is it called Marry Me Chicken?
We touched on this briefly above but will go into more detail now. Marry Me Chicken does have a few variations, as it has been around for a bit. The main ingredients, though, are chicken, herbs, cream, Parmesan cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes.
This combination of flavors is thought to be so amazing that it will provoke your crush to propose marriage to you. You know, saying phrases like “I would marry you for that chicken alone” or “I can see your marriage material if you can cook like that!”.
Prior to Marry Me Chicken, there was Engagement Chicken that was making the circuit getting people to propose. Does it really work? I can not attest to that, but both recipes are very good. Ina Garten has an Engagement Roast Chicken that you may want to try and then clench the deal with the Marry Me Chicken. LOL!
Is this Marry Me Chicken not then perfect for a romantic dinner for Valentine’s Day or Anniversary? I sure will be having it!!
Helpful Items For This Recipe
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Nonstick 14” Frying Pan with Lid
What is in Marry Me Chicken?
Our recipe may be slightly different than others, but it follows the same premise of the above ingredients that I already mentioned. You won’t believe how easy this recipe is to make when you take one bite of the luscious chicken in the creamy sauce.
This chicken dinner recipe calls for very easy ingredients that you can find in any grocery store. You can also make this recipe with chicken thighs, bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, or boneless, skinless chicken thighs that work even better.
You will need the following INGREDIENTS:
Chicken Breasts – cut into cutlets or purchased as cutlets. Chicken thighs can be substituted.
Butter – a nice quality butter or what you normally use.
Minced Garlic – use fresh garlic as opposed to jarred, as the flavor is so much better.
Flour – all-purpose flour works here.
Chicken Broth or Stock – homemade or store-bought is fine.
Heavy Cream – a lot of people will want to try and skimp on this, but don’t; let this be for a special occasion and use the heavy cream, which is also called whipping cream. Some may be lighter in fat than others but don’t use half and half.
Freshly Grated Parmesan – don’t buy already grated Parmesan for this recipe; get the good stuff and grate it yourself. Takes no time to grate, and it is far superior.
Sun-Dried Tomatoes – I think these are a must for this recipe; using fresh tomatoes won’t give you that sweetness and tang that sun-dried will. They are usually packed in oil, don’t use the oil but just the tomatoes. You can slice them into small strips or coarsely chop them.
Italian Seasoning – you could use a single herb here instead, like dried oregano or thyme, but I like the flavor that a blend of Italian seasoning gives you.
Salt – I much prefer sea salt or Kosher salt in all of our cooking, but you can use table salt too.
Pepper – freshly ground, always!!
Basil – for garnish.
How to Make Marry Me Chicken
This easy meal only takes 30 minutes of cook time and prep time to make. This Marry Me Chicken Recipe is so easy and so delicious you will want to make it on many special occasions.
Slice each chicken breast into cutlets and season both sides with salt and pepper to taste.
Add olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes, flipping halfway through until each side is golden brown. Don’t crowd the pan; this may take you two sets to cook it all.
Remove the chicken and set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter to the pan.
Once melted, add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
Scrap up the bits from the pan and then add the flour, stirring to make a paste.
Next, add the chicken broth, heavy cream, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Whisk to combine.
Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes and Italian seasoning and allow the sauce to simmer for 3-4 minutes until it begins to thicken.
Place the chicken back in the skillet and layer with the cream sauce; allow to cook for an additional 5-7 minutes.
Serve garnished with fresh basil over pasta, spooning the sauce over the chicken. Serve over mashed potatoes, too, if desired, and enjoy!
How to Cut a Chicken Breast into Cutlets?
Using chicken cutlets in this recipe will not leave you with a large dried-out chicken breast. I love cooking chicken breasts this way; not only is it a perfect portion size for me, but they are always so much more tender and juicy.
To cut a chicken breast into cutlets, place the chicken breast flat on the cutting board. Hold in place with your hand and slice in half with the knife parallel to the cutting board. Depending on the thickness of the chicken breast, you may need to pound it down so they are uniform in thickness. This is important, so the chicken cooks evenly and quickly.
If you don’t want to do this yourself, you can purchase ready-sliced cutlets or ask your butcher to slice these chicken breasts for you.
How to Store the Leftovers
This recipe makes four servings, so if you didn’t cut the recipe in half, you will have leftovers if you are only serving this for two people. I personally like to store the chicken separately and make fresh pasta again if you are having it two nights in a row. If you are wanting it for lunch, then store it with the pasta. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Can I freeze leftovers?
Freezing is not recommended for this recipe. The sauce tends to get grainy and separates when defrosting, as do other recipes like this when you are using heavy cream.
Pin it HERE!!
Pin it HERE!!
Marry Me Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds chicken breasts sliced into cutlets
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup chicken stock
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- 1 7-ounce jar sun-dried tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Salt
- Pepper
- Basil for garnish
Instructions
- Slice each chicken breast into cutlets and season both sides with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes, flipping halfway through until each side is golden brown.
- Remove the chicken and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter to the pan.
- Once melted, add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Scrap up the bits from the pan and then add the flour, stirring to make a paste.
- Next, add the chicken broth, heavy cream, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Whisk to combine.
- Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes and Italian seasoning and allow the sauce to simmer for 3-4 minutes until it begins to thicken.
- Place the chicken back in the skillet and layer with the cream sauce; allow to cook for an additional 5-7 minutes.
- Serve garnished with fresh basil over pasta, spooning the sauce over the chicken. Serve over mashed potatoes, too, if desired, and enjoy!
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