Let me share a little secret that's sure to win hearts: my go-to marry me chicken recipe. It's all about the rich, creamy tomato sauce that's seasoned to perfection. And the best part? You can whip up this incredible dish in just 30 minutes. It's a total game-changer for dinner, combining simplicity with a depth of flavor that's absolutely amazing.
This article contains affiliate links which support us at no extra cost to you.
Jump To
- 💖Why we love this marry-me chicken
- What is Marry Me Chicken?
- 🛒 What ingredients are in creamy Tuscan chicken recipe:
- Tools you'll need
- 🍽️ How to Make Marry Me Chicken
- How to heat up?
- What to serve with this recipe:
- 🫙 Leftovers and Storing
- 📃 Substitutions & Variations for creamy chicken dishes:
- ☑️ Lora's expert tips for date night chicken recipe:
- ❓ FAQ'S
- Some other chicken recipes you'll love:
- 📖 Recipe
- Marry Me Chicken (With Sun Dried Tomatoes & Cream)
If you're not in the search for a marriage proposal, you most definitely will win some hearts with my marry me chicken recipe! Perfectly seared chicken in a luscious sun dried tomato sauce that's ready in under 30 minutes! The hardest part is prepping the chicken breasts! If you're like me always searching for easy few ingredient chicken recipes, this is one you must try today!
I typically steer clear of any viral or trendy recipe. But it seems my daughter Gabby can convince me to make a modern chicken recipe, because this has been on the list to try for a while now! It's something that became VERY popular on TikTok. I don't know what took me so long, because this is now everyone's favorite chicken recipe!
Everyone loves a great make-ahead meals chicken recipe. I sometimes get stuck making the same chicken breast dinner ideas for the family, until I started making this recipe!
The combination of perfectly seared chicken cooked in a creamy garlicky sauce, that is also a little bit cheesy, and has sun-dried tomatoes. I'm not typically a fan of cream sauces, but it's not too much cream and it's a dreamy sauce! This chicken is a family favorite and also a crowd pleaser! Double it to make sure you have leftovers!
If you like this recipe you might like my chicken piccata and also my tangerine garlic chicken.
💖Why we love this marry-me chicken
- Quick and easy: Ready and on the table in 20 minutes.
- One pan meal: You make the recipe in one pan, which means easier clean up!
- Impressive for company: Definitely a recipe to make for any guests, family or friends, because it looks and tastes delectable!
- Simple ingredients: Incredible sauce comes together the chicken breasts and pantry ingredients!
This whole recipe comes together in 30 minutes from start to finish!
What is Marry Me Chicken?
Before we get onto this viral chicken recipe, we'll go over how it came about.
We'll go over the name! You have maybe heard or tried Ina Garten's super famous engagement chicken, so I figured it's along the same lines. You make this chicken recipe for someone you're hoping will propose to you, because after one bite, they'll be SMITTEN! They say the way to someone's heart is through their stomach. I want you to try this recipe and let me know if it works!
Let's get onto this super tasty chicken recipe!
🛒 What ingredients are in creamy Tuscan chicken recipe:
Full printable recipe is below.
- Chicken breast - boneless skinless chicken breasts are sliced into cutlets. You literally just slice them in half to make them thinner. If you use whole chicken breasts, you'll need to finish this off in the oven to make sure that they're cooked through. But I like cutlets better in this recipe.
- Flour- you will dredge the chicken in flour for that lovely golden and crispy crust. The flour also helps thicken the sauce a little.
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper- The sauce does get salt from the cheese and the sun-dried tomatoes. So be sure to not over salt the sauce.
- Extra Virgin Olive oil and butter - to brown the chicken I use extra-virgin olive oil and butter.
- Garlic - you could use as much or as little. You could also leave it out. But freshly minced garlic is best if you do use it.
- Chicken or vegetable broth or stock - Just need one cup of chicken broth.
- Heavy cream and Parmigiano Reggiano - I recommend only using heavy, not light cream. Grate your cheese for the best flavor. You could buy already grated cheese, just be sure to stir to combine it so it doesn't clump up.
- Tomato paste or tomato sauce: This is optional. I had a little bit of homemade tomato sauce left over and didn't remember until after I started making the sauce. I added some in. A tablespoon or two of tomato paste also would work.
- Chili flakes- optional, a dash of pepper flakes could be added for a little spicy kick. I did not add red pepper because some family members do not enjoy spicy.
- Dried oregano - I'm pretty lucky because I have some Sicilian dried oregano. I brought it back from Italy this January, but you can find it now even in some local Italian markets if you look around and online.
- Sun dried tomatoes - what makes this dish have that extra special salty flavor!
- Fresh basil leaves - I grabbed some gorgeous basil leaves from my herb garden. It's for garnish and for flavor. I would not use dried basil.
Tools you'll need
- Any 10.25″ skillet will work. This Le Creuset Skillet is so versatile. I have it in white and love it!
- I highly recommend a very sharp chef's knife to slice the chicken.
- This microplane zester is the perfect tool to grate your cheese.
- Best way to check if the chicken is ready is with an instant read thermometer.
🍽️ How to Make Marry Me Chicken
Here is how to make this (the full printable recipe is below). Gather all the ingredients:
There are two different parts to making the recipe- first part is to prep and cook chicken and the second part is cooking cream sauce.
- Step 1: Prep the chicken breasts. A sharp knife helps to make even slices. If you bought small chicken breasts, you won't need to slice them in half. Slightly pound them with a mallet to even them out and dredge in seasoned flour.
- Step 2-3: Heat the butter and oil in a cast iron skillet or whatever skillet you have. Sear the chicken breasts until they get a golden brown color on both sides.
- Step 4-8: Remove the chicken and in the same pan, add sauce ingredients.
Step 9-10: Bring to a simmer and add the chicken back to the pan. Cook until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F (follow the detailed recipe below).
📃 NOTE: Recipe card with detailed instructions are below! Print it out for later!
How to heat up?
- Stovetop: Heat a skillet on medium-low heat and add some olive oil and a little bit of butter. Add the leftovers and and heat until it's warmed through. Add a little bit of water to loosen the sauce a little and you could cover it for a couple minutes to help it heat up.
- Air fryer: Heat the chicken separate from the sauce in the air fryer basket. Keep an eye on it as the chicken can crisp up. Line the basket with an air fryer paper liner. Try the "snack" setting or another setting you use to heat up food. Heat sauce separately stove top or in the microwave.
- Microwave: Place leftovers on a microwave safe plate and cover. Set the time to what you usually use to heat food and heat through (I don't own a microwave so I can't tell you what settings and time will work).
What to serve with this recipe:
This chicken recipe goes nicely with a side dish of pasta.
Chicken piccata is total comfort food and it goes really nicely with any roasted vegetable, side dish, pasta, or bread.
- Spaghetti Aglio e Olio >>> One of my favorite pastas! Cooks up fast and is so flavorful! Double the sauce recipe and serve with any short or even long pasta.
- Insalata mista >>> The best quick and simple to make Italian salad.
- Panzanella Toscana >>> A really easy Tuscan salad that is made with day-old bread. It's just so tasty!
- Mashed potatoes >>>I really like this chicken with mashed potatoes or a side of steamed rice. I set up the rice in the rice steamer same time the chicken is cooking.
- Crusty bread >>> A really great crusty bread is perfect for this sauce! Or try a very easy psomi spitiko Greek bread.
- Rosemary breadsticks >>> Simple and so crispy!
- For low-carb, this would go nicely with zucchini or butternut squash noodles, or cauliflower rice.
🫙 Leftovers and Storing
- To refrigerate: You may NOT have any leftovers. In case you do, once it cools completely, store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If the sauce is too thick, it could be loosened with some water. Heat in a skillet or microwave.
- To freeze: The cooled-down chicken can be frozen separately from the sauce in a large zipped lock freezer bag (squeeze air out of bag before sealing and date the bag). Freeze for up to 2 months. The sauce could be made right before serving. Chicken should be defrosted and then you can combine it with the sauce. Since it is a cream based sauce, I would not recommend freezing
📃 Substitutions & Variations for creamy chicken dishes:
- If you're not a fan of sun-dried tomatoes, sub with some roasted red peppers.
- To add some greens, you could toss in some fresh spinach in towards the end and stir to combine. It will cook up super fast.
- I think if you're making a creamy sauce, stick with the heavy cream. It gives the sauce a luscious texture that is irresistible!
- If you have an open bottle of white wine around, that could be subbed for chicken broth, if needed.
- Marry Me Fish: Substitute the chicken with salmon filets.
- Marry Me Lemon Herb Chicken: Squeeze in some fresh lemon juice, and zest plus a combination of any fresh herbs, like parsley, rosemary and thyme.
- Marry Me Chicken Mediterranean: Create a taste of the Mediterranean by adding some capers, Kalamata olives, and artichoke hearts. Sprinkle feta crumbles on top before serving and enjoy with pita bread.
- Marry Me Pesto Chicken: Make some pesto or use your favorite store-bought brand and add a spoonful to the sauce for a fresh basil flavor.
- Marry Me Mushroom Marsala Chicken: A splash of Marsala and some sliced mushrooms makes a flavorful sauce.
☑️ Lora's expert tips for date night chicken recipe:
- Large chicken breasts should be sliced in half. If you can find small chicken breasts, you won't need to slice them in half. You can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
- You could use chicken tenders or chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts.
- Prep all your ingredients ahead of time. The sauce comes together quickly, so you'll want everything ready to work with.
- Heat skillet sufficiently with the olive oil and butter before you add the chicken. That's the best way to get the nice color when you sear it.
- Cooking times could vary depending on the size and thickness of your chicken breasts.
- Don't overcrowd chicken in the pan. Be sure to cook them in batches and that there is space so they're not overlapping. A large skillet works best.
- Best way to check if chicken is cooked through is with an internal meat thermometer. The chicken should register at least 165 degrees when cooked.
- The sauce will taste even more flavorful if you invest in a very good quality olive oil, butter and also use sun-dried tomatoes in extra virgin olive oil. The sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil will also give more incredible flavor to the chicken.
- Some sun-dried tomatoes come julienne-cut (thin strips), but just chop yours if you didn't get the ones already cut.
- Use heavy cream and not milk, half and half or light heavy cream, as you don't want the sauce to curdle. You could stay lighter and use half the amount of cream and a little more broth.
- Use a good quality Parmigiano Reggiano or sub it for a pecorino.
❓ FAQ'S
The dish is said to have been created back in 2016 by Lindsay Funston an editor at Delish. She made the chicken and one of the video producers is said to have tried it and exclaimed, "I'd marry you for that chicken!".
I can tell you that if you go to anywhere in Tuscany and ask for marry me chicken, they won't know what you're talking about. Now if you ask for Pollo alla toscana in salsa di crema di parmigiano you may get something similar, but it will just be this American dish. Tuscan chicken recipes are usually very simple and made with fresh herbs.
No, it is not difficult to make at all. All it takes is coating and giving the chicken some color, prepping the easy cream sauce, and then combining it all together. It all cooks up in one pan and is great for a weeknight or a cozy weekend dinner.
Yes, marry me chicken is very easy to customize.
The chicken needs to reach an internal temperature of 165°F and you can check it with a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the chicken breast.
Yes, you can. Use margarine in place of butter and coconut cream in place of heavy cream. Use your favorite vegan/dairy-free cheese shreds in place of the Parmigiano Reggiano.
Yes, you can use boneless skinless chicken thighs in an easy marry me chicken recipe.
Since the chicken is pan-fried and then it's cooked in a sauce in the same pan, it's coated with this creamy and flavorful sauce! It simmers creating a tender and succulent chicken. A balance of creamy, slightly cheesy, and a nice umami kick from the sun-dried tomatoes.
It seems complicated because of the different flavors, but it really is a no-fuss recipe that is absolutely delicious! If you're making it for a special occasion, it is not expensive and really impressive!
You could use a large cast iron skillet or a 10.25-inch nonstick pans. If any browned bits from cooking the chicken get stuck to the bottom of the cast iron skillet, that is fine as it gets combined with sauce and gives it more flavor.
Some other chicken recipes you'll love:
Did you make this and love it? Please RATE THE RECIPE below:)
I would LOVE IT if you can leave me a star rating and a review down below and let me know your thoughts! It means the world to me to hear how you liked it.
Please Subscribe and give a follow on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok xx
📖 Recipe
Marry Me Chicken (With Sun Dried Tomatoes & Cream)
Equipment
- 1 mallet
Ingredients
- 4 skinless and boneless chicken breasts butterflied and then cut in half
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup all-purpose flour for dredging
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil more if needed
- Sauce
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup chicken broth low sodium
- ½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- ¼ cup tomato sauce (or 1 Tablespoon tomato paste)
- 1 7-ounce jar sun-dried tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ cup thinly sliced basil leaves more to garnish
Instructions
Prep and sear the chicken:
- Cut each chicken breast in half: Cut the chicken with a very sharp knife (if you bought smaller or thinner breasts, you won't need to pound them). Place chicken pieces between plastic wrap and use a meat tenderizer to gently pound to ½ inch thick.
- Combine flour and seasoning: On a large plate or platter, combine the flour, salt, and pepper.
- Dredge chicken breasts: Dredge the chicken breasts in flour, shaking off the excess.
- Heat a large skillet: On medium-high heat, melt the butter with olive oil. Once the butter and oil is hot and sizzles, add the chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes. Cook in batches to make sure you do not overcrowd the chicken. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate.
Make the sauce:
- Add the garlic to the pan and cook until just fragrant (you don't want it to brown), about 30 seconds or so. Stir in heavy cream, chicken broth, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, sun dried tomatoes, sauce (or tomato paste) and oregano. Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, scrape any bits from the pan to combine with the sauce to add more flavor. If you like it spicy, go ahead and add some red hot chili pepper flakes.
Add in the chicken:
- Add the chicken back to the pan with the sauce. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5-6 minutes. Cook until chicken reaches internal temperature of 165°F on an instant-read thermometer. Check the seasoning, and add salt and pepper, to taste. Spoon some sauce over the chicken pieces as it's simmering. Add in some of the basil.
Serve chicken:
- Remove chicken from pan to a serving platter or plate. Spoon some sauce over chicken and garnish with basil. Serve warm with spaghetti aglio e olio or another simple pasta, or with steamed rice.
Nutrition Disclaimer
Please keep in mind that the nutritional information presented below is an approximation and may vary depending on the exact ingredients used.
This Marry Me Chicken turned out rich and creamy, with sun-dried tomatoes adding so much depth—simple enough for a weeknight but special enough to impress.
This is one of my family's favorites. So good! We love to have it over orzo.
This Marry Me Chicken was just what I needed for a quick dinner! That creamy tomato sauce really was the star here and everything came out tender and juicy!
I've been looking for this recipe for a long time. Finally made it following your steps and it was absolutely delicious! My family really enjoyed the chicken especially the garlic flavor. Planning to make this again soon!
Everyone needs to make this recipe! So good, especially when you don't know what to do with chicken. Definitely recommend printing it out and keeping it on hand. 🙂
Making it tonight for the frist time
ENJOY!
The best chicken I've had in a long time. The sauce is WOW...fantastic! Great recipe!
This sauce is just fantastic! I made an extra portion so I could have more for the pasta we had it with. I will be making it again this weekend!