Marry Me Chicken Recipe
This Marry Me Chicken Recipe is delicious comfort food that your whole family will enjoy for dinner! Plus, it’s tasty enough to serve to dinner guests.
A Skillet Chicken Recipe, the chicken is sautéed first, then cooked in a luscious cream sauce flavored with thyme, oregano, and sun-dried tomatoes, then served over pasta for the ultimate dinner experience.
Why You Must Make
- Marry Me Chicken is an easy skillet dinner.
- A flavorful cream sauce pushes it over the top.
- It’s simple enough for a weeknight, yet elegant enough to serve to special dinner guests.
Ingredient Notes
- Kitchen Staples – Kosher Salt, Freshly Ground Black Pepper, Dried Oregano and Thyme, Flour, Olive Oil, Butter (salted is OK as there’s not enough to make the dish overly salty).
- Chicken Stock – I like the Pacific brand as it isn’t too salty.
- Fresh Garlic – Minced.
- Grated Parmesan Cheese– Use real Parmigiano-Reggiano not the stuff in the green can for the best flavor.
- Chicken breasts – Boneless and skinless, sliced lengthwise into thin cutlets. You can check to see if your meat market or grocery store sells chicken cutlets.
- Chili Flakes – Use to taste for a bit of heat.
- Chicken Stock or Broth – I prefer the Pacific brand. Other brands like Swanson’s may be too salty.
- Heavy Cream – 36-40% Butterfat. Known as double cream in the UK.
- Sun-dried Tomatoes – I buy them packed in oil in a jar. Chop if they’re whole.
- Fresh Basil, optional – To garnish.
How to Make
Recipe Tips
- PRO-Tip: Always season as you go along. The chicken should be seasoned with salt and pepper before dredging it in flour. Salt enhances the taste of food when added early. Adding it after cooking will only make it taste salty.
- PRO-Tip: Sauting in a mixture of butter and olive oil will provide delicious flavor. The butter adds a delicious nutty flavor, and olive oil adds fruity notes, especially when using extra-virgin olive oil.
- Deglazing the pan with chicken stock will provide umami, or the savory sense of taste, that comes from glutamates, the savory-tasting amino acid found in many high-protein foods.
- Leftovers can be stored for 3-4 days as long as they weren’t left out at room temperature for longer than 2 hours.
- PRO-Tip: Use heavy cream to make the sauce. Half and half or whole milk won’t make the rich and creamy sauce needed for the tastiest results.
Frequently Asked Questions
A recipe for Marry Me Chicken was first shared in 2016 by Lindsay Funston, an editor at Delish, who wanted an easier version of a Tuscan chicken dish that could be made in a skillet. Apparently, when they were shooting a video of how to make this chicken, the videographer exclaimed, “I’ll marry you for this chicken!”
There are so many flavorful ingredients in this recipe that enhance the rich cream sauce, making it irresistible. These include chicken stock, butter, herbs, and sun-dried tomatoes. Plus, browning the chicken first adds umami, the savory sense of taste.
As with most dinner recipes, the leftovers can be stored in an airtight container or on a plate covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. If the leftovers have been left out at room temperature for longer than 2 hours, bacterial growth may have started, according to the USDA, so it’s imperative to get leftovers into the fridge ASAP after serving.
You May Also Like
- Garlic Butter Chicken from The Girl Who Ate Everything
- Chicken with Parsley and Garlic
- Best Oven Roasted Chicken
- Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu
- Plus, check out all my Best Chicken Recipes
Marry Me Chicken
An easy, delicious chicken entree that's quick enough for a weeknight, yet elegant enough for dinner guests.
Ingredients
- 6 chicken cutlets or 3 chicken breasts each cut in half lengthwise and gently pounded into cutlets
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
- 6 tablespoons flour
- Olive oil and butter to sauté (about 2 tablespoons each)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup real Parmesan cheese, grated (do not use the green found on the grocer's shelves)
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes ( may add more to taste if desired)
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ⅓ sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
- Chopped fresh basil to garnish, if desired
Instructions
- Season both sides of the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper, then lightly coat in flour.
- In a large skillet, heat the butter and olive oil, then brown the chicken on both sides until golden and cooked through (4-5 minutes per side). Remove to a plate and cover with foil.
- Make the sauce by adding the minced garlic to the pan and cooking just until fragrant. Then add the chicken broth and stir to deglaze the pan and bring up any of the flavorful brown bits.
- Decrease the heat of the burner and add the cream and Parmesan cheese. Simmer, then season with the red pepper flakes, oregano, and thyme. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper as needed.
- Add the sun-dried tomatoes and return the chicken to the pan, and let it simmer in the sauce for a few minutes before serving.
- Garnish with fresh basil if desired, and serve over pasta or rice if desired.
