Marry Me Chicken
Famous skillet chicken in a sundried tomato parmesan cream sauce with fresh basil. It will definitely inspire marriage proposals!
This is some famous chicken. I found this Marry Me Chicken recipe and the photos of it had me falling fast. I can definitely see why this is called “Marry Me Chicken”…it may have the power to elicit a marriage proposal.
After I watched “The Bachelor” last night and saw him meet the parents and talk a lot about proposals, it only seems fitting that I share this “Marry Me Chicken” recipe. This chicken recipe may just be the lucky charm!
What is Marry Me Chicken?
It is chicken breasts sauteed in olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. A sundried tomato cream sauce is made with fresh garlic, thyme, red pepper flakes, heavy cream, parmesan cheese, sundried tomatoes, and fresh basil. It is an easy, crowd-pleasing, popular 30-minute dinner.
I love to use a cast iron skillet since I can take it from the stovetop to the oven with ease. You can find one for here for less than 15 bucks.
Almost five years before I started Modern Honey, I entered and participated in recipe contests all over the country. One of my most memorable ones had to be Cooking Channel’s Perfect 3 Contest to find the most perfect cookie recipe. The grand prize winner would be flown to New York City to film a segment for a show in the Food Network Studios.
I wanted to win this contest so badly so I got busy right away in the kitchen concocting a brand new cookie recipe in an attempt to woo the judges. I came up with a saucepan browned butter cookie with toffee notes and both white chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips. I named them, “I WANT TO MARRY YOU COOKIES” and shared my own little love story.
The judges whittled it down to the top 3 and that’s where we had to make our own cooking video showing how to make the cookies. The results came in and I actually won the grand prize! It was an incredible once-in-a-lifetime experience and you can read all about it here. But these little “I Want to Marry You Cookies” ended up being the most popular recipe on Cooking Channel in 2012. Now that’s crazy!
So you can serve this Marry Me Chicken and I Want to Marry You Cookies and you should have the perfect meal!
How to make the best Sundried Tomato Cream Marry Me Chicken:
- Start by heating olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken breasts for about 4-5 minutes per side. Season well with salt and pepper.
- Remove the chicken from the skillet and add finely diced garlic. Cook for only 1 minute since garlic can easily burn. Add thyme, red pepper flakes, chicken broth, and cream to skillet. Cook until cream sauce begins to thicken — about 5 minutes. Stir in sundried tomatoes.
- Remove from heat and add chicken to the skillet. Spoon sauce all over the chicken. Place in an oven set at 375 degrees and cook for 15-18 minutes to until chicken is cooked through. If using thinly sliced chicken breasts, reduce baking time.
- Top with fresh basil and freshly grated parmesan cheese, if so desired.
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Marry Me Chicken. Famous skillet chicken in a sundried tomato parmesan cream sauce with fresh basil. It will definitely inspire marriage proposals!
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 3-4 Large Chicken Breasts
- Salt
- Pepper
- 2 cloves Garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon Thyme
- 1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes (may add only 1/2 teaspoon for less spice)
- 3/4 cup Chicken Broth
- 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
- 1/2 cup Sundried Tomatoes (chopped)
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
- Fresh Basil
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large oven-safe skillet heat oil over medium-high heat. Season chicken generously with salt and pepper and sear until golden, about 4-5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate.
Return skillet to medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in thyme, red pepper flakes, chicken broth, and heavy cream. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Stir in sundried tomatoes and parmesan cheese.
Return chicken to skillet and spoon sauce all over the chicken breasts. Bake until chicken is cooked through -- about 15-18 minutes. Garnish with basil and grated parmesan cheese, if so desired.
- Recipe adapted from Delish.com
Find my “I Want to Marry You Cookies” Recipe by clicking HERE.
Did you use bone in or boneless chicken?
Hi Mary Ellen! I use boneless, skinless chicken breast but you can use bone-in as well.
This was delicious! Next time I will use a little less red pepper flakes so it has less of a kick, but it was still so good. I also wish the sauce was thicker so it could stick to pasta I served with it so maybe next time I will try to add a roux. Still a 10/10!
Hi Jen! It is definitely a tad spicy so that is a great suggestion for those who don’t love too much spice. I am so glad you loved it though. Thank you so much!
Delicious!
Can I use just canned tomato sauce i hate sundried tomatoes
This is a killer chicken recipe. My wife and I loved it – definitely an additional to our arsenal. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Andrew! I am so glad to hear that you and your wife loved it. Thank you so much for trying my recipe!
Melissa, this was soooo delicious! I was afraid it would be one of those recipes that looked good but I couldn’t replicate in my own kitchen. But I was wrong…it was amazing! All the flavors were delightful and the sauce was yum as it spilled onto the noodles. It will be repeated often. Thank you my friend 😘.
Jaynann! So good to hear from you, my friend! I miss you!! Thank you so much for trying it and I am so glad you loved it.
Holy moly! I don’t usually review recipes because I just don’t have the time but this recipe truly deserves 5 stars!!! Amazing! Some of the extra sauce I had, I used to drizzle over my roasted broccoli and that was delicious. Will definitely be making again!
Hi Sarah! I truly do appreciate you taking the time to make a comment. I am so happy to hear you loved it so much! Thank you for following along!
Can you make the chicken and sauce separately and then combine and bake later?
Hi Linda! I apologize for the delay in responding to your comment. You could make it ahead of time, refrigerate it, and bake it when you are ready to serve it. I would suggest only preparing it 1-2 days ahead of time. I hope that helps!
This looks amazing. Would you recommend using the sun dried tomatoes that are dry in a bag or the kind in a bottle in olive oil?
I personally made this tonight and I bought the jar of sundried tomatoes in the oil. Used 1/2 a cup and just drained the oil out of the measuring cup before I added. Turned out great!
Hi Justin! Great minds think alike! So glad to hear it turned out well. Thank you for trying my recipe!
Hi Lois! I would suggest using the sun-dried tomatoes marinated in oil but you can use either one. Great question!
Outstanding recipe!
Thanks so much for trying my recipe, Melanie!
Great recipe! My family of 6 all liked it. My kids are not fans of the sun dried tomatoes but they are big enough to be picked out. I loved them. I made 2 skillets of sauce because my family will devour it. Tasted like a dish from Olive Garden!
Hi Amy! I love to hear that your family of 6 loved it! I appreciate you trying my recipe!
This was a fantastic recipe. Online, it can be hard to sort through recipes that look good and recipes that are actually good. This recipe is the best of both worlds! It looks and tastes like restaurant quality. Thank you so much for sharing.
Hi Jaclyn! Awww…I appreciate your comment so much. That means a lot! I am so glad you loved it.
Is the chicken with the bone and skin, or boneless and skinless?
Hi Ann! I used boneless, skinless chicken breast but you can use either one. Great question!
Cooking chicken scares me. I’m afraid I’ll undercook it, so I used a thermometer and it cooked beautifully in the cast iron pan. I followed the recipe exactly (except that I forgot to garnish w the fresh basil I bought!) and my husband and I really liked it. You had me at sun-dried tomatoes! 🙂
I will experiment with ways to amp-up flavors but this was still an easy, yummy recipe.
You were smart to use a thermometer…that is a great idea! I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thank you for trying it!
Very good flavors! I will thicken the sauce a lot next time. Used jar of sun dried tomatoes, was out of thyme, so substituted Italian seasoning. Served with past, wilted spinach and crusty bread. Will definitely make again!
Great suggestions! Thanks for sharing, Lori!
The most delicious chicken dinner ever My family and I really enjoyed it! Thankyou for sharing.
Hi Pati! That is so nice of you to say. I really appreciate it!
So good! I made it a second time and added spinach and mushrooms and served it over rice. It was wonderful!
Hi Blair! I love the additions…those are some great ideas. Thank you for trying my recipe!
What kind of rice? Love the idea of serving it over rice! Haven’t made it yet but so excited to try this!
5 stars! Made it just like the recipe said and loved it. Even my kids who don’t like sun dried tomatoes devoured it tomatoes and all. Saved the left over sauce and had it over my eggs the next morning and loved that too. Next time I will make more sauce!
Put this one in the recipe file.
This recipe is amazing!!!! It tasted like something a restaurant would make! It was very fast and easy to make as well, I love recipes where I only use 1 pot! Thanks for sharing,
Okay, I’ll be the 3rd person to ask this, are these boneless, skinless or bone in chicken breasts? I can’t tell by looking at the picture. :/
You can use either one but I prefer to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts as that is what I usually have on hand. Both would taste amazing!
Thank you so much! Boneless, skinless would definitely cook faster!
To echo another comment, I rarely review recipes but this one was THAT good. This will become a staple at my house and I am excited to make it for others! Delicious.
Can this be made completely on the stove?
Wondering about subbing canned coconut milk instead of heavy cream… anyone think that would work out?
I was just wondering this as well. My husband can’t have dairy. Did you try it?
So yummy! Made this for my fiancé and I tonight and it was so much better than I anticipated! We eat a lot of chicken so I was looking for a recipe that would put a spin on our regular supper, and this definitely didn’t disappoint. I’m lactose intolerant so I substituted the heavy cream for light coconut milk, thickening it with cornstarch, and went with a lactose-free cheese in lieu of the parmesan, both of which worked great.
I’m on weight watchers and wondering what I can use to substitute the heavy cream. There is a faux sour cream that might work. Except for the cream, I think it would be a great dish. Looks so yummy. I’m planning a dinner for 60 and this would work great.
In researching this recipe, someone used 2% Fage yogurt instead of the cream. They still liked it. I haven’t tried it.
I haven’t made this, but I calculated it on the WW app. As listed (with heavy cream and using sun dried tomatoes with oil, drained, and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese), this is 10 points per serving on the Green Plan (Smart Points). If you substitute the heavy cream with plain 2% yogurt (as another reader suggested), it is reduced to 5 points. If you also use sun dried tomatoes without oil, it is further reduced to 4 points per serving.
So yummy and fast! I subbed Greek yogurt for the heavy cream and sprinkled yeast flakes on top instead if parmesan cheese and it was still amazing. Will make the real deal sometime but this was a great lower calorie recipe even with the subs…
Awesome recipe! My husband does pretty much all of the cooking in our house so I wanted to make something special for his birthday and stumbled on this. It was so easy and so delicious that it helped make the day even more special. I used 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs and served with baked potatoes and salad. Had half left over for another meal (yum!) Will definitely make again!
Hi, I made this dish today and it was DELICIOUS! My husband literally said Wow after every bite lol. I was wondering have you tried it with any other protein? I have a bag of frozen shrimp I need to use up and I think it would be great with this sauce. Thanks again!
thank you for this delish recipe,the crowd went wild,i was out of sun dried tomato but next time I will buy some,i added onions and mushrooms,be blessed
Does this need to be made in a cast iron skillet? I don’t have one and am not interested in getting one this late in life (empty nester, barely cook anymore)
Madeline, I did the stovetop part in a sauce pan and then transferred it all to a Pyrex pan for the oven. I don’t have a cast iron skillet and mine still turned out amazing! Hope this helps 🙂
This recipe was amazing. Easy and delicious. I try so many new recipes from blogs, and most of them are honestly disappointing. This one really delivered. I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of breasts just because I prefer thighs, and I added about twice the amount of sun-dried tomatoes because I can’t get enough of those. Used the 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes to limit the spiciness. Served it with hot, crusty wheat dinner rolls and wheat penne pasta. It was a huge hit. I couldn’t stop eating the sauce; it was perfect on the pasta and great to dip bread in. My husband called me “the best wife ever” while eating this lol. This will be added to the rotation of family dinners, and I want to have some other people over for dinner just to make this for them! I might try adding mushrooms next time. Thanks so much for sharing!
MAKE THIS CHICKEN! You will not regret it! I’m not chef and was just trying to whip something up between studying and y’all it was so easy and my roommates raved about it! May just cook it once a week!
Can you use boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of breasts?
This was awesome! It tasted too good to be so easy to make! Someone asked about subbing thighs for breasts. I actually used both. Just cut & pounded breast to be approximate size of thighs. Only thing that I would do differently, I used jarred tomatoes in oil and didn’t drain as thoroughly as I should have. Made it a little greasy. Will use the packaged ones next time.
I double everything except for the chicken.
After sautéing the chicken, I slice it into strips before mixing it with the sauce and opputting in the oven,
I toss it all with pasta. We prefer Angel Hair.
This was so good! My boyfriend and I loved it and it’s definitely going to be made again. I was initially hesitant because I’m not the biggest fan of sun dried tomatoes, but they brought such a great flavor to the dish
Very delicious! I would like to see some of your recipes for pork chops!
Delicious! I am an avid Epicure user so I subbed the spices for similar ones I had from my epicure collection! Thanks for sharing!
Should you cover when putting in the oven ?
This was simple, delicious and hit the spot. If you love chicken, but are looking to add some extra love and punch to your dish, try this. AMAZING. I added some penne pasta to the pan and than returned to the oven with some extra cheese 😉. I will deff. be making this again.
What size skillet would you recommend?
My family loved this & even had my son’s “vegan” girlfriend contemplating a taste! Lol! We served it over garlic salt flavored egg noodles & with a side of sautéed zucchini & onions. It was delicious, a definite keeper in my recipe collection!
Made this dish for entire family tonight. Even the picky fussy eater was going back for seconds. An easy delicious meal. Will definitely be cooking this again. Excellent.
This is my favorite chicken meal EVER! My hubby loves it too. Thanks for sharing!
Your recipes are great – but only issue with your recipes is that you do not have any nutrition information. For one of many, I am sure, are watching our weight, or trying to lose, that would be helpful. I don’t come to your site much, because I do not want to be tempted without that information.
This looks wonderful and I am wanting to make it for our supper club of 14 people.
Any suggestions for making it early in the afternoon and what is best served with this.
Noodles, pasta and what veggies or just a salad?