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This flavor-packed Marry Me Chicken pasta is one of my family’s favorite weeknight dinners! It’s ready in 30 minutes and loaded with tender chicken pieces in creamy sun-dried tomato sauce with herbs, garlic, and parmesan.
This recipe marries the viral chicken recipe with pasta in an easy and delicious one-pot dinner. If you love it as much as we do, try my Tuscan chicken pasta and bruschetta chicken pasta, next!
Table of Contents
I love rich and creamy, Italian-inspired Marry Me Chicken, and turning it into a delicious pasta dinner was so easy. This Marry Me Chicken pasta combines tender cooked pasta with juicy bites of chicken, tossed in a buttery tomato cream sauce with tangy sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and Italian seasoning. It’s the best weeknight meal, with plenty of flavor that the whole family loves!
What Makes This Marry Me Chicken Pasta So Great
- A family favorite. There’s something about a creamy pasta dish that’s totally crowd-pleasing, and this Marry Me Chicken pasta is no exception. Between the flavor-loaded sauce, chicken, and speed it takes to make, it’s a dinner that we’ll never get tired of in my family.
- Rich and flavorful. If you’ve ever tasted Marry Me Chicken, you already know how incredibly delicious the sauce is. In this recipe, that creamy sun-dried tomato sauce coats every inch of chicken and pasta, wrapping it in flavor.
- Quick and easy. After you cook the pasta, everything gets tossed in one skillet. The whole recipe takes just 30 minutes. It’s the perfect weeknight dinner, and it also makes a great, easy meal for special occasions.
What Is Marry Me Chicken?
According to Delish.com, the story goes that Marry Me Chicken got its name for being “a chicken dinner so good, you just might get a proposal by the last bite.” The original recipe has juicy chicken sautéed in a creamy sun-dried tomato sauce with garlic and seasonings. This pasta version packs all those flavors into a quick, easy skillet dinner. I can safely say that it’s still love at first bite.
If you’re a fan of the original Marry Me Chicken recipe, you might also like this Italian stuffed chicken, classic baked chicken parmesan, and creamy chicken stroganoff.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Just looking at this ingredient list makes my mouth water! I have included some quick notes here. Scroll down to the recipe card after the post for a printable list with the full recipe details.
- Pasta – This can be any dried pasta variety you’d like. I use pipe rigate (was in a multipack from Costco) for this recipe, but you can use conchiglie, rigatoni, macaroni, penne, bowtie pasta, etc. Even long-cut pasta like spaghetti, linguine, and fettuccine work great here.
- Chicken – Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, diced into small chunks.
- Seasonings – You’ll need onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, plus salt and pepper. I use my homemade Italian seasoning but a store-bought seasoning blend works well, too.
- Oil and Butter – Extra virgin olive oil or vegetable oil, plus butter for sautéeing.
- Garlic – Freshly minced.
- Flour – You’ll cook the flour off with the oil and butter to make a roux, which helps thicken the sauce. All-purpose flour works best here.
- Tomato Paste – You could also use tomato sauce or marinara sauce.
- Chicken Broth – I use low-sodium chicken broth or stock. In a pinch, vegetable stock also works.
- Heavy Cream – I don’t recommend swapping heavy cream for regular milk, since milk is more likely to curdle in the heat.
- Sun-dried Tomatoes – Pick up your favorite jar of sun-dried tomatoes from the store.
- Parmesan – For the best results, grate the cheese fresh from the block.
- Basil and Red Pepper Flakes – Stirring in fresh basil leaves adds a nice pop of green, but it isn’t mandatory. Crushed red pepper flakes give the sauce a hint of heat (you can also skip these if you’re sensitive to spice).
How to Make Marry Me Chicken Pasta
Here’s an overview of how easy it is to make creamy Marry Me Chicken pasta. The whole meal comes together in a skillet (plus a pot to boil the pasta). Scroll down to the recipe card for the printable recipe instructions.
- Cook the pasta. First, get your choice of pasta boiled al dente. Before draining, set aside about one cup of pasta water. You’ll use this later when you make the sauce.
- Season and cook the chicken. Next, toss the chicken pieces with garlic powder, onion powder, a little Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook the chicken in a hot pan with oil until it’s browned, about 5-6 minutes.
- Sauté. Move the chicken to a plate, and in the same pan, melt the butter and add a bit more oil. Sauté garlic first, then stir in the flour to make a roux.
- Make the sauce. Now, you’ll whisk in tomato paste, chicken broth, and heavy cream to make the sauce. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, extra Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Simmer for a minute or two while the sauce thickens.
- Put it all together. Lastly, add the cooked chicken and pasta to the sauce, and melt in Parmesan cheese. Toss everything together to coat, thinning out the sauce with your reserved pasta water as needed. Finish off the chicken pasta with fresh basil leaves, and serve!
Recipe Tips
- Season the pasta. Add 2-3 spoonfuls of table salt to the boiling water before you cook your pasta. Salted water seasons the pasta as it cooks. Just be mindful of adding additional salt to the recipe later on if you’ll be using the salted pasta water to thin out the sauce.
- Save that pasta water! On the subject of pasta water, remember to set aside a cupful before you drain the pasta. The starches in the water are a great way to add flavor and emulsify the cream sauce. You can use this trick for just about any pasta recipe.
- Cut the chicken pieces the same size. This ensures that the chicken cooks evenly.
Serving Suggestions
This creamy Marry Me Chicken pasta is satisfying on its own, and all you really need to turn it into a complete meal is a side of Caesar salad and a bowl of garlic knots or breadsticks. We also love this simple tossed salad or another veggie side, like roasted green beans. Sweeten the meal afterward with lunch lady brownies for dessert!
Store and Reheat Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Store any leftover Marry Me Chicken pasta covered airtight in the fridge for up to 4 days. Since creamy sauces aren’t the best for freezing, I don’t recommend it for this recipe.
- Reheat. Warm the pasta in the microwave or on the stovetop. I like to add a splash of chicken broth or water to help loosen the cream sauce a little.
More Chicken Pasta Recipes
Marry Me Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dried pasta
- 1 pound chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, divided
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 Tablespoons oil, divided
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
- ¾ cup chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup fresh basil, optional
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook pasta according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water for the sauce.
- Season chicken pieces with garlic powder, onion powder, ½ teaspoon of Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 Tablespoon of oil, swirling to coat the pan. Once hot, add the chicken and cook for 5-6 minutes until browned. Remove from the pan and cover with foil to keep warm.
- Return the pan to medium heat, add the rest of the oil and butter. Let the butter melt, stir in the garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes until you can start to smell it. Sprinkle the flour over the garlic and stir until no white streaks remain.
- Stir in the tomato paste until combined with the flour. Whisk in the chicken broth and heavy cream until smooth. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, remaining Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. Simmer for 1-2 minutes to thicken.
- Add the cooked pasta, chicken, and Parmesan cheese to the sauce and toss to coat. Add some of the reserved pasta water if the sauce is too thick. Stir in basil if using and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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