Marry Me Chicken Pasta
Marry Me Chicken is one of those meals that sounds fancy but is actually incredibly easy to make. Tender, juicy chicken is cooked in a rich and creamy sauce with sun-dried tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and just a little heat from red pepper flakes. Serve it over fettuccine and finish it with fresh Parmesan and green onions, and you have one seriously delicious dinner.
The sauce is really the star of this recipe. You get richness from the heavy whipping cream, tons of flavor from the chicken stock and sun-dried tomatoes, and Italian seasoning brings everything together. Once the chicken finishes cooking right in the sauce, all of those flavors have a chance to mingle.
And I have one big tip when it comes to the chicken: pound it out first! I put my chicken in a Ziploc bag and pound it to a more even thickness. This helps it cook evenly and gives you tender, juicy chicken instead of having thin parts that are overcooked while you’re waiting for the thicker parts to finish.
Ingredients
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste
Onion powder, to taste
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 jar julienne-cut sun-dried tomatoes, drained
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound fettuccine noodles, or pasta of your choice
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
Sliced green onions, for serving
Directions
Place the chicken breasts inside a Ziploc bag and pound them to an even thickness.
Generously season both sides of the chicken with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
Add the butter and olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Once the skillet is hot, add the seasoned chicken. Cook for about 5 minutes per side. The goal at this point is not to cook the chicken completely through. You just want to develop a beautiful golden-brown color on both sides.
Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.
To the same skillet, add the chicken stock, heavy whipping cream, drained sun-dried tomatoes, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Stir everything together, making sure to scrape up all of those flavorful browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
In a separate pot, bring salted water to a boil. Cook the fettuccine according to the package directions, or use whichever pasta you prefer. Drain and set aside.
Return the chicken to the skillet and bring the sauce to a simmer.
Allow the chicken to simmer in the sauce for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the thickest part of the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F on a meat thermometer.
Remove the chicken from the skillet and allow it to rest for a few minutes before slicing. This gives the juices a chance to redistribute throughout the chicken.
Add the cooked fettuccine to the creamy sun-dried tomato sauce and toss until the pasta is completely coated.
Slice the chicken and serve it over the creamy fettuccine. Finish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and sliced green onions.
My Tip for Juicy Chicken
Chicken breasts can be tricky because they aren’t always the same thickness from one end to the other. If you put a thick chicken breast straight into the skillet, the thinner end can become dry and overcooked before the thickest part reaches the proper temperature.
That’s why I like to put the chicken in a Ziploc bag and pound it out before seasoning it. You don’t need to make it paper thin. You’re simply trying to create a more even thickness so the entire chicken breast cooks at about the same rate.
It’s such a simple extra step, but it makes a huge difference!
Don't Cook the Chicken Through at First
When you first add the chicken to the skillet, you are looking for COLOR. Let it cook for about 5 minutes on each side so you get that gorgeous golden-brown exterior.
Don’t worry about cooking it completely through during this step. The chicken is going right back into the skillet to simmer in that creamy sauce.
This method gives you the best of both worlds. You get the flavor and color from searing the chicken first, and then it gently finishes cooking while surrounded by that creamy sun-dried tomato sauce.
That Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
This sauce is what makes Marry Me Chicken so good. Chicken stock and heavy whipping cream create the base, while the sun-dried tomatoes add a slightly sweet and tangy flavor that cuts through all that richness.
Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and red pepper flakes give the sauce plenty of flavor without making the recipe complicated. The red pepper flakes add just a little warmth rather than making the dish overwhelmingly spicy.
Then you toss in the fettuccine and let that creamy sauce coat every single noodle.
Finish everything with fresh Parmesan and green onions, and dinner is DONE.
This Marry Me Chicken Pasta is rich, creamy, comforting, and absolutely packed with flavor. It feels like a special occasion dinner, but it’s simple enough to make at home whenever you’re craving a big bowl of creamy pasta and juicy chicken.
