Marry Me Chicken Pasta 🍅🌿features tender chicken, penne pasta, a seasoned cream sauce with sundried tomatoes, and spinach and basil for extra flavor! This EASY chicken skillet recipe is ready in under 30 minutes making it perfect for busy weeknights. The whole family will adore this dish and it’ll go directly into your rotation!
Easy Marry Me Chicken Pasta Recipe
- Marry Me anything seems to be all the rage on these days! My Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken is very similar to Marry Me Chicken except for using basil, which is what seems to be the ‘key ingredient’ in marry me chicken. My viral recipe uses fresh spinach but adding basil is a cinch.
- So I decided to create a simple marry me chicken pasta recipe featuring tender chicken, al dente penne pasta, and sundried tomatoes. Hello comfort food!
- Everything is coated in a seasoned creamy sauce with Parmesan and finished with spinach, basil, and parsley for a high protein chicken and pasta recipe the whole family will beg you for!
Ingredients in Marry Me Chicken with Pasta
- Pasta: I used penne pasta but your favorite small shape of pasta is fine, including ziti, rigatoni, bowtie, small shells, farfalle, etc.
- Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breasts are what I used but boneless skinless chicken thighs may be substituted.
- Roux: Melted butter + all-purpose flour serve to thicken the sauce.
- Sauce: Chicken broth (or reduced sodium chicken broth), heavy cream, grated Parmesan cheese, sun-dried tomatoes drained from oil and chopped.
- Seasonings: Italian seasoning, paprika, salt, pepper, optional red pepper flakes.
- Final touches: Fresh basil is the quintessential ingredient to turn this recipe into ‘marry me’ chicken and I add spinach and garnish with fresh parsley.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Marry Me Chicken Pasta
- Pasta: Boil the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Chicken: Saute the chicken with olive oil in large skillet for about 5 minutes or until done, remove and set aside.
- Roux: Melt the butter, sprinkle with flour, and cook for one minute until a light golden brown roux has formed.
- Sauce: Slowly whisk in the chicken broth, heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, and cook until smooth and combined. Then add the sundried tomatoes and stir.
- Seasonings + Final Touches + Combine: Add the seasonings and spinach to the pan, stir to combine and wilt the spinach. Add the cooked pasta and chicken, toss to coat, taste, and serve!
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for step-by-step photos and process shots of the cooking process.
Marry Me Chicken Pasta
🍅🌿 Tender chicken, penne pasta, a seasoned cream sauce with sundried tomatoes, and spinach and basil for extra flavor! This EASY chicken skillet recipe is ready in under 30 minutes so it's perfect for busy weeknights. The whole family will adore this dish and it'll go directly into your rotation!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 ounces penne pasta, ziti, rigatoni, small shells, wheels, etc. may be substituted
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, or as needed
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, diced into bite-sized piece (boneless skinless chicken thighs may be substituted)
- Salt and pepper, to taste for seasoning the chicken
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken broth, regular is what I use but reduced sodium is fine
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
- ¾ cup sundried tomatoes, drained from the oil, blotted with paper towel, and coarsely chopped
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste (if you used reduced sodium broth you’ll need to add more salt)
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- red pepper flakes, optional and to taste for heat
- 1-2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves, (about 2 heaping handfuls or as desired – it wilts dramatically; I do not recommend frozen spinach because of both the texture from being frozen/thawed and the pulverized appearance)
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, finely minced; or to taste
- fresh parsley, optional and as desired for garnishing (or garnish with additional fresh basil)
Instructions
- Pasta: To a large stockpot, boil the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain when done and set aside. While pasta is cooking, carry on with the recipe and the following steps.
- Chicken: To a large skillet, add the olive oil, chicken, evenly and generously season with salt and pepper, and sauté over medium-high heat for about 5-6 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Stir and flip frequently to ensure even cooking. When chicken is done cooking, remove it from the skillet, and set aside on a plate.
- Roux: To the same skillet, add the butter and allow it to melt over medium heat and then add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds; whisk or stir continuously.
- Evenly sprinkle the flour on top of the melted butter, and cook for 1 minute, whisking continuously, to form a roux that's lightly golden browned in color. Tip – A roux is necessary in order to thicken the sauce later. Do not short-change this step and make sure to keep whisking so that you do not burn it.
- Sauce: While whisking, slowly add the chicken broth, heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, and heat over medium and whisk until the cheese has melted, and the sauce can be stirred smooth. Allow the sauce to simmer for about 2 minutes, or until it has thickened slightly.
- Seasonings: Add the sundried tomatoes, Italian seasoning, paprika, salt, pepper, optional red pepper flakes, and stir to combine.
- Greens: Add the spinach, basil, and stir continuously to wilt the spinach, about 1 minute. Taste the sauce and make sure you enjoy the flavor profile. If necessary, add additional salt, pepper, red pepper for heat, additional paprika, etc., as desired.
- Combine: Add the cooked pasta and chicken into the skillet and toss to combine and coat evenly.
- Garnish + Serve: Optionally garnish with fresh parsley, additional basil, or other fresh herbs and serve.
Notes
Storage: Extra will keep airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat gently in the microwave before serving leftovers.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 638cal, Carbohydrates: 50g, Protein: 40g, Fat: 31g, Saturated Fat: 17g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 9g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 149mg, Sodium: 945mg, Potassium: 1168mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 2208IU, Vitamin C: 10mg, Calcium: 236mg, Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I confess that I made changes. I was making a dinner for a children’s home and I was short for time SO..I doubled all the ingredients. My shortcuts included using rotisserie chicken and 3 15 oz jars of Rao’s Alfredo sauce. I have made your Alfredo sauce before and it is fabulous and easy but I was truly in a rush. I did throw in some extra parm and the Italian seasoning. This was wonderful! We had a small bowl to try it and I know the kids will enjoy it as much as we did. Oh, I used about 2/3 box baby spinach, and I chopped it first because…you know, kids and spinach. It was pretty and super good. Highly recommend.
Thanks for letting me know this came out great for you, Barbara, and that your various changes and quick thinking on your feet resulted in a big success! And that’s very kind of you to bring dinner to a children’s home.
Ah
May
ZINGGGG
I only took out the sundried tomatoes (picky) and my husband was demanding more after the first bite. I cooked my chicken to a golden colour to make deglazing even more tasty. A++ recipe, easy to follow, great flavour!
Thank you so much for the glowing 5 star review and I’m glad to hear this was a huge hit! Also thanks for giving the recipe a try in the first few days after I posted it!