Marry Me Chicken

This crowd-pleaser takes juicy, tender chicken breasts and marries them with an incredible parmesan cream sauce, sun dried tomatoes, and fresh basil.

Ingredients

For the Chicken

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (see Notes)

salt (to taste)

freshly cracked black pepper (to taste)

2 tablespoons olive oil (or other neutral oil)

For the Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

2-3 cloves garlic (minced)

¾ cup chicken broth (see Notes)

½ cup heavy cream (at or close to room temperature)

⅓ cup grated fresh parmesan cheese (at room temperature, see Notes)

½-1 cup sun-dried tomatoes (see Notes)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (see Notes)

fresh basil (chiffonaded, for garnish)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit. Adjust racks as needed so skillet can sit in center of oven. Place chicken breasts on cutting board and trim as needed, then pat chicken breasts dry on all sides with paper towels.

Generously season tops of chicken breasts with salt and black pepper. Flip chicken breasts over and generously season other side with salt and black pepper. Set chicken aside.

Heat cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When skillet is warm, add olive oil and swirl pan to cover entire surface with oil.

When oil is hot and shimmery, place seasoned chicken breasts in skillet. Sear chicken breasts 3 to 4 minutes, or until lightly golden in spots. Flip chicken breasts over and sear 3 to 4 minutes more. Carefully transfer seared chicken breasts to plate and set aside. Note: chicken should not be fully cooked-through at this point.

Return skillet to stovetop and reduce heat to medium-low. Let temperature of skillet reduce, then add minced garlic. Sauté garlic 1 to 2 minutes, or until garlic is just fragrant.

Add broth to skillet and stir, making sure to scrape up any browned bits of chicken or garlic that may be stuck to bottom of skillet.

Move skillet to cool stovetop burner and let skillet cool slightly, then add heavy cream. Whisk or stir gently to incorporate heavy cream into chicken broth. Once liquids are blended, sprinkle grated parmesan into mixture and gently stir until cheese has melted.

Return skillet to hot burner and continue stirring sauce mixture 1 minute or so, while skillet returns to temperature. Add sun-dried tomatoes, dried oregano, and red pepper flakes to cream sauce and stir gently to incorporate ingredients. Taste sauce and adjust salt, pepper, oregano, and/or red pepper flakes as desired.

Bring sauce to constant slow simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Once sauce is simmering, return seared chicken breasts to skillet. Flip chicken breasts 3 to 4 times to coat all sides in sauce, then transfer entire skillet into preheated oven.

Bake dish 12 to 15 minutes, then begin checking doneness of chicken with internal meat thermometer. Continue cooking chicken until meat thermometer reads 160°-162° Fahrenheit when inserted into thickest part of chicken.

Carefully remove skillet from oven and set aside. Spoon sauce from skillet over tops of chicken, then allow chicken to rest 5 minutes. Chicken will cook residually, reaching food-safe internal temperature of 165°F.

After 5 minutes, transfer chicken to serving plates. Top chicken with remaining sauce from skillet and garnish with chiffonaded basil. Serve immediately with desired sides.

Recipe Notes

Cook times will vary depending on a number of factors including the age of your equipment and the size and thickness of your chicken breasts.

The sauce will be on the thin side. If you'd like a thicker, creamier sauce, you can thicken it with additional parmesan, flour, or a little cream cheese (at room temperature) after removing the chicken in the final step.

Cold dairy products can clump, seize, or curdle when added to hot liquid, so make sure they're at or close to room temperature before you begin. They can also have those reactions if they're heated too quickly, so be sure to remove the skillet from the hot stove burner before adding in the cream and cheese.

Serve with pasta, rice, mashed potatoes, or scroll back through the blog post for other suggested sides!

 

Ingredients Notes

Chicken Breasts: Use chicken breasts that are the same size and thickness, so they cook evenly and at the same speed. If your chicken breasts are on the large side, slice them into cutlets and/or even them out with a meat tenderizer or rolling pin before seasoning them.

Chicken Broth: If you're watching your sodium intake or you just like a little less of it, use a low-sodium chicken broth. If you're gluten free you'll want to make sure you're using a gluten-free chicken broth!

Parmesan Cheese: Grate your own from a block of fresh parmesan. It's super easy to do, and the results are more than worth it! Prepackaged,

 pre-grated/pre-shredded cheeses have added fillers and starches to prevent clumping. Those ingredients also keep the cheese from melting like it should, and makes the flavor less pronounced.

Sun-Dried Tomatoes: The ones packed in oil work best here, but you can use dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes if you prefer. If you use the ones packed in oil, add a little of the tomato oil to the skillet when you sauté the garlic or when you add the tomatoes to the sauce. It gives the dish another layer of that rich flavor.

Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: In my opinion, these don't make the dish hot or spicy at all, and they really enhance the flavor of the sauce. If you're sensitive to heat or just unsure, feel free to use just ¼ teaspoon or omit them altogether.

To Chiffonade the Basil: Stack fresh basil leaves on top of each other, then roll tightly lengthwise. Use a small, sharp knife to slice the roll into thin ribbons. Slice perpendicular to roll.

Make it Lower Fat: Use half-and-half instead of heavy cream.

Make it Dairy Free/Whole30/Paleo: See our recipe for Whole30 Marry Me Chicken!