Marry Me Chicken Pasta — the viral recipe: penne cooked right in a creamy sun-dried tomato sauce, topped with slices of well-seasoned seared chicken, fresh basil and Parmesan. One pan, 30 minutes, so creamy — just like the pin. (The pin shows the finished skillet without a printed ingredient list, so this is the complete standard recipe for exactly the dish in the photo.) Every step below comes with its own photo.
One Pan · 30 Minutes
So Creamy
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 lbs)
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning (for the chicken)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (oil-packed), chopped
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning (for the sauce)
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 12 oz penne pasta
- 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more to serve
- Fresh basil leaves, to serve
Step by Step
Season & Sear the Chicken
Pat the chicken breasts dry and season all over with the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt and plenty of black pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and sear the chicken for 5-6 minutes per side until deeply golden with the dark, peppery, almost blackened edges you see in the pin — that crust is doing real flavor work. The center should reach 165°F. Move the chicken to a board to rest (it gets sliced at the very end) and do not wipe out the pan: every browned bit stuck to the skillet is the foundation of the sauce.
Build the Sauce Base
Lower the heat to medium. In the same skillet, cook the minced garlic for 30 seconds until fragrant, then add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes and stir for 1 minute — their oil blooms in the pan drippings and turns everything a deep brick red. Pour in a splash of the chicken broth and scrape the bottom of the pan thoroughly with a wooden spoon, lifting all those seared chicken bits into the liquid. This deglazing step is why a one-pan version tastes richer than the same sauce made in a clean pan.
Add the Cream
Pour in the rest of the chicken broth and the heavy cream, then stir in the Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. The sauce will turn a creamy blush, somewhere between the sun-dried tomatoes and the cream — the exact color of the pin’s sauce. Bring it to a gentle simmer, never a hard boil: boiling can split a cream sauce and make it grainy, while a bare simmer keeps it silky. Taste for salt now; sun-dried tomatoes and (later) Parmesan are both salty, so season the finished dish, not the base.
Cook the Pasta in the Sauce
Stir the dry penne straight into the simmering sauce — yes, uncooked. Cover and simmer for 12-14 minutes, stirring every few minutes so no pieces stick to the bottom, until the penne is just al dente and has drunk up most of the sauce. This is the one-pan magic the pin promises: as the pasta cooks it releases starch directly into the sauce, thickening it into a glossy coating no separate pasta water can match. If the pan looks dry before the pasta is tender, add hot water a quarter cup at a time; if it looks soupy at the end, simmer uncovered for a minute — it tightens fast.
Melt in the Parmesan
Take the skillet off the heat and stir in the Parmesan a handful at a time until it melts completely into the sauce, which will turn glossy and cling to every penne ridge. Off-heat matters: Parmesan added to a boiling sauce can seize into strings and grit, while residual heat melts it smooth. The sauce should look like the photo — thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and pool only slightly in the pan. Loosen with a splash of hot water if it overshoots; thicken with another minute of standing if it undershoots.
Slice, Top & Serve
Slice the rested chicken across the grain and lay the slices over the top of the pasta in the skillet, exactly as the pin serves it — at the table, straight from the pan. Finish with fresh basil leaves, an extra snowfall of Parmesan and a final grind of black pepper. Thirty minutes, one pan, and a creamy sun-dried tomato pasta that explains its own name: the story goes this chicken is so good it inspires proposals. Whether or not anyone proposes, nobody at the table is leaving hungry.
Pro Tips
- Do not clean the pan — the seared chicken fond is half the sauce’s flavor. Deglazing with broth lifts it all into the dish.
- Simmer, never boil, the cream — a hard boil can split the sauce; a lazy simmer keeps it silky all the way to the table.
- Parmesan goes in off the heat — it melts smoothly into a glossy coating instead of seizing into strings.
- Stir the pasta often — penne cooking in sauce needs a stir every few minutes, or the bottom layer sticks and scorches.
- Slice the chicken last — resting the whole 15 minutes while the pasta cooks keeps it juicy; slice it right before serving so the slices stay warm and moist.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it called Marry Me Chicken?
The name comes from the original Marry Me Chicken — chicken in a creamy sun-dried tomato sauce so good, the story goes, that it inspires marriage proposals. This pasta version keeps the same signature sauce and adds penne cooked right in it. Proposal not guaranteed, but seconds requests are common.
Can I cook the pasta separately instead?
Yes. Boil the penne in salted water until just shy of al dente, and build the sauce with 1 cup of broth (instead of 2 1/2) plus the cream. Toss the pasta through the sauce with a splash of its cooking water. You lose the one-pan starch-thickening, but the pasta water compensates.
Can I make it lighter?
Swap the heavy cream for half-and-half and simmer a minute longer, and use chicken thighs or breast as you prefer. The sauce will be a little less lush but still creamy and blush. Avoid milk alone — it tends to curdle against the tomato acidity.
What other pasta shapes work?
Rigatoni, ziti and fusilli are the best swaps — sturdy shapes that hold up to cooking in the sauce and catch it in their ridges. Delicate shapes like angel hair will overcook in the one-pan method; if using them, cook separately.
How do leftovers keep?
Refrigerate up to 3 days. The pasta absorbs sauce as it sits, so reheat gently on the stove with a splash of broth, cream or milk to bring the sauce back to glossy. The chicken slices reheat best laid on top for the last minute rather than stirred through.