Marry Me Chicken Pasta
by Sommer Collier — on Aug 15, 2025 Our Marry Me Chicken pasta has the traditional ingredients you know and love, like tender chicken and noodles snuggled in a velvety, creamy sauce with sun-dried tomatoes… But we put a spicy spin on this classic recipe to make a cozy, yet exciting, weeknight dish that’ll have everyone falling in love!
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
The idea of a humble weeknight recipe so good it would prompt someone to ask for your hand in marriage, has been around for a long time. Marry Me Chicken is the OG of this type of recipe. I was already married when I discovered this dish, so I can’t personally vouch for its effects… But I can tell you, it’s irresistibly delicious, easy to make, and is guaranteed to create a major dopamine hit for everyone who partakes.
So what would it take to make a chicken dish this delicious? Our Marry Me Chicken Pasta recipe includes a creamy, cheesy sauce with a hint of tomato flavor, bold, punchy ingredients like sun-dried tomatoes and basil, and a fiery twist that will have everyone at the table ready to utter those magical four words… Can I have seconds?
Why You’ll Fall in Love with This Marry Me Chicken
- Quick and easy – As the name suggests, this Italian (ish) dish is renowned for being irresistibly flavorful. But it couldn’t be any easier to make on the stovetop in only 30 minutes!
- Kick of heat – We like to spice our version up with an unexpected source, Korean chili paste. This unique hot sauce incorporates tangy fermented chiles and soybeans, and sweet heat, that really balances the pasta sauce.
- Delicious leftovers – If you happen to have leftovers – and that is a big if – they’ll keep well in the fridge and taste wonderful for several days.
Give this familiar yet exciting dish a try to spice up your weeknight dinner routine. You can thank me later!
Ingredients and Tips
- Chicken – You can use your choice of boneless and skinless thighs or skinless chicken breasts to make marry me chicken. I personally like to use thighs in this pasta recipe, as they are fatty and more succulent.
- Pasta – Hearty small-to-medium size noodles are best. We are using penne pasta, but ziti, rigatoni, or other similar pasta is great.
- Butter and olive oil – We use both for searing the chicken and cooking the aromatics.
- Pasta sauce – The base of this recipe is a flavorful combination of tomato paste, chili paste* (see note), and heavy cream.
- Parmesan cheese – Freshly grate the cheese from a block of Parmesan for the best flavor.
- Sun dried tomatoes – This is THE key ingredients that gives marry me chicken it’s signature tangy, savory and sweet flavor.
- Basil leaves – You can use whole fresh baby basil leaves or chopped basil.
*Gochujang Korean chili sauce is a popular ingredient to add to all sorts of recipes, and it’s becoming more and more common to find at standard grocery stores. However, if you can’t find it, feel free to swap Sriracha, Asian chili garlic sauce, or even your favorite hot sauce like Cholula or Frank’s red hot. You can even use a big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes.
Not a fan of spicy? Simply omit the chili sauce to make this a classic “marry me chicken pasta” recipe without any heat.
How to Make Marry Me Chicken with Pasta
Tip for Success – Reserve a full two cups of pasta water before draining the noodles… You likely won’t need to use it all, but the spicy tomato cream sauce thickens and tightens as the dish starts to cool. So it’s good to have on hand should you need to loosen the sauce a bit more.
Find the full Marry Me Chicken Pasta recipe with detailed instructions, storage tips, and a video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
Storage Notes
- Storing Leftovers – Chicken pasta will keep well for up to 3-4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If you know you’ll be setting some aside, I suggest leaving off the fresh basil until you’re ready to heat and enjoy.
- Reheating – Easily reheat the pasta in the microwave in short 10-20 second bursts at 50% power. You might need to stir in a splash of water or milk as everything is heated to loosen up the noodles a bit.
Serving Suggestions
Pair this cheesy, lightly spicy skillet dish with simple cooked vegetables for a full and well-balanced dinner! Try it with steamed, boiled, or roasted broccoli, or a combo of roasted broccoli and cauliflower.
We’re also big fans of veggie recipes for slightly more mature palates, like air fryer asparagus, Brussels sprouts, or roasted parsnips.
And for a meal that is serious about the amore, you’ve got to have some kind of garlicky, carb-y bread goodness on the table, too. Everyone loves these fabulous one-hour garlic knots and easy classic garlic bread recipes!
Marry Me Chicken Pasta Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless chicken thighs or chicken breasts
- 1 pound small dried pasta we used penne
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup diced onion
- 3-5 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2-3 tablespoons gochujang Korean chile sauce sub sriracha, chili-garlic sauce, or Frank’s RedHot
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 8 ounces sliced sun-dried tomatoes drained
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Set a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Add a large pinch of salt to the water. Once the water comes to a boil, drop the pasta in the water and stir. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. When the pasta reaches al dente, carefully scoop 2 cups of pasta water out of the pot and reserve for later use. Then drain the pasta and set aside.
- Meanwhile, set a large cast-iron skillet (or sauté pan) over medium heat. Add the butter and olive oil to the pan. Liberally sprinkle the chicken thighs with salt and pepper on both sides. Once the butter has melted, place the chicken thighs in the skillet. Cook for 5 minutes per side, then move the chicken pieces to a holding plate.
- Add the diced onion to the pan. Stir and sauté for 2-3 minutes, then add the garlic. Continue to stir and sauté for another minute.
- Add the tomato paste, Korean chili sauce, 1 ½ cups pasta water, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese to the pan. Stir well and bring to a simmer. Allow the sauce to simmer for 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
- Chop the cooked chicken into bite-size pieces.
- Once the sauce has thickened to a thin gravy consistency, add the pasta, chopped chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil leaves to the pan. Gently stir to incorporate the ingredients into the sauce. Continue to stir and simmer for another 2- 3 minutes to warm the ingredients.
- If the sauce is too thick, you can add additional pasta water if needed. Taste, then salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm.
Notes
- Storing Leftovers – Chicken pasta will keep well for up to 3-4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If you know you’ll be setting some aside, I suggest leaving off the fresh basil until you’re ready to heat and enjoy.
- Reheating – Easily reheat the pasta in the microwave in short 10-20 second bursts at 50% power. You might need to stir in a splash of water or milk as everything is heated to loosen up the noodles a bit.
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Some might also call this dish Tuscan chicken pasta, but typically, that is made with roasted red peppers versus sun-dried tomatoes.
No, I don’t recommend trying to freeze leftovers. The heavy cream sauce just doesn’t hold up well to freezing, thawing, and reheating.
