This Marry Me Chicken has pasta and juicy bites of chicken smothered in a tomato cream sauce with sundried tomatoes, spinach, garlic, white wine, and the best seasonings and flavor enhancers.
Combine the sauce ingredients in a large measuring cup with a spout and set aside. Pat the sundried tomatoes dry and roughly chop them. Measure out remaining ingredients before beginning.
Slice the chicken in half lengthwise to create 2 to 3 thinner slices. Cover with saran wrap and use a meat mallet to tenderize each side. Pat it dry. Cut into bite-size pieces and season with salt and pepper.
Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of reserved oil from sundried tomatoes in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sauté until golden on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove and set aside.
As you continue with the following steps, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once a boil is reached, stir in some salt. (I use ½ tablespoon Kosher salt.)
Meanwhile, add the wine to the same skillet used to cook the chicken and set the heat to medium. Use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom and sides of the skillet. Simmer until reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the butter and the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and the flour and stir continuously for 2 minutes.
Add the sauce mixture (from step 1), in small splashes, stirring continuously.
Add the sundried tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Add the cream cheese and let it heat through and melt.
Simmer, partially covered, while you cook the pasta to al dente according to package instructions. Drain once cooked.
Gradually sprinkle the Parmesan cheese into the sauce. Add the spinach and allow it to heat through for 1 minute.
Add the chicken along with any juices from the plate.
Add the drained pasta gradually, until your desired pasta-to-sauce ratio is obtained. (I prefer slightly less than ¾ lb.) The sauce will continue to thicken upon standing. Serve!
Notes
Pro Tips:
Cream Cheese: To soften the cream cheese quickly: place it in the microwave for 10 second intervals at lower power. (Use the "melt" function if possible, but don't actually melt it, just soften it.)
Pasta:A variety of pasta options work well here, including penne, cavatappi, medium shells, farfalle, and rigatoni.
Wine:Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and Chardonnay are the best dry white wines to use in this recipe. Non-alcoholic wines are also widely available. Chicken broth can be used instead of wine if needed.
Tomatoes: I use Mezzetta Sundried tomatoes in this recipe. Be careful about selecting a variety that may be seasoned with herbs, I prefer plain as we’re already seasoning this sauce.
Regular diced tomatoes can be used instead of sundried; olive oil can be used instead of reserved oil from the jar. Rotel tomatoes can also be used for a little kick!
I use Mutti Tomato Paste tubes, they’re handy for measuring smaller/customized amounts.
Hot Sauce: This is a flavor enhancer in this recipe and doesn’t make the end result spicy, I use Frank’s Hot Sauce.
Cheese:Shred the cheese from a block, it will melt and taste much better than packaged shredded cheese. I use Belgioioso Parmesan.
Storage:
Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. This does freeze/reheat well.
Nutritional information is an estimate and is per serving. There are 6 servings in this recipe.