Sun Dried Tomato Marry Me Chicken (Printer-Friendly)

Creamy chicken pasta with sun-dried tomatoes and Parmesan in a luscious, comforting sauce.

# What You'll Need:

→ Chicken & Seasoning

01 - 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
02 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
03 - 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
04 - 2 tablespoons olive oil

→ Pasta

05 - 12 ounces penne or fettuccine pasta

→ Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce

06 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
07 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
08 - 2/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and sliced
09 - 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
10 - 1 cup heavy cream
11 - 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
12 - 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

→ Garnish

13 - Fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
14 - Extra Parmesan cheese, for serving

# How to Make It:

01 - Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta water before draining. Set the drained pasta aside.
02 - While the pasta cooks, pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Season both sides evenly with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and Italian seasoning.
03 - Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place the seasoned chicken breasts in the skillet and cook for 5 to 6 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through to an internal temperature of 165°F. Transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing thinly against the grain.
04 - In the same skillet, reduce the heat to medium. Melt the butter, then add the minced garlic. Sauté for about 1 minute until fragrant, being careful not to let the garlic brown.
05 - Stir in the sliced sun-dried tomatoes and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a simmer, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
06 - Stir in the heavy cream and grated Parmesan cheese. Let the sauce simmer gently for 2 to 3 minutes until it thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon. Add the crushed red pepper flakes if desired.
07 - Return the sliced chicken to the skillet along with the cooked pasta. Toss everything together until evenly coated in the creamy sauce. If the sauce is too thick, loosen it with a splash of the reserved pasta water. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.
08 - Serve immediately while hot, garnished with fresh sliced basil and additional grated Parmesan cheese on the side.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The sauce comes together in the same pan you sear the chicken in, so every caramelized bit gets folded back into the dish.
  • It tastes like something you ordered at a restaurant but you made it in your own kitchen in under an hour.
  • Sun-dried tomatoes give it a tangy depth that plain cream sauce never achieves on its own.
02 -
  • If the cream boils too hard it will separate and look grainy instead of silky, so keep the heat at a gentle simmer.
  • Do not skip scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan when you add the broth because that is where half the flavor lives.
  • The sauce will thicken as it sits off the heat, so serve it right away or have that pasta water ready to revive it.
03 -
  • Let the chicken rest for at least five minutes before slicing so the juices redistribute instead of running out onto the cutting board.
  • Grate the Parmesan as finely as you can because coarse shreds take longer to melt and leave the sauce lumpy.

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