"Marry Me Chicken Soup" Is the Easy One-Pot Dinner You'll Commit to For Life
Marry me chicken is a viral one-skillet dinner that has won the hearts of so many who have tasted it. It’s made of tender chicken in a sun-dried tomato and Parmesan cream sauce that is as delicious as it gets. Since a love like that should never end, there have been numerous iterations on the concept (including a chicken meatball version that I still make regularly). Here’s my latest marry me dinner, a creamy chicken soup that I’ll be making all winter long.
In this one-pot recipe, you’ll make a savory broth with sun-dried tomatoes, tomato paste, and dried spices that tastes like it has simmered for hours, but only cooks as long as it takes the pasta shells to soften. Juicy bites of golden-brown chicken, wilted baby spinach, nutty Parmesan cheese, and heavy cream are added just before ladling into bowls. If you’ve never experienced love at first bite, just wait until you try this marry me chicken soup.
Why You’ll Love It
The soup is simmered with flavor-packed ingredients. Sun-dried tomatoes, tomato paste, and Parmesan cheese give this cozy soup slow-simmered flavor in a short cook time.
It’s the best kind of one-pot meal. Cooking in a single pot collects every morsel of flavor and keeps clean-up to a minimum.
Key Ingredients in Marry Me Chicken Soup
Chicken: Chicken breasts and thighs both work well in this soup, and using boneless, skinless chicken cuts down on cooking time. If you have leftover cooked chicken, stir it into the soup in Step 6 with the spinach, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese.
Dried pasta shells: Shell pasta is the perfect shape for collecting a bit of broth and sun-dried tomato.
Parmesan cheese: Stir grated Parmesan cheese into the soup or add a Parmesan rind at the same time as the broth.
Sun-dried tomatoes: Both dry and oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes work in this recipe. The thinly sliced tomatoes plump up in the broth and add a deep umami flavor to the soup.
Tomato paste: Tomato paste gives the soup slow-simmered flavor in a fraction of the time.
How to Make Marry Me Chicken Soup
Season and cook the chicken. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and season with kosher salt. Working in batches so that the chicken browns instead of steams, cook until the chicken is golden-brown and cooked through.
Sauté the aromatics and tomatoes. Cook the onion and garlic, making sure to scrape up any flavorful browned bits left behind on the bottom of the pot from cooking the chicken. Add the tomato paste and sun-dried tomatoes, and cook until the tomatoes are fragrant and darken slightly in color.
Simmer until the pasta is al dente. Add in store-bought or homemade chicken broth, dried spices, and dried pasta shells. Cook until the pasta is al dente.
Add the finishing touches. It’s time to return the chicken to the pot and finish with fresh spinach, grated Parmesan cheese, and heavy cream.
More Comforting Chicken Soup Recipes
Marry Me Chicken Soup Recipe
This comforting soup has it all: tender chicken, pasta, and a creamy Parmesan and sun-dried tomato broth.
Prep time 10 minutes
Cook time 45 minutes
Makes 10 cups
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, or a combination
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided, plus more as needed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
1/2 cup julienne or thinly sliced sun-dried tomatoes, drained if oil-packed (2 1/2 ounces)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
8 ounces dried medium pasta shells (about 2 3/4 cups)
5 ounces baby spinach (5 packed cups)
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 ounce grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/4 cup), plus more for serving
Instructions
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Cut 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken into bite-sized pieces, then season all over with 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt.
Melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, add the chicken in a single layer and cook until browned on both sides and cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes per batch. Transfer the chicken to a plate with a slotted spoon.
Add 1 diced medium yellow onion, 3 minced garlic cloves, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and the remaining 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt to the pot. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pot, until the onion is softened and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes.
Stir in 1/2 cup julienne sun-dried tomatoes and 3 tablespoons tomato paste. Cook, stirring often, until the tomato paste is slightly darkened in color, 2 to 3 minutes.
Stir in 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, and 1 pinch red pepper flakes if using. Bring to a boil.
Stir in 8 ounces dried medium pasta shells. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is al dente, 10 to 12 minutes.
Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pot. Add 5 ounces baby spinach, 3/4 cup heavy cream, and 1/2 ounce grated Parmesan cheese. Cook, stirring often, until the spinach is wilted and the chicken is warmed through, about 2 minutes. Taste and season with more kosher salt and black pepper as needed. Serve with more grated Parmesan cheese if desired.
Recipe Notes
Ingredient variation: 2 1/2 cups diced, cooked chicken can be substituted for the chicken breasts and thighs. Skip Steps 1 and 2. Melt the butter in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat before proceeding with Step 3. Add the chicken in with the spinach and cream.
General Tip: If not eating immediately, cook the pasta separately in boiling water for 1 minute less than the package instructions for al dente. Add to the soup with the chicken and spinach when ready to eat.
Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Further Reading
The One Cookware Brand That Gordon Ramsay Can’t Stop Talking About
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