Silky fettuccine ribbons, swimming in a creamy sauce, packed with sundried tomatoes, juicy chicken, parmesan, garlic and spinach? Yes, please. It’s quick, easy and while it has a bit of a silly name, ‘Marry Me’ chicken pasta is a fab one for weeknights and special occasions.
Happiness is sitting on the sofa, putting your favourite film on, ready to dive into a big bowl of this gorgeously creamy pasta. While, yes, the name may be a bit silly, there is nothing silly about this recipe. Creamy, loaded with flavour and seriously moreish, this is a fabulous pasta, great to pull out if you’re trying to impress.
It’s also basically made in one pot, in less than 30 minutes AND you can prep it in advance if you like.
If you love the flavours here, you’ll LOVE these creamy sundried tomato butter beans (which are very much a vegetarian, protein-packed version of this recipe) and of course, the original ‘Marry Me’ chicken recipe, which uses butterflied chicken breasts.
Ingredients
- Chicken thighs. ‘Marry Me’ chicken is typically made with chicken breasts, but I prefer thighs here. They’re a juicier cut so are less likely to dry out in the pan. You can use chicken breasts though if you like.
- Pasta. I think this works best with a long pasta shape like spaghetti, linguine, bucatini or fettuccine.
- Chilli flakes. You can leave these out if you’re worried about spice, but it’s a small amount so it’s not spicy, it just brings a lovely warmth to the sauce.
- Fish sauce. I’d urge you not to skip the fish sauce if possible. It’s one of my favourite ingredients for injecting loads of lovely savoury flavour into a meal and I promise it doesn’t taste fishy at all!
- Sour cream. Swap this for heavy (double) cream or half and half or creme fraiche if you like. I like the tang sour cream brings and it doesn’t feel quite as heavy and creamy as regular cream, but it’s an easy swap. If you use Greek yogurt, make sure it’s proper full-fat yogurt as the low-fat versions tend to split when they’re heated.
How to make it
Start by browning your chicken thighs for a couple of minutes on each side, trying not to move them around too much (you want those lovely crispy brown spots). Remove from the pan and set aside, but keep the cooking juices in the pan.
Cook the onions until soft, then add the garlic, thyme, chilli flakes, sundried tomatoes, chicken stock and fish sauce. Cook, stirring for another couple of minutes, then add the sour cream and stir to create a lovely creamy sauce. Let simmer, then add the parmesan, add the chicken back in and finish with the spinach leaves.
Add the cooked pasta to the sauce.
Toss the pasta through the sauce, adding a little pasta water to loosen the sauce so that it coats every strand and becomes gorgeously glossy. Finish with more parmesan and black pepper, then divide between plates and serve.
Got a question?
You can make sauce ahead of time if you like – make it up until you add the spinach, then you can store it in the fridge for 3 days. When you’re ready to serve, cook your pasta, then reheat the sauce on the stovetop. Add the spinach leaves and toss the pasta through the sauce to finish.
Sure! Just dice them and cook them as per the recipe below.
Like this recipe? Here are more pasta ideas for you
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave me a comment below.
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Quick, Creamy ‘Marry Me’ Chicken Pasta
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Silky fettuccine ribbons, swimming in a creamy sauce, packed with sundried tomatoes, juicy chicken, parmesan, garlic and spinach? Yes, please. It’s quick, easy and while it has a bit of a silly name, ‘Marry Me’ chicken pasta is a fab one for weeknights and special occasions.
Ingredients
- 14oz/400g chicken thighs, diced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, drained
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes (optional)
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 14oz/400g pasta of your choice
- 1 cup baby spinach leaves
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Cook the chicken. Set a large, high-sided pan over medium-high heat, then add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the diced chicken thighs and cook for about 6 minutes on each side, until lovely and golden. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Cook the onions. To the same pan, add the diced onion along with another tablespoon of olive oil and reduce the heat to low. Add 1 teaspoon of salt, then cook the onions, stirring, for a couple of minutes, then add the chicken stock and continue to cook until the onions start to soften and change colour (they’ll start looking see-through). At this point, add the crushed garlic and stir it through the onion for another minute.
- Add sundried tomatoes and sour cream. Pour in the fish sauce, lemon juice, sundried tomatoes, dried thyme and chilli flakes, then stir to combine in the pan. Add the sour cream and stir to make a lovely, creamy sauce. Add the parmesan, stir again, then reduce the heat and let the sauce simmer while you cook the pasta.
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of well-salted water (add at least one heaped tablespoon) to a boil, then add the pasta and cook until al dente (cooked, still with a little bite to it). This normally will take around 8 minutes, but use your packet to guide you here.
- Finish the sauce. Add the spinach leaves to the sauce, and stir as they wilt, then transfer the pasta straight from the pot into the sauce. Add about 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water, then toss the pasta through the sauce. As you toss, the sauce will thicken and become super glossy as it coats every strand. Finish by adding most of the basil leaves and a good grind of black pepper, toss again, then divide between plates. Serve with more grated parmesan and the rest of the basil leaves.
Notes
PREP AHEAD: You can make the sauce up until adding the spinach leaves up to 3 days before you want to serve the pasta. Just store it in the fridge, then cook the pasta, add the spinach leaves to the sauce before adding the pasta and finishing the recipe.
STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Once the sauce is mixed with the pasta, it’s best served right away. Pasta continues to absorb liquid as it sits in a sauce, so the texture will change and soften. You can still absolutely enjoy leftovers – just add a splash of water when you reheat it to loosen up the sauce. You can reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop.
INGREDIENT NOTES: Swap sour cream for heavy (double) cream, half and half, or creme fraiche. You could use chicken breasts if you like. I prefer this recipe with long pasta shapes like spaghetti, linguine, bucatini or fettuccine, but you can use whatever you like.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: pasta
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: american
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 350g
Keywords: tuscan chicken pasta
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