“Marry Me Chicken” food trend explained and best recipes

Marry me chicken and a photo of someone getting engagedTikTok

The “Marry Me Chicken” food trend has been all over social media, and here’s how you can make it at home.

Back in 2016, an editor at Delish posted a recipe video of a Tuscan-style chicken dish that quickly got a lot of attention for how it tasty it looked. At the end of the clip, the video producer is seen trying the food and exclaiming, “I’d marry you for that chicken!” And so, the Marry Me Chicken was born.

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This trend has been floating around the internet for a while in several different forms, but it resurfaced in February 2024 around Valentine’s Day as people geared up for home-cooking date nights for the season of love.

Although it is based on a single comment, people say that if you make your partner this chicken and then propose to them, they will say yes because of just how delicious the meal is. Although there’s no proof that this actually works, the recipe is perfect for any occasion.

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Best Marry Me Chicken recipe

Marry me chickenNYT Cooking
The ultimate marry me chicken

After trying many variations, this is the best Marry Me chicken recipe out there, and it only takes around 20 minutes to make.

Ingredients:

  • About 4 chicken breasts
  • 6 tbsp plain flour
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
  • 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 0.75 cup heavy cream
  • 0.75 cup chicken stock
  • 0.5 cup parmesan cheese, grated
  • 3 tbsp fresh basil leaves
  • 1/2 Lemon, just the juice
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

  1. Coat the chicken in flour and season with salt and pepper.
  2. Heat the oil in a pan and cook your chicken breasts on a medium until they are evenly browned and cooked through, around five minutes.
  3. Remove the chicken from the pan and transfer to a plate. Turn the heat to low and add the chopped garlic, sundried tomatoes, oregano, paprika, salt, and pepper. Cook until garlic is softened and fragrant.
  4. Add the cream, parmesan and stock to the pan. Season as neccessary.
  5. Return the chicken breasts to the pan and cover. Simmer for around five minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
  6. Remove pan from heat, add fresh basil and squeeze over lemon juice.
  7. Serve and enjoy!

Marry Me Chicken variations

There are lots of variations to this recipe, and it can be altered to fit your needs. The main element of the dish is the creamy, paprika sauce, but you can go wild by adding it to pasta, serving it over rice, or even baking it into a casserole.

Or, if you have a non-meat eater you want to impress, why not try Marry Me Chickpeas, Marry Me Halloumi, or Marry Me Tofu?

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