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How I Created a Healthier Version of the Viral “Marry Me Chicken”
“Marry Me Chicken” has been a culinary phenomenon for home chefs across social media – it’s said to be so good that if you make it for someone, they’re bound to propose! While I’m not sure how often that’s actually happened with the dish, I can tell you that it’s very good. The original recipe is delicious, but I wanted to make a version that fit better into my lifestyle – I enjoy high protein meals that incorporate nutrient-dense vegetables, and generally cook meals that have low dairy and gluten contents.
The original “Marry Me Chicken” uses heavy cream and parmesan. I decided to skip both of these ingredients, and opt for coconut cream instead to give the dish a creamy consistency. I did use a little homemade butter that I had on hand to brown my chicken, but that can easily be substituted for just using a little more extra virgin olive oil to make the dish completely dairy-free.
One of my favorite things to do in my cooking is throw some sort of leafy green vegetable into a recipe for additional nutrients. In this dish, I added in kale and spinach and let them cook down towards the end of the cooking process and incorporate into the creaminess of the dish. I love the additional depth of flavor greens can add to a dish, along with the added health benefits!
An Easy High-Protein Dinner
If you’ve looked through my other recipes, you may have noticed that protein is a component that I am constantly trying to work into my dishes. I have found that as I’ve gotten older, making sure that I’m meeting my protein intake within each of my meals has become more and more important to me. Traditionally, “Marry Me Chicken” doesn’t have a base other than the sauce, but in this dish I worked a little extra protein in by adding quinoa noodles to the creamy broth towards the end of the cooking process. This adds more protein and makes the fish overall more filling – and you don’t really need any sides because you have your protein, veggies, and carbohydrates all in one place!
Cooking Chicken: A Home Chef’s Continuous Nightmare
I know that I don’t stand alone in saying I’m always worried about undercooking chicken at home. For years, I’ve been eating and serving overcooked, dry chicken because I used to figure it’s better than feeding someone undercooked chicken and making them sick. Can you blame me?
Using a meat thermometer changed all of that (not to be dramatic, but it’s made me a much better home chef). I don’t use anything fancy, I purchased a digital thermometer off of Amazon that I use constantly when cooking meat and fish! Once your chicken hits 165 degrees Farenheit in the center, you’ve killed all of the evil germs and can remove you meat from the heat with confidence.
In this dish, I use bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, so it takes much longer for them to reach 165 degrees Farenheit than it would if I were using boneless, skinless chicken breasts. It’s good to be aware of what kind of meat takes what kind of heat before you start cooking – it will save you time and a good bit of stress.
How to Make My Healthier Marry Me Chicken
Season Your Chicken: Season the chicken with salt and pepper (let it sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour in the fridge if possible, or brine it in salt water, then pat dry and add pepper).
Prepare Your Ingredients: Dice your onion and mince your garlic, then set aside.
Prepare Your Skillet: Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Cook Your Chicken: Add your chicken skin-side down, cook for 3-4 minutes until browned, then flip and repeat. Once browned, remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
Prepare Your Broth: Switch to medium-low heat and add your onions to the same pan. Cook for 1 minute, then add in your sundried tomatoes and garlic. Cook until fragrant, then stir in your chicken stock and coconut cream until well mixed.
Add Your Chicken Back: Return the chicken to the pan, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 20-25 minutes (or half the time for boneless chicken). Ensure the chicken reaches 165°F.
Add Final Ingredients: Add quinoa pasta 3 minutes before the chicken is done, ensuring it’s submerged. Add spinach (or kale), cover, and let it cook quickly.
Plate Your Dish: Remove your dish from the heat, plate, and serve. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- Bone-in, Skin-on Chicken Breasts
- Chicken Stock
- Coconut Cream
- Quinoa Pasta
- Butter
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Garlic
- Onion
- Sundried Tomatoes
- Salt
- Pepper
- Spinach and/or Kale
Full Recipe:
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Creamy Marry Me Chicken (Healthy Edition)
Ingredients
- 3 large bone-in skin-on chicken breasts
- 4 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 c onion (diced)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1/3 c sundried tomatoes
- 1 1/4 c coconut cream
- 1 1/2 c quinoa pasta
- 3–4 c spinach or kale (or a little of both!)
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- Start by seasoning your chicken all over with salt and pepper (if possible, allow it to sit with the seasonings in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour before cooking ( you can also sub brining in salt water for this step, then just pat dry and add the pepper before cooking)
- In a large skillet, add your olive oil and butter and let it melt over medium-high heat
- Once your butter has melted, add your chicken breasts to the pan skin-side down and cook them for 3-4 minutes until browned, then flip and do the same on the other side
- Once you’ve browned your chicken, remove it from your skillet and set it aside on a plate
- Add you onions to the pan and cook for one minute, moving them around with your spatula as needed
- After 1 minute, add your minced garlic and sundried tomatoes in with your onions and cook until fragrant
- Next, add your chicken stock to the skillet, followed by your coconut cream – stir consistently to ensure everything is mixed together
- Add your chicken back into the skillet and bring to a boil, then turn down your heat to a simmer and cook your chicken for 20-25 minutes until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 F
- Note: If you’re using boneless/skinless chicken breasts, that will cut the cook time in half – use a meat thermometer to make sure your chicken it cooked all the way through
- About 3 minutes before your chicken is done (around the 17-20 minute mark), add your quinoa pasta into the skillet and make sure its immersed in your liquid to cook
- Following the pasta, add in your spinach (and/or kale), then place a lid over the skillet to finish cooking (it will move fast)
- Remove your pan from the heat and plate your creamy chicken