Marry Me Chicken Pasta

Name: Marry Me Chicken Pasta
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Yield: 4–6
Cuisine: Middle Eastern

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roubashahin.com.au

Mains

The creamiest chicken pasta you'll make — and yes, it's as good as the name promises.

PREP TIME

10 minutes

COOK TIME

35 minutes

SERVES

4–6

About this recipe

If you have not made marry me chicken pasta yet, this is your sign. The name says it all — it is the kind of dish that makes people stop mid-bite, look up, and ask what on earth is in this. A rich, golden cream sauce built on tomato paste, sun-dried tomatoes, and a generous pour of cream, clinging to every piece of pasta and every bite of golden chicken thigh. It is the dinner you make when you want to genuinely impress someone — or honestly, just yourself on a Tuesday night.

What’s more, this is not a complicated recipe. It comes together in one pan, and the sauce builds in layers — browning the chicken first, deglazing with butter, cooking down the onion and garlic until soft, then adding the tomato paste and letting it caramelise before the cream goes in. That step matters. Do not rush it. The colour you get on that tomato paste is where a lot of the flavour lives.

I love a good pasta night in this house, and we have a few on rotation — my Fresh Tuna and Tomato Pasta is a lighter option that comes together in minutes, and if you are after something more Lebanese at heart, my Macaroni in Garlic Yogurt Sauce — macaroni bel laban — is a family favourite and completely its own thing. But marry me chicken pasta? It earns its place at the table every single time.

Ingredients

500 grams pasta
4 chicken thighs, sliced into strips
2 tablespoons olive oil
25 grams butter
1 onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons tomato paste
1⁄2 cup pasta water (reserved before draining)
1 teaspoon chicken powder
800 ml cream
1⁄2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, scooped from the jar with a little of the oil
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1⁄2 teaspoon chilli flakes
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
Handful of fresh basil

Notes from Rouba

Chicken thighs are the right call here — they stay juicy through the sauce and have so much more flavour than breast.
Do not drain your sun-dried tomatoes completely. A little of that oil going into the pan adds a lot.
Reserve your pasta water before you drain — it goes straight into the sauce and makes everything silkier.
Finish with parmesan at the table so everyone can add as much as they like.

Method

Step 1. Cook the pasta and brown the chicken

Cook the pasta in a large pot of well-salted boiling water according to the packet instructions. Before draining, scoop out 1⁄2 cup of the pasta water and set it aside.

While the pasta cooks, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large wide-based pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken strips and cook for 4–5 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden and cooked through. Remove and set aside.

Step 2. Build the sauce base

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the butter to the same pan and let it melt, scraping up any golden bits from the bottom. Add the onion and garlic and fry for 4–5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the tomato paste and stir it through, letting it cook and darken in colour for 2–3 minutes — this step builds the flavour base of the sauce.

Step 3. Add the cream and aromatics

Pour in the reserved pasta water with the chicken powder stirred through, then add the cream. Add the sun-dried tomatoes with a little of their oil, the sweet paprika, chilli flakes, and dried parsley flakes. Stir everything together and bring to a gentle simmer for 5 minutes.

Step 4. Finish and combine

Return the chicken strips to the pan and simmer for a couple of minutes until heated through. Add the drained pasta and the torn basil leaves and toss everything together until well coated in the sauce. Serve immediately with parmesan at the table.

A FEW THINGS YOU'LL WANT TO KNOW

Can I use chicken breast instead of thighs?
You can, but I would really encourage you to stick with thighs if you can. They stay tender and juicy in a cream sauce where breast can dry out quickly. Thighs also have more fat, which means more flavour going into your sauce.

Why is it called marry me chicken pasta?
The story goes that this dish is so good it could prompt a marriage proposal — and honestly, after one bite, you will understand why. It has become one of those viral recipe names that stuck because the dish actually delivers.

Can I make this ahead?
The sauce can be made a day ahead and kept in the fridge — just reheat it gently and cook your pasta fresh before serving. If you combine the pasta and sauce ahead of time, the pasta will absorb a lot of the sauce as it sits, so you may need to loosen it with a splash of cream when reheating.

What pasta shape works best?
Any pasta that holds sauce well is great here — rigatoni, penne, fettuccine, or even pappardelle all work beautifully. Something with ridges or a wide surface gives the sauce more to cling to.

Can I add vegetables?
Absolutely. Baby spinach wilted through at the end works really well, as does sliced mushrooms cooked in with the onion. Just make sure anything you add does not water down the sauce — pat mushrooms dry before cooking and add spinach right at the end off the heat.

My sauce seems too thick — what do I do?
Add a splash of pasta water or a little extra cream and stir it through over low heat. The pasta will absorb some of the sauce as it sits, so it is always better to have it slightly saucier than you think you need when it first comes together.